The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of South Dakota from 1877 to date. A total of 20 people have been executed in South Dakota since 1877. Prior to 1915, the sole method of execution was via hanging. South Dakota banned the death penalty in 1915, but it was reinstated in 1939. The method of execution was then changed to electrocution. [1]
Capital punishment was reinstated in South Dakota in 1979 following the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Gregg v. Georgia . The method of execution was changed from electrocution to lethal injection in 1984. [1] Since 1979, a total of 5 people have been executed, all by lethal injection. [2]
No. | Name | Race | Age | Sex | Date of execution | Method | Victim(s) | Governor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack McCall | White | 24 | M | March 1, 1877 | Hanging | Wild Bill Hickok | John L. Pennington |
2 | Thomas Egan | White | — | M | July 13, 1882 | Mary Egan | Nehemiah G. Ordway | |
3 | Brave Bear | Native American | — | M | November 15, 1882 | Joseph Johnson | ||
4 | James Leighton Gilmore | White | 24 | M | December 15, 1882 | Bisente Ortez | ||
5 | John Benjamin Lehman | White | — | M | February 19, 1892 | Constable James H. Burns | Arthur C. Mellette | |
6 | Nathaniel R. Thompson | White | 62 | M | October 20, 1893 | Electa Blighton | Charles H. Sheldon | |
7 | Jay Hicks | White | 28 | M | November 15, 1894 | John Meyer | ||
8 | Chief Two Sticks | Native American | — | M | December 28, 1894 | Four victims | ||
9 | Charles Brown | Black | 54 | M | July 14, 1897 | Emma Stone | Andrew E. Lee | |
10 | Ernest Loveswar | Native American | — | M | September 19, 1902 | George Puck and George Ostrander | Charles N. Herreid | |
11 | Allen Walking Shield | Native American | — | M | October 21, 1902 | Ghost-Faced Bear | ||
12 | George Bear | Native American | 41 | M | December 5, 1902 | C. Edward Taylor and John Shaw | ||
13 | Emil Victor | White | 19 | M | November 16, 1909 | Mr. and Mrs. James Christie, Mildred Christie, and Michael Ronayne | Robert S. Vessey | |
14 | Joseph Rickman | Black | — | M | December 3, 1913 | Ellen Fox and Mildred Fox | Frank M. Byrne | |
15 | George Sitts | White | 33 | M | April 8, 1947 | Electrocution | Special state agent Thomas Matthews [lower-alpha 1] | George T. Mickelson |
Post-Gregg executions | ||||||||
16 | Elijah Page | White | 25 | M | July 11, 2007 | Lethal injection | Chester Allan Poage | Mike Rounds |
17 | Eric Donald Robert | White | 50 | M | October 15, 2012 | Correctional Officer Ronald "RJ" Johnson | Dennis Daugaard | |
18 | Donald Eugene Moeller | White | 60 | M | October 30, 2012 | Becky O'Connell | ||
19 | Rodney Scott Berget | White | 56 | M | October 29, 2018 | Correctional Officer Ronald "RJ" Johnson | ||
20 | Charles Russell Rhines | White | 63 | M | November 4, 2019 | Donnivan Schaeffer | Kristi Noem |
The electric chair is a specialized device employed for carrying out capital punishment through the process of electrocution. During its use, the individual sentenced to death is securely strapped to a specifically designed wooden chair and subjected to electrocution via strategically positioned electrodes affixed to the head and leg. This method of execution was conceptualized by Alfred P. Southwick, a dentist based in Buffalo, New York, in 1881. Over the following decade, this execution technique was developed further, aiming to provide a more humane alternative to the conventional form of execution, particularly hanging. The electric chair was first utilized in 1890 and subsequently became known as a symbol of this method of execution.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums. The existence of capital punishment in the United States can be traced to early colonial Virginia. Along with Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, the United States is one of four advanced democracies and the only Western nation that applies the death penalty regularly. It is one of 54 countries worldwide applying it, and was the first to develop lethal injection as a method of execution, which has since been adopted by five other countries. The Philippines has since abolished executions, and Guatemala has done so for civil offenses, leaving the United States as one of four countries to still use this method. It is common practice for the condemned to be administered sedatives prior to execution, regardless of the method used.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Ohio, although all executions have been suspended indefinitely by Governor Mike DeWine until a replacement for lethal injection is chosen by the Ohio General Assembly. The last execution in the state was in July 2018, when Robert J. Van Hook was executed via lethal injection for murder.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Utah.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Nebraska. In 2015, the state legislature voted to repeal the death penalty, overriding governor Pete Ricketts' veto. However, a petition drive secured enough signatures to suspend the repeal until a public vote. In the November 2016 general election, voters rejected the repeal measure, preserving capital punishment in the state. Nebraska currently has 12 inmates on death row.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.
The list of people executed by the U.S. state of Texas, with the exception of 1819–1849, is divided into periods of 10 years.
Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Old Smokey was the nickname of the electric chairs used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. "Old Sparky" is sometimes used to refer to electric chairs in general, and not one of a specific state.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of South Dakota.
Capital punishment was outlawed in New York after the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, declared the practice as currently practiced unconstitutional under the state's constitution in 2004. However certain crimes occurring in the state that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government are subject to the federal death penalty.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia reintroduced the death penalty in 1973 after Furman v. Georgia ruled all states' death penalty statutes unconstitutional. The first execution to take place afterwards occurred in 1983.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Between 1718 and 2021, more than 680 people have been executed in South Carolina. After the nationwide capital punishment ban was overturned in 1976, South Carolina has executed 43 people.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Tennessee.