Gov. Rhoden Announces Project Prison Reset

28 thoughts on “Gov. Rhoden Announces Project Prison Reset”

1. Totally and completely mishandled from the outset until today. Lets hope in this “reset” they don’t forget to seek input from NonJudges, NonLegislators, Noncops, and Non “behavior health specialists”….just the average citizen, and to keep them appraised along the way.

   1. What would the average citizen’s input be besides:

      1) No, that’s too much cost; and
      2) Nowhere near my house

      1. It was, to a large extent, citizen’s input as to the excessive cost that resulted in the “reset”. Certainly you’re not insinuating that such input was somehow bad! Please note, that actual COST is still NOT one of the 3 questions that members are asked to answer on the “reset.”
         BTW, if you would like it near YOUR house, let your voice be heard!!

         1. You’re literally confirming my points.

2. Medical/Dental input should be included in this group

3. That’s awesome they have Tony chairing this committee, because everyone likes being talked down to.
   Guaranteed fail.

4. It is great to see some leadership and transparency coming out of the Gov’s office! It has been years since we’ve had that. Way to go Governor!

5. I’m not thrilled about the need for this “reset” but I did like how Rhoden handled himself while answering questions from the press today.

   1. Wait, what? The Governor answered questions??

      1. I know, and he didn’t once say “lamestream media” or call Joe Sneve a liberal or anything.

6. Trying to cover up the fact that his prison plan was a massive failure. Big time.

   1. He jumped on the horse midstream when Kristi left so he should get a pass for some of this. The NOPE people did well this round, but if the SD Supreme Court votes against them they will lose some leverage/arguments against the current site.

      The Hill has to go away (the two people left at the FAA will never approve a vertical addition to the Jameson). The best deal everyone can hope to is a landswap with the owner of a parcel at a less contentious location. Maybe a triangle trade to build the prison at WH Lyon Fairgrounds, the fairgrounds moves to a parcel around town, and that parcel owner takes over the site in Lincoln County. Won’t happen, but fun to think out loud.

      1. Trump could solve all of this by pardoning everyone.

         1. Like what Stumbles attempted?

         2. Really, because state prisons incarcerate federal prisoners, or because the President can pardon state inmates?

7. A reset is a great idea. This will allow time and input from people who know the facts and can present them to legislators and the public so they can make an informed decision. More information is always better than uninformed opinions.

8. Bring the prison West River. We could use the jobs.

   1. A lot of Sioux Falls residents would be very happy to have it move to West River!

9. Will this committee recommend what we should make felonious to fill the prison? Now that ingestion appears to be headed to a misdemeanor, will we have enough prisoners to fill such an expensive project? We are also on the cusp of automation, much of the air force is even headed to unmanned systems, will the committee find ways to fight this trend so we can keep the tax burden on the state?

10. Too bad really, because of the self-centered attitudes of many, the project is going to cost a lot more in the future than today. It’s really sad when one’s ego gets in the way of something that is needed. The reality of it is, the prison probably does need to be fairly close to civilization for utilities, have the proper roads, near medical facilities, and other things.

    It’s a prison. It’s secure. The odds of a prison break, I would think, would be low.

11. “Since we can’t use the land we own for the prison we wanted, we’re going to start a new effort to build a different prison on the land we own.”

    1. There is something to be said for those people who opine that tokers don’t need to be locked up, but if we don’t want such a big prison on the land we own, we need a smaller prison on the land we own and tokers need to stop toking so much. It pisses grudznick off we have to spend so much on the tokers.

       1. You’re not wrong. Possession by ingestion and our lockups for immeasurable amount-meaning literally not enough to measure-are the reason our prison population far exceeds that of other states like North Dakota. Simple legislative fixes if the governor won’t veto it as has been done in the past, and South Dakota would save tax money on this build and ongoing operations.

    2. I see information saying we have too many universities in the BOR system. I guess we could pick another one to convert…

12. Maintenance and repair are important. One step inside our prisons shows the years of neglect on the facilities. I’m not sure the state should be rewarded with a new facility due to the decisions not to keep up on updates. With that being said that’s not the fault of the inmates or most employees and something needs to be done. I am far more supportive of a more conservative path and keeping the facility in SF where there are resources that a prison requires.

13. Many things “piss us off”. Some of those things are criminal and some are not. I fail to understand what the new Governor’s “Reset” committee might hope to discover that the Corrections Commission overlooked for years – while many of its members changed and their recommendations did not. The Commission is comprised of citizens of exactly the same stripe as the new “Reset” group – legislators and subject matter experts from around the state. We are all disturbed by the projected cost of the facility. But kicking the can farther down the road is unlikely to reduce the cost.

    1. Probably just going to be a show committee anyway. After the meetings, the House leadership that was opposing it will likely agree to build with the chosen site after getting some token concession (guessing something to reduce the cost between $50-75M) and claiming it as a win.

14. Why does this remind me of Gov Daugaards Criminal Justice Reform Task Force, I think in 2012/13? Has anyone followed up to measure how any of their policy recommendations have made a difference? I remember a modest expansion of drug courts, but they still required convictions and all the collateral consequences that come with, no meaningful change in how we address addiction, no process improvements for expungement, and no changes/investments in new types of prisoner programming i.e. work skill development, post-release mentorship etc. There definitely hasn’t been any improvement in corrections oversight and accountability for those in leadership, and seemed mostly like a dog and pony show to acknowledge we have a problem but for the most park, just kicked the can down the road, and now here we are a decade later facing a stark reality of a broken justice system and deteriorating prison system.

    Hopefully someone with influence and credibility analyzes and compares incarnation rates, recidivism rates and any other measurable metric across the states, and takes a serious look at policy changes that have made a positive difference, which should guide our policymakers based on facts and results.

    For example, Texas, another red state with a long “lock em up” history, has made impactful changes that have reduced crime/recidivism and reduced incarnation rates at the same time. I believe the organization leading the charge was “Right on Crime” a Republican/conservative policy think tank dedicated to getting results, not just feel good study groups and preferable news headlines. Worth looking at. Prison Policy Institute is another expert org worth looking at. Point is this isn’t a problem unique to us and there be plenty of resources and examples to look at. First, we have to agree to a clear set of objectives that should have longterm positive impacts.

    This shouldn’t be about how to pay for locking up more people – this should be about smart investments that reduce the need for longterm incarceration and make our communities safer at the same time. This can and has been done, just not in our state.

    This isn’t just on the state though, this makes me think of the nimby neighborhood activists in Sioux Falls who have protested privately-funded ministry-driven post release housing and support programs. Most people don’t want to accept the uncomfortable reality of how to break the generational cycle of crime, poverty and addiction that affects almost everyone – families, communities, employers, school districts, jails and prisons, child welfare services, treatment services etc. We need a community-integrated and cooperative approach that South Dakota unfortunately doesn’t have any experience or interest in.

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