Latest news with #SouthDakotaSearchlight
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2 days ago
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Governor commits funding to revive training program for inmates
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to the media during a press conference on March 13, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden is giving new life to a training program for inmates that was shelved recently. 'Being Open for Opportunity means investing in people and believing in second chances,' Rhoden said in a statement Monday, referencing a slogan he often uses to promote economic development. The program will bring on-site instruction to the state penitentiary so inmates can earn a certificate to work on diesel heavy equipment. Inmate training program shelved while prison construction talks continue Last August, the Department of Corrections and Southeast Technical College got approval from the state Board of Technical Education to expand the college's diesel program to the penitentiary. Officials later decided to shelve the initiative due to a lack of funding and concerns over how it would fit into the still-developing plans for construction of a new men's prison at an undetermined site. Rhoden announced Monday that he will provide $1.5 million for the training program from the Future Fund, a pot of economic development money under the exclusive control of the governor. Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko praised the program's reinstatement. 'Education is one of the best ways to support rehabilitation and reduce recidivism,' Wasko said in a statement. 'These programs give people purpose, build skills, and strengthen families and communities across South Dakota.' The diesel training program will fill a void left by Metal Craft Industries, a privately operated prison shop that employed inmates at market wages. The company said it was pushed out of the prison system last year by administrators. Wasko has said the company left voluntarily to avoid adhering to newer, stricter security protocols. The Future Fund, which Rhoden is tapping to provide money for the training program, is supported by a surcharge on employer payroll taxes. State law says the fund is for 'purposes related to research and economic development for the state.' Some of former Gov. Kristi Noem's uses of the fund were controversial. That included money to build a state-owned shooting range that the Legislature refused to fund, a workforce recruitment ad campaign starring Noem, a 'Governor's Cup' rodeo that included Noem carrying in the American flag on horseback, and a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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2 days ago
- Politics
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Legislative group studies SD's high incarceration rate, overrepresentation of Indigenous prisoners
Linsey Sapp, who wears an "Inmate Rights" shirt and whose husband is incarcerated, speaks to lawmakers at an Initial Incarceration, Reentry Analysis, and Comparison of Relevant States Interim Committee meeting in Sioux Falls on June 24, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) SIOUX FALLS — The overrepresentation of Native Americans in state prisons, a lack of rehabilitation programming, and a need for more intervention to keep people out of prison are the biggest issues flagged by members of South Dakota's legislative recidivism and rehabilitation committee. The group held its first meeting Tuesday at the University of South Dakota's Sioux Falls campus. The committee is tasked with analyzing the makeup of the prison population, comparing incarceration rates and sentencing laws in similar states, and identifying barriers to inmates' reintegration into society. South Dakota has the nation's 15th-highest incarceration rate, according to The Sentencing Project. Forty-three percent of adult offenders in South Dakota return to prison within three years of release, according to 2023 statistics from the state Department of Corrections. Some lawmakers who voted in February against funding to build an $825 million men's prison said the state should be investing more into rehabilitation programs to reduce its prison population. Lawmakers on the recidivism and rehabilitation committee may propose bills and funding recommendations during the next legislative session. Some members of the committee also sit on the governor's Project Prison Reset committee, which is searching for a location to build a new prison at a cost up to $600 million. Mitchell Republican Rep. Jeff Bathke is the former director of substance abuse programs for the state Department of Corrections and a member of the recidivism and rehabilitation committee. He hopes the group will dig further into rehabilitation and behavioral health programming to understand existing programs and their efficacy. 'Right now, we're just a warehouse. We warehouse people,' Bathke told South Dakota Searchlight after the meeting. 'Then they come back because we did nothing as a community to help them.' The first meeting supported his belief that the state should hire a consultant to better evaluate the prison system and make recommendations to policy and programming. The state has hired a consultant to study prison construction needs, and that consultant said strict sentencing laws are among the factors driving prison population growth. 'This is a severely damaged system,' Bathke said. 'But it can be great. It can be the best program in the nation, with some changes.' Native Americans account for nearly 40% of the state's prison inmates. They account for about 9% of the state's overall population, according to a presentation from the Legislative Research Council. That statistic is 'alarming,' said Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, during the meeting. Sioux Falls Republican Rep. Greg Jamison, who co-chairs the committee, told lawmakers he believes the overrepresentation is one of the 'biggest issues' facing the committee. The disparity of Native Americans in the prison system has persisted for decades. Bathke added that offenders sentenced in federal court after crimes on tribal land aren't accounted for in the state data. 