Guest Column: Let’s Get the Prison Done By Representative Tim Reisch

Let’s Get the Prison Done
By: Representative Tim Reisch

Next week, the State Legislature will be meeting in special session to consider the plan for a new state penitentiary.

It’s no secret that I have opinions on the South Dakota Department of Corrections. I served as Secretary of that department for nearly a decade, then again as Interim Secretary just a few years ago. And I’ve been vocal in my thoughts on the management of DOC over the last few years. With leadership changing at DOC, though, I am 100% behind getting a new prison built.

Governor Rhoden asked me to be part of the prison task force because he recognized my experience in this area. Yes, we need to make changes in how we handle inmates – both from a rehabilitation and a security standpoint. But those kinds of changes will be far easier to make at a new, modern, state penitentiary.

I care about our correctional officers. I care about their safety, and I worry about their ability to adequately manage rowdy inmates in a deteriorating building that is not laid out for optimum security. Truth be told, I care about the inmates, too – about making sure that they get rehabilitated to rejoin society without returning to prison. The vast majority of our inmates will be back on the streets of South Dakota, most of them within a year or two. We need those individuals to be truly rehabilitated while they’re in prison. We want them to become productive citizens – and we don’t want them coming back to prison.

The new prison will be laid out in a far more secure manner – that’s good for both staff and inmates. It will more than triple the amount of programming and vocational training than what is in the current penitentiary, and that’s how we get inmates on a better path.

A lot of people have questioned the price or falsely claimed that it’s a “billion-dollar prison.” That’s just not true. But we need to stop kicking the can down the road. We have a very good idea of the costs, because we had already bid out the work for the previous plan. The task force made sure that this facility will be built in a fiscally responsible fashion, and the plan that’s in place achieves that without cutting corners on security or quality.

We have a good site. We have a good plan. We have the money to pay the cost, without borrowing. From my seat in the House of Representatives, I’ll be voting yes, and I’ll be asking my colleagues to do the same. Now is the time to get this done and put the conversation to rest.

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Tim Reisch represents the 8^th District in the South Dakota House of Representatives. He serves as South Dakota Secretary of Corrections from 2003 to 2011, then as Interim Secretary of Corrections from 2021 to 2022. He also served as Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard from 2011 to 2019.