Guest Column: In Defense of Secretary Kellie Wasko
by Eric Gednalske
Kellie Wasko is the most effective Secretary the South Dakota Department of Corrections has had in decades. Her tenure has been marked by a firm commitment to reform, transparency, and modern corrections leadership. Yet, calls for her removal are mounting. Why? Because “inmate deaths are higher than usual.” That’s the argument. Let’s unpack it.
More than half of this year’s inmate deaths are attributed to natural causes—age, illness, or chronic health conditions. These are unfortunate, yes, but hardly an indictment of administrative failure. If anything, they reflect the aging population within our prisons, a trend not unique to South Dakota.
Then there are suicides. These are tragic and deserving of attention. But let’s be honest: no correctional system, no matter how well-funded or staffed, can completely eliminate self-harm. The mental health crisis in prisons is a national issue. It’s not unique to this Secretary, and to frame these tragedies as policy failures ignores the complex human realities involved.
Finally, we come to drug overdoses—the one category that does demand action. And action is precisely what Secretary Wasko has taken. Immediately following this year’s spike in overdose deaths, the Department transitioned visitations to non-contact, a move designed to sever one of the primary pathways for contraband. It’s not a popular decision, but it’s a responsible one. Leadership sometimes means doing the hard, unpopular thing to protect lives.
So, I ask again: what exactly are we blaming Secretary Wasko for? Implementing swift, preventative policy? Taking ownership where others would deflect? Showing transparency in a system historically resistant to it?
Critics need to bring more than headlines and raw numbers to the table. Reforming a correctional system is hard work. Secretary Wasko is doing it—and doing it well. Before we talk about replacing her, let’s have a real conversation about what we expect from leadership in corrections, and whether our outrage is truly justified—or merely convenient.
Your shot boys.
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Eric Gednalske is currently a student at the Knudson School of Law at USD and a Political Science graduate of SDSU. Eric grew up in Pierre and served as an Infantryman in the Army before starting college.
The Rhoden Administration is really making a mess of this. Tony is dragging the Prison Project forward despite Larry. Meanwhile, Corrections is a nightmare that the Administration won’t fix.
I’ve never heard of the college kid who wrote this but he’s obviously out of touch with reality. Wasko has created a colossal mess and unless the governor cuts her loose his prison proposal is going down in flames.
Eric, I respect you and your opinion, but you’re missing the crux of the argument against Wasko. She clearly mishandled the new prison situation, essentially killed the very popular prisoner work program by dramatically raising prices for inmate labor that she calls “slavery,” and the prison guards have been assaulted at much higher rates under her leadership largely because she took away the guard’s ability to enforce the rules properly. I’m sure she’s a nice person, but she has lost the trust of the public and the legislature, so it’s time to move forward with a new Secretary.
Max said it really well. The so-called correction expert, which we’ve seen similar in the past, really knows how to f things up. Some of this goes to Noem as well, of course. The selection of that Lincoln County site should have been more inclusive from the beginning before dumping $50 million into it… only for the Gov and Legislature to get weak knees at the end. But yes – it was common for a long time to have prisoners out cleaning up communities, especially after storms. And I suspect most of them preferred that over sitting in their cells. Bring the work crews back!
People forget. Times have changed. Our inmates are not the same inmates we had 20 years ago. We can’t govern the way we did with under previous administrations. Things have changed.
Is this kid related to the Gednalske that works at DOC? That’s Ok, but seems relevant.