'It is way worse than what these numbers actually show,' Bathke said. South Dakota's disparity is higher than similar states analyzed by the committee: Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. Legislative staff compared the states' prison populations because they share economic and demographic similarities. Jamison said he hopes to connect with tribal leaders this summer to hear their suggestions for addressing the problem. South Dakota also has the third highest female incarceration rate in the nation, according to The Sentencing Project. Nearly two-thirds of incarcerated women in the state are Native American, and about half of their worst offenses are drug-related. North Dakota has the lowest prison population in the four-state comparison presented to the committee, at under 2,000 inmates, along with the lowest incarceration rate and lowest female incarceration rate. 'We're going to have to dig into North Dakota a bit,' Jamison said. Several lawmakers and members of the public raised concerns about rehabilitation programming — both the quality of programs and the number of programs available to inmates. A Department of Corrections employee was not on hand to answer lawmaker questions. Leaders of a company that trained and employed maximum security inmates at the state penitentiary for two decades said they were pushed out of the prison system by administrators last year, although administrators said the company left voluntarily to avoid adhering to newer, stricter security protocols. Gov. Larry Rhoden announced this week his administration will use economic development dollars from the state's Future Fund to start a diesel mechanic training program in the metal shop's former space. Linsey Sapp, whose husband is incarcerated, told lawmakers during public comment that the lack of classes and programming is a serious concern, especially if inmates are spending '23 hours a day' in their cells. 'Rehabilitation is important, and we are failing,' she said. Tracii Barse, a Native American business owner who introduced himself as a seven-time felon to lawmakers, said mentorship during and after a prison sentence is necessary to successfully reintegrate inmates into society. He suggested policy changes to allow ex-inmates to come into the prison to teach classes or mentor current inmates. While there are several volunteers who mentor, former prisoners better understand inmates' history and challenges, he said. Barse finds it ironic that he's allowed to enter a school to mentor children, despite his background, but he can't use that same experience and connection to help inmates. Sen. Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, encouraged lawmakers on the committee to explore the path that leads a person to prison and reasons why people reoffend. In better understanding those areas, the state can intervene, deter and help people while they're in their home, she added. Doing so would be cheaper, healthier, and keep a community intact — especially given the number of Native Americans removed from their communities due to incarceration, Grove said. Grove, along with Sen. Kevin Jensen, R-Canton, discussed the possibility of removing a person's felony conviction from their record for certain crimes after an amount of time or after rehabilitation, to help with reintegration and recidivism. Felons are not allowed to live in certain neighborhoods, can't have some jobs and can't own a gun. 'I think, at some point, it has to be where the person has paid for their crime and they move back to wholeness in whatever way that looks,' Grove said. 'I think that's a really big part of re-entry.' The committee's next meeting will be held in July in the Rapid City area. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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2 days ago
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Overdose deaths, gang violence draw charges in some — not all — recent prison incidents
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley speaks at a press conference on prison violence on June 24, 2025, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) SIOUX FALLS — Attorney General Marty Jackley announced a flurry of criminal charges Tuesday in a series of incidents that have played out since February on the grounds of the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Two people stand accused of providing the drugs that killed two of the four inmates who've overdosed this year in South Dakota prisons. The charges in the overdose deaths of 20-year-old Anthony Richards and 39-year-old Jason Garreau were unsealed Tuesday. Legislative group studies SD's high incarceration rate, overrepresentation of Indigenous prisoners An inmate allegedly supplied the synthetic marijuana that killed Richards in February at the penitentiary's Jameson Annex. The methamphetamine and cocaine that killed Garreau in the penitentiary in May was allegedly delivered hand-to-hand by an on-site visitor who lives in Sioux Falls. There are two other suspected prison overdose deaths under investigation, Attorney General Marty Jackley said Tuesday at the Law Enforcement Center in Sioux Falls. Charges may come soon in those cases, which involved the May 18 death of 24-year-old Joshua Arrow and the June 10 death of 42-year-old Nicholas Skorka. Jackley said the state's still awaiting toxicology results in those cases. Also unsealed Tuesday were felony assault and rioting indictments for 24 inmates reportedly involved in a 40-man gang skirmish at the Jameson Annex on May 27 that injured 14 and sent four to the hospital. There were nine gangs involved in that fight, Jackley said. The violence was 'coordinated' by the gangs, he said, but he declined to say if any of the eight inmate victims who are named in the indictments were targeted specifically. Two of the people whose names are listed as assault victims were themselves charged for felony rioting, defined under South Dakota law as an incident in which three or more people break things or hurt others on purpose. 