Pennington County State’s Attorney

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

Task force: Young adults up to 25 need special attention from courts, corrections

BY: - November 2, 2023

People between 18 and 25 years old are more likely to commit crimes, get arrested and lose momentum in their emerging adult lives as a result. Early intervention and structured support can help keep them out of the justice system altogether. At least that’s what criminal justice research suggests. Juvenile justice report: More delinquent kids […]

A collage of photos of Acey Morrison at a younger age. Morrison was killed on Aug. 21, 2022 by a man who claimed self defense. (Photos courtesy of Cheryse Hawkins, illustration by Josh Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

One year later, no decision in slaying of transgender woman in Rapid City

BY: - August 22, 2023

It’s been a year since a Rapid City man shot Acey Morrison to death in a trailer home north of town. Pennington County prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge the shooter or close the investigation into her death. Morrison, a transgender Native American woman, was shot after meeting a man on the dating […]

A collage of photos of Acey Morrison at a younger age. Morrison was killed on Aug. 21, 2022 by a man who claimed self defense. (Photos courtesy of Cheryse Hawkins, illustration by Josh Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Nine months and counting: Slain transgender woman’s family frustrated by wait for justice

BY: - May 26, 2023

Prosecutors in Rapid City know who shot and killed Acey Morrison.  They’ve known since Aug. 21, 2022. That was the day the transgender member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe was shot in the mobile home of a man she’d met for an ill-fated hookup attempt that began on a dating app. What they don’t know […]