PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — A bill aiming to put more drug criminals in prison passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in Pierre Thursday.
When an inmate is convicted of a class five or class six felony, it’s assumed that person will be sentenced to probation. A judge can justify prison time if they think it’s necessary. Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg wants to change that.
“I’m amazed that the defense bar and the others that spoke against it do not want to help us get drug dealers off the street,” Ravnsborg said. “I think they’re a problem for everyone.”
Doug Abraham, a lobbyist for the South Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, spoke against the bill. He said its passage would do little to discourage drug use in South Dakota.
“What Senate Bill 6 will truly do is attempt to further incarcerate our way out of our drug problem,” Abraham said. “We need to fund treatment to progress and have success in that regard, and Senate Bill 6 doesn’t do that.”
Sen. Craig Kennedy of Yankton expressed concern the bill would overfill South Dakota’s prisons.
“The cost estimate indicates that we’re going to have to either build a new women’s prison or we’re going to have to send women prisoners out of state in order to actually accommodate this proposed change,” Kennedy said. “I think that’s a pretty serious step to take.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota opposes the bill.
“Tough-on-crime policies can’t fix society’s problems,” Libby Skarin, the South Dakota ACLU’s policy director, said in a release. “By placing additional requirements on people with convictions who are not a threat to public safety, Senate Bill 6 prevents low-level offenders from staying in their communities where they can work and care for their families and contributes to South Dakota’s already overcrowded prison population.”
The measure passed 5-2 and now moves to the Senate floor. Read it in full here.
(Perry Miller, KJJQ, contributed to this report.)
