South Dakota Voices Response: Donald, thank you for joining us and sharing this information with us. It is very helpful.
Email comment from DK: "When I started working in prison in 1978, Warden Herman Solem had counselors do an intake survey of new inmates. 90% had never had anyone spend quality time with them. Many never had a good father figure, either from broken homes or not good fathers. Children need LOTS of love to learn how to be loving. I know the man who got 2 life sentences without possibility of parole. He had a very bad father, but he always put up a good front in public. Epoch Times recently had a long article about how religion has been attacked by socialist agenda. THANKS for your report/analysis."
This story reminded me of Paul Will's story at Angola in Louisiana, and what he has accomplished there ( along with many others) with faith-based voluntary services, true rehabilitation and life changing. I am hopeful the prison reset taskforce can take some of these no cost voluntary ideas that have happened in other prisons and incorporate that into a new way of thinking, as a model program when they have their special session this summer. Love was mentioned as missing ingredient. Yes. One of the things that they do in Angola, for example, is to challenge them to be "set free" by the law of love, in order to be truly human, as a new way of living. Its fascinating and life changing what occurs when this happens. May it be so here in our State. Here's Paul Will's story.
"...tracking everyone toward college is not the right solution. If some kids are checking out by middle school, let’s get them trained and making money so they can succeed."
Also reorient K-12 public schools to include more hands on practical arts and less SEL. Local auto-body shops and cabinetmakers and upholstery shops and restaurants should be offering internships to school kids for credit and doing demonstration assemblies in schools.
I had a conversation with a local high school boy who works in a grocery store during the week and spends every 3-day weekend in Omaha learning to be an airplane mechanic. He has no chance to be bored and no time to get in trouble. And he'll be out-earning the prison guards by the time he's 20.
South Dakota Voices Response: Terry, I assume you are suggesting that we need to make prison less desirable so people are less likely to do things that land them there. That is a great topic for discussion.
Email comment from TS: "How about NOT buildingc comfortable"
South Dakota Voices Response: James, thank you for joining us. Are you talking about our local state, or national representation? Or all of our representation?
Email comment from JH: "South Dakota has garbage for representation in the government as they sit back and allow the current regime to run amok."
South Dakota Voices Response: Robin, thank you for joining us. Would you be so kind as to share the data. It would be nice to include it in the discussion.
Email comment from RP: "I disagree with several of your comments especially about foreign works. It is not true."
I don't have a horse in this race, but I'm always open to discussion, however, I'm getting tripped up by the opening part of your piece. You mentioned that, and I'm paraphrasing, prison jobs aren't quality jobs. In the paragraph following that statement you list several professions, such as architecture, engineering, construction, doctors, food service, repair & maintenance, real estate developers, "and the list goes on.". Based on my knowledge, and I'm not saying that I have a lot, most of those examples strike me as being quality jobs. Can you please clarify?
Thank you for asking. I probably could have chosen better language. What I was trying to convey is people are not clamoring for the jobs, so trying to sell people on some type of economic development argument does not appear to be working.
Thank you for clarifying. I assumed that was what you were trying to say, but I've learned that it's not a good idea to assume what a person, or groups, points are.
Thanks to FOIA, I've noticed that SDDOC employees are paid above average wages, and, in many cases, the wages are significantly above average. Personally, I don't think you could pay me enough to be a Corrections Officer, but I'm not sure that I'm part of a majority. If you look at unemployment numbers, which is a tedious process, why is it that those positions are filled so quickly, when compared to other jobs? That information can only conclude two things. One, people are quickly scooping up those jobs because of the wage, or those jobs have a high turnover rate. Can you provide information to solidify your point, because I haven't been able to find anything showing which one of those things are the reason? Again, I could assume that there's a high turnover rate, or that people are lining up for those jobs, but, as I said, I don't like making assumptions.
Thank you for asking such good questions. Based on the latest press, not one person at the last prison meeting spoke in favor of building a new prison. As a result, it seems odd that people are clamoring to have a prison so they can have a job at the prison (the economic development argument). If they were, wouldn't we at least have one person speaking in favor at the prison meetings?
I would like to know the statistics on our prison population. How many of these prisoners were born and raised in South Dakota versus moved here in their say 20s for a low wage job such as a meatpacking plant . All this “economic development“ without the local manpower to fill the jobs, will often bring in folks without the necessary values common in our state.
Those are excellent questions. Issues that appear to be caused by "economic development" when South Dakota is at full employment seems to be a recurring theme.