'I'm going to suggest to you that of the 24 indicted, they might all be taking the position that they're victims,' Jackley said, noting that the Division of Criminal Investigation concluded that only eight of those involved could legally be classified as such. The number of gangs involved – nine – is 'probably more than I'm normally involved with in a particular investigation,' Jackley said. But he also said he recognizes that 'there is gang prevalence at the penitentiary.' The charges relate to some, but not all, of the recent high-profile prison grounds incidents. An inmate broke the nose of a female correctional officer in late March at the penitentiary. Another, unrelated bout of violence at the Jameson Annex between inmates came hours later. On May 7, a male correctional officer was injured by an inmate at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield. None of those incidents has drawn charges. Fight breaks out at penitentiary one month after similar violence that injured officer Several investigations have commenced this year into situations like those, Jackley said, as well as into a prison drug ring the Department of Corrections announced it had broken up. A late May press release on that investigation said criminal charges would follow 'if warranted.' The attorney general declined to say Tuesday if more charges were imminent in any of those situations. 'Like all investigations, you may reach a point where you're prepared because there's probable cause and a reasonable likelihood that a jury would convict, where you move forward, but those investigations are not at that charging decision stage,' Jackley said. He did suggest that autopsy results in the overdose deaths of Arrow and Skorka would be necessary to make the call in those specific cases. After Tuesday's press conference, Jackley spokesman Tony Mangan told South Dakota Searchlight that the state is waiting for final reports in the officer assault cases. The Department of Corrections, meanwhile, suspended in-person visits in Sioux Falls in response to the drug ring investigation. That decision has led to some consternation among inmate families, some of whom planned to hold the latest in a series of protests against the DOC Tuesday evening. The charges and investigations this year have taken place as state officials consider sites for a new men's prison to replace the oldest parts of the penitentiary. The first meeting of the Project Prison Reset task force came days after the late March assaults. Penitentiary and Jameson Annex inmates were on a security lockdown when the task force members toured the grounds for that April 2 meeting. The officer in Durfee was attacked a week and a day after the group met in Springfield. The next task force meeting is scheduled for July 8 in Sioux Falls. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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2 days ago
- Politics
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South Dakota loses federal funds for prison rape elimination amid fears of national impact
Educational materials on sexual assault in prisons, produced by the South Dakota Department of Corrections and paid for by federal grant funding. (Photo illustration by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) The South Dakota Department of Corrections has lost access to more than $25,000 in federal funding meant to aid in the investigation and prevention of sexual assaults in prisons and jails. The state Bureau of Finance and Management publishes a rundown, updated weekly, of dollars lost to the state through Trump administration cuts. The latest list includes a loss of $25,332 in 'strategic support' money for compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. The act requires prisons and jails to document sexual assaults behind bars, protect victims who report incidents and ensure adequate safeguards are in place to prevent assaults. The lost money would have been a second-year award in a two-year grant. The state already received $28,419. The finance bureau's newest spreadsheet lists $23.7 million in total federal funding lost across various state agencies and projects since the start of the Trump administration. The DOC says it doesn't actually need the lost federal dollars to comply with the federal law on sexual assaults in prisons. As of this week, the agency hadn't spent all the money from the first grant award. Corrections spokesman Michael Winder told South Dakota Searchlight that the agency spent about $16,000 from the first year's funding for 'educational literature and training.' That material included wall posters instructing prisoners on how to report sexual assaults, which listed addresses for anonymous reporting and the number to dial from inmate tablets to report an assault. The department also printed 'no means no' posters, six-step staff procedure cards outlining what to do when an inmate reports a sexual assault, and pamphlets on the rape elimination act for inmates and their friends and family members. The grant was awarded to help the department comply with the law, and Winder said it now does. He said South Dakota's facilities are 'continuously audited' for compliance with the federal statute. The remaining $12,000 from 2023, he said, will be used 'to provide continued training and advancement for staff who