Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of South Dakota.
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South Dakota Legislature passed a new death penalty statute, which went to effect due to signature of Governor Bill Janklow (first act he signed in office) on January 1, 1979[1].
First-degree murder with 1 of 10 aggravating circumstances is the only capital crime in South Dakota[2][3]. In 2006 possible death sentence for aggravated kidnapping was eliminated[2].
Death sentence is to be determined by jury and Life Without Parole is an option.[1]
As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime [4] or mentally retarded[5] are constitutionally precluded from being executed.
Currently four men are awaiting execution on death row(as of October 27, 2011), located in Sioux Falls[1].
Governor may grant commutation of death sentence with a non-binding recommendation from the Board. As of 2008[update] no commutation was granted[6].
Lethal injection is the sole method of execution in South Dakota[7].
Only one person was executed (voluntary) by the State of South Dakota in modern post-Furman period. The death sentence was administered by lethal injection.[8]
| Executed person | Date of execution | Crime | Victim | Under Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elijah Page | July 11, 2007 | First Degree Murder | Chester Allan Poage | Mike Rounds |
South Dakota executed 15 men between 1877 and 1947. The first was Jack McCall, killer of Wild Bill Hickok. 4 of these execution were prior to Statehood, 11 since[9][10].
Hanging was the only method used until 1913, when death penalty was temporary abolished in 1915[9][11].
The death penalty was, however, reinstated in 1933 and electric chair became sole method[11]. Only one person was electrocuted in South Dakota (George Sitts, 1947) and this was the last execution until Page. South Dakota was second-to-last state to use electrocution[12].
There were speculations that Sitts was executed by borrowed electric chair from Nebraska due to problems with South Dakota own chair. This claim remains unproven and challenged[13].
Between 1877 and 1915, 14 individuals were executed in South Dakota. All were executed by hanging.
| Executed person | Date of execution | Crime | Under Governor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack McCall | 1 March 1877 | murder of Wild Bill Hickok | John L. Pennington |
| Thomas Egan | 13 July 1882 | murder of his wife, Mary | Nehemiah G. Ordway |
| Brave Bear | 1 November 1882 | murder of Joseph Johnson | Nehemiah G. Ordway |
| James Gilmore | 15 December 1882 | murder of Bisente Ortez | Nehemiah G. Ordway |
| James B. Lehman | February 19, 1892 | murder of Constable John Burns | Arthur C. Mellette |
| Nathaniel Thompson | January 20, 1893 | murder of Electa Blighton | Charles H. Sheldon |
| Jay Hicks | November 15, 1894 | murder and robbery of John Meyer | Charles H. Sheldon |
| Chief Two Sticks | 28 December 1894 | instigating four murders | Charles H. Sheldon |
| Charles Brown | 14 July 1897 | murder and robbery of Emma Stone | Andrew E. Lee |
| Ernest Loveswar | 19 September 1902 | murders of George Puck and George Ostrander | Charles N. Herreid |
| Allen Walkingshield | January 15, 1902 | murder of Mrs. Ghost-Faced Bear | Charles N. Herreid |
| George Bear | 5 December 1902 | murder of C. Edward Tayloe and John Shaw | Charles N. Herreid |
| Emil Victor | 16 November 1909 | murder of Mr. and Mrs. James Christie, daughter Mildred and Michael Ronayne | Robert S. Vessey |
| Joe Rickman | December 3, 1913 | murder of Ellen Fox and her 14-year-old daughter, Mildred Fox | Frank M. Byrne |
After reintroduction of the death penalty, until post-Furman era, one person was executed:
| Inmate | Date | Method | Crime | Under Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Sitts | April 8, 1947 | electric chair | Murder of special state agent Thomas Matthews. He also killed Butte Co. Sheriff Dave Malcolm, but was not separately tried for that murder. | George T. Mickelson |
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