South Dakota Senate clears two criminal justice reform bills
Photo: Brent Nathaniel
February 11, 2021
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – The South Dakota Senate has approved a pair of proposals aimed at criminal justice reform by bolstering training for law enforcement officers and allowing young convicts sentenced to life in prison a chance for parole after they reach the age of 50.
Gov. Kristi Noem pushed the bill to require police officers to receive training on handling people resisting arrest and retake the training every two years.
Noem’s bill passed unanimously in the Senate, while the other bill addressing probation scraped through on the thinnest of margins – a single vote.
Republican Sen. Arthur Rusch pushed that bill to give young offenders a chance at parole.
