Kellie Wasko, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Corrections, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for a women’s prison on Oct. 16, 2023, in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
The first meeting of the South Dakota Corrections Commission in nearly a year drew calls for transparency and accountability from commissioners, lawmakers and members of the public.
Under state law, the commission is meant to advise the Department of Corrections (DOC) on matters of justice and public safety. The DOC also needs commission approval to spend any money to adjust the operations of prison industries like the state’s license plate or sign-making shops.
There was much to discuss on Thursday.
Wealth of controversies, outbreaks of violence spark questions on prison oversight
Since the commission’s last meeting in October of 2023, the Department of Corrections has faced a series of controversies, among them a lawsuit in Lincoln County over its proposed site for a new men’s prison, two bouts of unrest at two separate prisons that injured inmates and staff, a suspension of tablet-based communications that contributed to one of those bouts of violence, and concerns from inmates and family members over the price of goods made available through the state’s new commissary vendor.