A South Dakota House committee on Wednesday killed legislation that would have eliminated the death penalty in the state, voting 10-to-1 to send the bill to the “41st day” — the Legislature’s term for defeating a measure.
House Bill 1268, introduced by Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, would have repealed capital punishment by removing the death penalty as an authorized sentence for Class A felonies — the state’s most serious crimes. The bill’s defeat keeps the death penalty on the books in South Dakota, where one inmate currently sits on death row.
Reisch is a former Miner County sheriff and former South Dakota Secretary of Corrections. He told the committee he was present in the execution chamber on July 11, 2007, when the state carried out its first execution by lethal injection — and that he personally read the judge’s order as the inmate was strapped down.
“Research overwhelmingly indicates that the death penalty does not deter crime more effectively than long-term imprisonment,” Reisch told the committee. “Studies consistently show no significant evidence that capital punishment reduces homicide rates, as many states without the death penalty have lower murder rates than those that retain it.”
Reisch explained that Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, prompted his bill by questioning the compatibility of opposing abortion and supporting the death penalty.
The bill drew several proponents. According to Denny Davis of South Dakotans Opposed to the Death Penalty, death penalty cases cost roughly 10 times more than other first-degree murder convictions, based on county auditor data.
Mary Ihli, a retired ER nurse from Sioux Falls, recounted the trauma of serving on a capital punishment trial jury 40 years ago. She said the experience left a lasting mark on her.
“The death penalty is not just a law, it’s a moral judgment,” Ihli said. “I can honestly say now that no one, not the court, not the state, not the government, should expect a juror doing their civic duty to end a life.”
You can read the full article at KXLG.