A South Dakota House committee on Wednesday killed legislation that would have eliminated the death penalty in the state, voting 10-to-1 to send the bill to the “41st day” — the Legislature’s term for defeating a measure.

House Bill 1268, introduced by Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, would have repealed capital punishment by removing the death penalty as an authorized sentence for Class A felonies — the state’s most serious crimes. The bill’s defeat keeps the death penalty on the books in South Dakota, where one inmate currently sits on death row.

REISCH: WHY HE BROUGHT THE BILL

Reisch is a former Miner County sheriff and former South Dakota Secretary of Corrections. He told the committee he was present in the execution chamber on July 11, 2007, when the state carried out its first execution by lethal injection — and that he personally read the judge’s order as the inmate was strapped down.

“Research overwhelmingly indicates that the death penalty does not deter crime more effectively than long-term imprisonment,” Reisch told the committee. “Studies consistently show no significant evidence that capital punishment reduces homicide rates, as many states without the death penalty have lower murder rates than those that retain it.”

Reisch explained that Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, prompted his bill by questioning the compatibility of opposing abortion and supporting the death penalty.

SUPPORTERS: COST AND MORAL ARGUMENTS

The bill drew several proponents. According to Denny Davis of South Dakotans Opposed to the Death Penalty, death penalty cases cost roughly 10 times more than other first-degree murder convictions, based on county auditor data.

Mary Ihli, a retired ER nurse from Sioux Falls, recounted the trauma of serving on a capital punishment trial jury 40 years ago. She said the experience left a lasting mark on her.

“The death penalty is not just a law, it’s a moral judgment,” Ihli said. “I can honestly say now that no one, not the court, not the state, not the government, should expect a juror doing their civic duty to end a life.”

Also testifying in support were Michael Pauley, director of the South Dakota Catholic Conference; Cash Anderson, a lobbyist for the South Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; and Sister Lynn Marie Welbig, a Presentation Sister from Sioux Falls.

OPPONENTS: DETERRENCE AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Attorney General Marty Jackley said capital punishment protects innocent life and deters crime, especially for defendants already serving life sentences. Jackley cited two cases in which he said the death penalty deterred further killings behind bars.

Jackley said capital punishment should be reserved for “the worst of the worst” and argued it protects innocent life, serves as a deterrent and is applied properly in South Dakota.

Jackley also noted a pending case involving the alleged killing of Moody Chief Deputy Ken Prorok, set for jury trial in September, saying passage of the bill would affect those ongoing proceedings.

Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman testified against the bill, citing Donald Moeller’s 1990 kidnapping, rape, and murder of nine-year-old Becky O’Connell. Authorities later executed Moeller. Wollman attended Moeller’s execution and said protecting vulnerable community members is the measure of a healthy society.

Lynette Johnson of Sioux Falls, widow of Senior Correctional Officer Ronald “R.J.” Johnson, who inmates killed at the South Dakota State Penitentiary on April 12, 2011, testified against the bill. She showed the committee photos of her husband and said the death penalty had deterrent value.

“Without the death penalty, Robert would have killed again,” Johnson said. “Please, protect the people that were behind the walls from evil.”

Also testifying against the bill were Jenna Severin of the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association and Troy Wellman, sheriff of Moody County, who said eliminating the death penalty would limit both prosecution and defense options in plea negotiations.

VOTE, HISTORY AND WHAT’S NEXT

The motion to send the bill to the 41st day was made by Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Spearfish, and seconded by Rep. Tim Walburg, R-Madison.

Reisch told the committee South Dakota has used capital punishment since 1877, executing 20 people in its history — 14 by hanging, one by electrocution and five by lethal injection. He said the state banned the death penalty in 1915, reinstated it in 1939, saw it struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 and reinstituted it in 1979.

If the bill had passed, it would not have affected the sentence of the one inmate currently on death row.

NEXT STEP: Bill is dead for the 2026 session.