When you run down the list of people making money, you may need to include the State of South Dakota. I've heard that South Dakota has taken in one of Wisconsin's most interesting convicts, Darrell Brooks, the gentleman who used his care to mow down a whole bunch of people attending a parade. He reported he is housed in Sioux Falls. He's sentenced to something over 700 years, so if he lives that long, maybe he will end up in the new facility. I'm not sure why he is being housed in South Dakota. Maybe he's under some sort of threat in Wisconsin's prison system, or maybe South Dakota is making big bucks off this guy. It kind of makes you wonder how many other out-of-state crooks are housed there.
Thank you for adding that information. If we are taking out of state prisoners could that explains why we have a shortage of space and there is urgency to build?
Upon investigating this further, it isn’t even listed in the SDDOC yearly statistical report. I think to discover how many federal prisoners we are housing, we need to ask the DOC.
Thank you! Does that we have space for an additional 42 men right now? I have heard rumblings that we have prisoners from other states that are not Federal. Do you know if that is true?
I haven't found any evidence of it--but that doesn't mean it is (or isn't) a fact. I would inquire with someone within our government and see if they know.
Treatment needs to be more accessible. Cost is a huge factor. I know as i have been through it a few times. Its required for alcohol related offenses but they dont help you pay for it. Cant afford it, you go to jail. Can? get out of jail card.
I found a very good one for 12 to 16 weeks outpatient for $100/session. I also did a month in-patient that without insurance cost $100,000...I paid $5000.
Drinking and prison don't necessarily go hand in hand. I have two alcoholic sisters. One went in and out of treatment multiple times, and died a few years ago. The other drank for 25 years and stopped after one 28-day hospital detox; she hasn't had a drink for 38 years since, and she still goes to meetings at least twice every week. And church.
Two very different personal outcomes, but neither sister ever got arrested for committing a crime.
Unfortunately the courts don't recognize AA as a treatment alternative until you have submitted to the approved "treatment" programs such as Keystone, Carroll Institute, etc... All which charge.
South Dakota Voices Response: Donald, thank you for joining us and sharing this information with us. It is very helpful.
Email comment from DK: "When I started working in prison in 1978, Warden Herman Solem had counselors do an intake survey of new inmates. 90% had never had anyone spend quality time with them. Many never had a good father figure, either from broken homes or not good fathers. Children need LOTS of love to learn how to be loving. I know the man who got 2 life sentences without possibility of parole. He had a very bad father, but he always put up a good front in public. Epoch Times recently had a long article about how religion has been attacked by socialist agenda. THANKS for your report/analysis."
This story reminded me of Paul Will's story at Angola in Louisiana, and what he has accomplished there ( along with many others) with faith-based voluntary services, true rehabilitation and life changing. I am hopeful the prison reset taskforce can take some of these no cost voluntary ideas that have happened in other prisons and incorporate that into a new way of thinking, as a model program when they have their special session this summer. Love was mentioned as missing ingredient. Yes. One of the things that they do in Angola, for example, is to challenge them to be "set free" by the law of love, in order to be truly human, as a new way of living. Its fascinating and life changing what occurs when this happens. May it be so here in our State. Here's Paul Will's story.
https://www.paulwillministries.org/about
YES
"...tracking everyone toward college is not the right solution. If some kids are checking out by middle school, let’s get them trained and making money so they can succeed."
Also reorient K-12 public schools to include more hands on practical arts and less SEL. Local auto-body shops and cabinetmakers and upholstery shops and restaurants should be offering internships to school kids for credit and doing demonstration assemblies in schools.
I had a conversation with a local high school boy who works in a grocery store during the week and spends every 3-day weekend in Omaha learning to be an airplane mechanic. He has no chance to be bored and no time to get in trouble. And he'll be out-earning the prison guards by the time he's 20.
It is insane to build this prison in an impoverished state. Taxpayers don't want to be flanked with the cost.
I personally believe we need more mental heath facilities, nationwide.
South Dakota Voices Response: Terry, I assume you are suggesting that we need to make prison less desirable so people are less likely to do things that land them there. That is a great topic for discussion.
Email comment from TS: "How about NOT buildingc comfortable"
South Dakota Voices Response: James, thank you for joining us. Are you talking about our local state, or national representation? Or all of our representation?
Email comment from JH: "South Dakota has garbage for representation in the government as they sit back and allow the current regime to run amok."
South Dakota Voices Response: Robin, thank you for joining us. Would you be so kind as to share the data. It would be nice to include it in the discussion.
Email comment from RP: "I disagree with several of your comments especially about foreign works. It is not true."