respond, investigate, and provide continued care for victims of sexual violence within the correctional facilities.' The state penitentiary's most recent federal audit was finalized in January. The report found no deficiencies. Audits of each state correctional facility since 2019, as listed on the department's website, showed no deficiencies. In 2023, the most recent year for which data are available, there were 22 substantiated sexual assault reports in South Dakota prisons. That was 22 out of 148 investigations tied to the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The department declined to offer details on the substantiated incidents, citing exemptions in South Dakota open records law for law enforcement records or records that could endanger others, as well as a provision in the act that bars the release of information on individual incidents. That most recent annual report notes that the department 'began tracking and reporting investigations in a consistent and efficient manner' in 2023. The loss of the remaining $25,332 for South Dakota was part of the fallout from a decision by the Trump administration to cancel a host of grants related to the Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Center. The cuts effectively shut down the resource center for a short period of time. Until the change, the nonprofit organization had dozens of employees, laboring under a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Overdose deaths, gang violence draw charges in some — not all — recent prison incidents Many of them worked to review the audits required of every correctional facility in the U.S. every three years, and served as a resource to connect prisons and jails nationwide with partners who could help them do things like train officers on how to handle sexual assault reports. A California-based nonprofit called Just Detention International is among the organizations that relied on and worked with the resource center. Its mission is tied specifically to sexual assaults and harassment in correctional settings. In South Dakota, the group worked with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to build a compliant sexual assault prevention and reporting framework for a juvenile detention facility. It's also listed as a resource for victims in the most recent penitentiary audit for South Dakota. Linda McFarlane, Just Detention's executive director, told South Dakota Searchlight that some staff at the resource center have returned since April, when the grants for states and the resource center were rescinded. All the audits conducted across the U.S. since 2022 remain archived on the resource center website, but McFarlane worries the pared-down staff won't be able to review them. She's also troubled that the funding cuts removed the staff that trained investigators and connected local coordinators with resources. 'Part of the problem was that this message was sent, that PREA is no longer taken seriously,' McFarlane said. 'I think people misunderstood the defunding of the PREA Resource Center to mean the law was no longer in effect. And that is absolutely not true.' McFarlane was glad to hear that South Dakota intends to continue adhering to the law, but she worries that jailers who may have never taken the law seriously will feel empowered to ignore it. 'We heard from survivors and from currently incarcerated people that this felt like a huge slap in the face, that the government was signaling that they no longer take their safety seriously,' McFarlane said. 'And from within the corrections departments, the people who take it seriously were panicked.' The former director of the resource center, Dana Shoenberg, posted on LinkedIn that the funding cut had 'scattered' its team into different jobs around the country, but said she hopes they or others continue to work 'to fulfill PREA's promise of eliminating sexual abuse in confinement.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
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‘No Kings' protests planned in multiple South Dakota cities
Nicole Preble holds a sign during a protest against the Trump administration on April 23, 2025, in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) Nationwide protests against the Trump administration are planned this Saturday, including in at least eight South Dakota cities. 'No Kings' is the theme of the protests, which will coincide with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, Flag Day and the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary military parade in Washington, D.C. The D.C. events will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million, according to Army spokesperson Heather Hagan, though the price tag for the parade alone was not specified. Protest organizers are calling attention to what they describe as the Trump administration's authoritarian overreach. 'They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services,' the No Kings website reads. 'The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.' The No Kings website lists the following protests planned in South Dakota: Spearfish: 11 a.m. Mountain time at North Main Street and West Jackson Street. Rapid City: noon Mountain at 300 Sixth Street. Pierre: 12:30 p.m. Central at 500 E. Capitol Ave. Watertown: 11 a.m. Central at 211 E. Kemp Ave. Brookings: 1 p.m. at Sixth Street and 17th Avenue. Sioux Falls: 11 a.m. Central at 300 N. Minnesota Ave. Yankton: 10:30 a.m. Central at 2000 Douglas Ave. Chamberlain: 10 a.m. Central at 100 King Street and Main Street. 'No Kings' is part of the 50501 Movement, founded to protest the Trump administration. Partners include the American Civil Liberties Union, 350 Action, Climate Defenders, Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, Vote Save America and many other advocacy groups. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
