criminal justice

The entrance to the South Dakota Supreme Court at the state Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Supreme Court: Lie detector tests too faulty to influence criminal sentencing

BY: - July 28, 2023

A Sioux Falls judge was right to bar the use of polygraph test results in a sentencing for a 2020 robbery and shooting death. That was the conclusion of the South Dakota Supreme Court this week in the case of Raymond Banks. The 22-year-old is serving a 60-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the death […]

The Lincoln County Courthouse in Canton, as seen on Oct. 28, 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Plans for $55 million justice center in Lincoln County revealed

BY: - May 2, 2023

Lincoln County commissioners in Canton got their first look Tuesday at plans for a $55 million courthouse and justice center meant to meet the county’s needs for decades. Commissioners approved the spending in December in the interest of dealing with the swelling criminal justice needs of the state’s fastest-growing county, which includes the expanding southern […]

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, Sept. 23, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Mexican cartel targeted by Biden administration in multiple fentanyl indictments

BY: - April 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — As illicit fentanyl seizures reach record numbers, the Biden administration on Friday announced “government-wide efforts” to counter narcotics trafficking, including criminally charging members of the Sinaloa Cartel operating out of Mexico, and sanctioning Chinese producers of the chemicals used to make the synthetic drug. The Department of Justice unsealed indictments alleging fentanyl trafficking, […]

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

Teen murderer, now 41, denied parole in fourth appearance before board

BY: - April 14, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – A 41-year-old inmate who put two bullets in the head of a man who was pleading for his life in 1996 will spend at least eight more months in prison. Paul Jensen was 14 years old at the time. He was given a mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder […]

The Brown County Courthouse is located in Aberdeen and is connected to other county offices, such as the Auditor's Office and the Brown County Jail. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

South Dakota one of few states to saddle counties with public defense costs

BY: - March 31, 2023

All U.S. citizens have a right to an attorney when charged with a crime, even if they can’t afford one.  Only 11 states, including South Dakota, use local rather than state dollars to pay for the vast majority of public defense. Just one state relies more heavily on counties to pay the cost than South […]

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 […]

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 […]

The South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Legislative roundup: Pipelines and punishment

BY: - February 10, 2023

Aside from transgender health care, the big themes on the Searchlight radar this week were carbon pipelines and criminal justice. At least one media outlet used the term “Pipeline Monday” to describe the first day of the week that marked the halfway point of the main run of the 2023 legislative session. Half a dozen […]

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 […]

Gov. Kristi Noem presents her fiscal year 2024 budget proposal to legislators on Dec. 6, 2022, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Noem pairs big cut with big spending in budget plan

BY: - December 6, 2022

PIERRE – Gov. Kristi Noem proposed South Dakota’s largest-ever state budget and biggest-ever tax cut Tuesday in her 2022 budget address, along with improved pay and benefits for state employees, money for new and improved prisons, free college tuition for National Guard soldiers, and numerous other proposals. Noem said the tax cut – a proposed […]