Crime

South Dakota Chief Justice Steven Jensen gestures as he participates in oral arguments with other state Supreme Court justices on March 23, 2023, in Brookings. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota Newspaper Association)

Limits, application of South Dakota ‘stand your ground’ law debated before Supreme Court

BY: - March 24, 2023

BROOKINGS — In 2019, Minnesota native Ramon Deron Smith killed a man and wounded two others in a Sioux Falls parking lot during his first visit to the city.  He kept shooting as his targets fled across a busy urban thoroughfare. After doing so, he drove back to Minneapolis, shaved his head, ditched the vehicle […]

South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Janine Kern gestures as she participates in oral arguments with other justices on March 23, 2023, in Brookings. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota Newspaper Association)

State Supreme Court considers role of lie detectors in sentencing

BY: - March 23, 2023

BROOKINGS — A man who contends he was not the shooter in a 2020 robbery-turned-homicide in Sioux Falls wants the South Dakota Supreme Court to order a judge to consider the results of his polygraph test at a new sentence hearing. Ray Banks is serving an 80-year sentence for manslaughter for his role in the […]

An equal justice statue sits outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Minnehaha County votes to bolster prosecutors, public defense

BY: - March 21, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – Federal grant funding from the Violence Against Women Act could soon bring a domestic violence specialist to the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office to help shepherd victims through the criminal justice system. The Minnehaha County Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar to apply for a Services, Training, […]

Wayne Edmonds Jr. testifies before the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles on March 15, 2023, at the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Kidnapper, attempted rapist vows to walk free without parole supervision

BY: - March 18, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — An inmate who abducted and tried to rape a 12-year-old Wasta girl in 1984 told the Board of Pardons and Paroles this week that he’d rather walk free in four years than ask for mercy and supervised release again. Wayne Edmonds Jr., 62, was sentenced to 75 years for kidnapping and seven […]

The South Dakota House of Representatives chamber at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Criminal justice bills passed in 2023 described as ‘just a start’ for lawmakers

BY: - March 13, 2023

The recently concluded legislative session emphasized and funded criminal justice to an extent not seen in a decade, but according to some prosecutors and lawmakers, it’s just the start of reforms. The focus next year, they say, should be on rehabilitation.  “We’ve had legislators who have reached out and have already said, ‘Hey, what can […]

Legislators in the Senate Chamber during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

What will ‘truth in sentencing’ mean for South Dakota crime victims?

BY: - March 6, 2023

Anyone who listened to last week’s debate on Senate Bill 146 – often referred to as “truth in sentencing” – might think victims have no idea how long criminals will stay in prison before they’re paroled. Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, said when a sentence comes down, “you think, wow, OK, we have some measure […]

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, speaks on the floor of the South Dakota House of Representatives during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Lawmakers nix bill to raise SD’s nation-leading juror pay

BY: - March 3, 2023

It’s illegal to duck jury duty, even if you’re too broke to afford time off work. A bill meant to address the difficulties that reality can cause for blue-collar jurors died in a state Senate committee this week after passing through the House of Representatives. The 5-2 vote on House Bill 1098 came after testimony […]

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, speaks on the floor of the South Dakota House of Representatives during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

House backs ‘truth in sentencing’

BY: - February 28, 2023

PIERRE — A bill to upend the state’s parole system for violent offenders is one step from the governor’s desk. A majority of the House of Representatives went against the pleas of a former Department of Corrections secretary and the House Majority leader on Tuesday and passed Senate Bill 146, dubbed a “truth in sentencing” […]

The South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Seth Tupper/SD Searchlight)

Move to loosen penalties for drug ingestion, marijuana edibles fails in Senate

BY: - February 22, 2023

The South Dakota Senate rejected two bills Wednesday that aimed to soften controversial drug laws. One sought to help drug users avoid prison for failed drug tests; the other would have placed marijuana edibles and vape products in the same misdemeanor category as marijuana flower. Senate Bill 201, which failed by a single vote, would […]

The South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, as seen on Jan. 9, 2023. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Budget committee endorses $400 million for new prisons

BY: - February 22, 2023

Lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee unanimously approved funding Wednesday for two new prisons in South Dakota. The first is a new women’s prison for Rapid City, a 300-bed facility that would become the second female prison in the state.  The Department of Corrections spent $20 million on land for the prison on the eastern […]

Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, on the House floor during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight)

House advances mandatory minimums for drunken driving

BY: - February 21, 2023

The state House of Representatives passed a bill to impose mandatory minimum sentences on anyone who gets four or more driving under the influence convictions. The passage of House Bill 1170 comes shortly after Senate passage of a proposal to limit parole for the most violent offenders. HB 1170 comes from Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux […]

Images from a cost estimate for Senate Bill 146, which would restrict parole for violent offenders in South Dakota.

Truth in sentencing cost: $21.5 million

BY: - February 8, 2023

Lawmakers sent a bill to the governor Friday that would repeal mandatory prison-jail cost estimates, but not before one of the last such estimates landed in their laps with a $21.5 million thud. The House and Senate have both approved a bill to repeal a rule that requires a prison-jail cost impact statement for any […]