Wikipedia

List of people executed in South Dakota

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] With the exception of Charles Rhines, all of them had waived their appeals.

Post-Gregg

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No. Name Race Age Sex Date of execution County Method Victim(s) Governor
1 Elijah Page White 25 M July 11, 2007 Lawrence Lethal injection Chester Allan Poage Mike Rounds
2 Eric Donald Robert White 50 M October 15, 2012 Minnehaha Correctional Officer Ronald Johnson Dennis Daugaard
3 Donald Eugene Moeller White 60 M October 30, 2012 Lincoln Becky O'Connell
4 Rodney Scott Berget White 56 M October 29, 2018 Minnehaha Correctional Officer Ronald Johnson
5 Charles Russell Rhines White 63 M November 4, 2019 Pennington Donnivan Schaeffer Kristi Noem

Demographics

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Race
White 5 100%
Age
20–29 1 20%
30–39 0 0%
40–49 0 0%
50–59 2 40%
60–69 2 40%
Sex
Male 5 100%
Date of execution
1976–1979 0 0%
1980–1989 0 0%
1990–1999 0 0%
2000–2009 1 20%
2010–2019 4 80%
2020–2029 0 0%
Method
Lethal injection 5 100%
Governor (Party)
Richard F. Kneip (D) 0 0%
Harvey Wollman (D) 0 0%
Bill Janklow (R) 0 0%
George S. Mickelson (R) 0 0%
Walter Dale Miller (R) 0 0%
Mike Rounds (R) 1 20%
Dennis Daugaard (R) 3 60%
Kristi Noem (R) 1 20%
Larry Rhoden (R) 0 0%
Total 5 100%

Pre-Furman

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Name Race Age Sex Date of execution Method County Victim(s) Governor
Jack McCall White 24 M March 1, 1877 Hanging Yankton Wild Bill Hickok, 39, white John L. Pennington
Thomas Egan White 47 M July 13, 1882 Minnehaha Mary Egan, 45, white (wife)[3][a] Nehemiah G. Ordway
Brave Bear Native American — M November 15, 1882 Yankton Joseph Johnson
James Leighton Gilmore White 24 M December 15, 1882 Lawrence Bisente Ortez
John Benjamin Lehman White — M February 19, 1892 Custer Constable James H. Burns Arthur C. Mellette
Nathaniel R. Thompson White 62 M October 20, 1893 Kingsbury Electa Blighton Charles H. Sheldon
Jay Hicks White 28 M November 15, 1894 Meade John Meyer
Chief Two Sticks Native American — M December 28, 1894 Lawrence Four victims
Charles Brown Black 54 M July 14, 1897 Lawrence Emma Stone Andrew E. Lee
Ernest Loveswar Native American — M September 19, 1902 Meade George Puck and George Ostrander Charles N. Herreid
Allen Walking Shield Native American — M October 21, 1902 Minnehaha Ghost-Faced Bear
George Bear Native American 41 M December 5, 1902 Minnehaha C. Edward Taylor and John Shaw
Emil Victor White 20/21 M November 16, 1909 Brown Mr. and Mrs. James Christie, Mildred Christie, and Michael Ronayne Robert S. Vessey
Joseph Rickman Black — M December 3, 1913 Perkins Ellen Fox and Mildred Fox, 48 and 16, white Frank M. Byrne
George Sitts White 33 M April 8, 1947 Electrocution Lawrence Special state agent Thomas Matthews, 48, white[b] George T. Mickelson

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Wrongfully executed. The actual killer of Mary Egan, her daughter Catherine, made a verifiable deathbed confession to the murder in 1927. She admitted that she and her husband had conspired to frame Egan. Egan was posthumously pardoned in 1993.
  2. ↑ Escaped convict from Minnesota, where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of Erik J. Johansson (49, white). Also murdered Butte County Sheriff Dave Malcolm (56, white).

References

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  1. 1 2 "Frequent Asked Questions: Capital Punishment". South Dakota Department of Corrections. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  3. ↑ Swisher, Kaija (March 13, 2015). "A murder confession … 45 years too late – Part 2". Black Hills Pioneer. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
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