South Dakota State Penitentiary
State to pay inmate in federal excessive force lawsuit
The state of South Dakota will pay $6,000 to an inmate who represented himself in a lawsuit over his assault by a correctional officer in 2022. The settlement, filed this week in federal court, comes on the heels of a state-level trial at which a jury convicted the officer of simple assault. Shawn Albrecht was […]
Former prison employee’s conviction is a rare occurrence in South Dakota
A 42-year old former correctional officer who pressed his thumb into the neck of a strapped-down, mentally ill prison inmate was convicted by a jury of simple assault against an inmate last month. Cases like those against Joshua S. Westenkirchner, of Harrisburg, are rare in South Dakota. Few correctional officers are charged criminally for assaulting […]
Kidnapper, attempted rapist vows to walk free without parole supervision
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 […]
Legislative Roundup: Noem says no three times, but leaves big questions unanswered
Gov. Kristi Noem has not vetoed the Legislature’s “historic” sales tax cut this week – which lawmakers passed Thursday in spite of her opposition – but she did flex her veto power. Noem issued her first veto on March 2, using a cattle “VETO” brand on a bill that would have allowed local business improvement […]
Budget committee endorses $400 million for new prisons
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 […]
Truth in sentencing cost: $21.5 million
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 […]
Corrections secretary: Millions for prisons will ease overcrowding, boost security
PIERRE – In 2022, some inmates at the overcrowded women’s prison in Pierre were bunked in the gym, which closed the gym for every inmate living there. The gym is open again, lawmakers learned Monday, but now a classroom is closed because it’s filled with overflow inmates. Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko offered several […]