I don't have a horse in this race, but I'm always open to discussion, however, I'm getting tripped up by the opening part of your piece. You mentioned that, and I'm paraphrasing, prison jobs aren't quality jobs. In the paragraph following that statement you list several professions, such as architecture, engineering, construction, doctors, food service, repair & maintenance, real estate developers, "and the list goes on.". Based on my knowledge, and I'm not saying that I have a lot, most of those examples strike me as being quality jobs. Can you please clarify?
Thank you for asking. I probably could have chosen better language. What I was trying to convey is people are not clamoring for the jobs, so trying to sell people on some type of economic development argument does not appear to be working.
Thank you for clarifying. I assumed that was what you were trying to say, but I've learned that it's not a good idea to assume what a person, or groups, points are.
Thanks to FOIA, I've noticed that SDDOC employees are paid above average wages, and, in many cases, the wages are significantly above average. Personally, I don't think you could pay me enough to be a Corrections Officer, but I'm not sure that I'm part of a majority. If you look at unemployment numbers, which is a tedious process, why is it that those positions are filled so quickly, when compared to other jobs? That information can only conclude two things. One, people are quickly scooping up those jobs because of the wage, or those jobs have a high turnover rate. Can you provide information to solidify your point, because I haven't been able to find anything showing which one of those things are the reason? Again, I could assume that there's a high turnover rate, or that people are lining up for those jobs, but, as I said, I don't like making assumptions.
Thank you for asking such good questions. Based on the latest press, not one person at the last prison meeting spoke in favor of building a new prison. As a result, it seems odd that people are clamoring to have a prison so they can have a job at the prison (the economic development argument). If they were, wouldn't we at least have one person speaking in favor at the prison meetings?
I can't argue with that. You can learn a lot by listening to the people involved. Thank you for mentioning that. It's why I always ask questions.
I would like to know the statistics on our prison population. How many of these prisoners were born and raised in South Dakota versus moved here in their say 20s for a low wage job such as a meatpacking plant . All this “economic development“ without the local manpower to fill the jobs, will often bring in folks without the necessary values common in our state.
Those are excellent questions. Issues that appear to be caused by "economic development" when South Dakota is at full employment seems to be a recurring theme.
When you run down the list of people making money, you may need to include the State of South Dakota. I've heard that South Dakota has taken in one of Wisconsin's most interesting convicts, Darrell Brooks, the gentleman who used his care to mow down a whole bunch of people attending a parade. He reported he is housed in Sioux Falls. He's sentenced to something over 700 years, so if he lives that long, maybe he will end up in the new facility. I'm not sure why he is being housed in South Dakota. Maybe he's under some sort of threat in Wisconsin's prison system, or maybe South Dakota is making big bucks off this guy. It kind of makes you wonder how many other out-of-state crooks are housed there.
Thank you for adding that information. If we are taking out of state prisoners could that explains why we have a shortage of space and there is urgency to build?
Upon investigating this further, it isn’t even listed in the SDDOC yearly statistical report. I think to discover how many federal prisoners we are housing, we need to ask the DOC.
Thank you, Mary. If you can find those details, it would be very helpful for the discussion.
42 federal inmates as of 3/31/25 — all male.
Thank you! Does that we have space for an additional 42 men right now? I have heard rumblings that we have prisoners from other states that are not Federal. Do you know if that is true?
I haven't found any evidence of it--but that doesn't mean it is (or isn't) a fact. I would inquire with someone within our government and see if they know.
Treatment needs to be more accessible. Cost is a huge factor. I know as i have been through it a few times. Its required for alcohol related offenses but they dont help you pay for it. Cant afford it, you go to jail. Can? get out of jail card.
Good point. It appears that treatment would be cheaper for the taxpayer than $33K per year for the person to return to prison.
I found a very good one for 12 to 16 weeks outpatient for $100/session. I also did a month in-patient that without insurance cost $100,000...I paid $5000.
Did they cut you a deal or did you have insurance?
I had insurance both times. The 100 one was cash only and no insurance submitted. The other one was out of state but worked with my insurance.
Thanks for the info.
Friends of Bill don't charge anything.
Drinking and prison don't necessarily go hand in hand. I have two alcoholic sisters. One went in and out of treatment multiple times, and died a few years ago. The other drank for 25 years and stopped after one 28-day hospital detox; she hasn't had a drink for 38 years since, and she still goes to meetings at least twice every week. And church.
Two very different personal outcomes, but neither sister ever got arrested for committing a crime.
Unfortunately the courts don't recognize AA as a treatment alternative until you have submitted to the approved "treatment" programs such as Keystone, Carroll Institute, etc... All which charge.