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]
| Name | Race | Age | Sex | Date of execution | County | Method | Victim(s) | Governor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 25 | M | July 11, 2007 | Lawrence | Lethal injection | Chester Allan Poage | Mike Rounds | |
| 2 | White | 50 | M | October 15, 2012 | Minnehaha | Correctional Officer Ronald Johnson | Dennis Daugaard | ||
| 3 | White | 60 | M | October 30, 2012 | Lincoln | Becky O'Connell | |||
| 4 | White | 56 | M | October 29, 2018 | Minnehaha | Correctional Officer Ronald Johnson | |||
| 5 | White | 63 | M | November 4, 2019 | Pennington | Donnivan Schaeffer | Kristi Noem |
| 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) | |||
| 0 | 0% | ||
| 0 | 0% | ||
| 0 | 0% | ||
| 0 | 0% | ||
| Walter Dale Miller (R) | 0 | 0% | |
| Mike Rounds (R) | 1 | 20% | |
| 3 | 60% | ||
| 1 | 20% | ||
| Total | 5 | 100% | |
| Name | Race | Age | Sex | Date of execution | Method | Victim(s) | Governor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 24 | M | March 1, 1877 | Hanging | Wild Bill Hickok | John L. Pennington | ||
| 2 | White | — | M | July 13, 1882 | Mary Egan | Nehemiah G. Ordway | |||
| 3 | Native American | — | M | November 15, 1882 | Joseph Johnson | ||||
| 4 | White | 24 | M | December 15, 1882 | Bisente Ortez | ||||
| 5 | White | — | M | February 19, 1892 | Constable James H. Burns | Arthur C. Mellette | |||
| 6 | White | 62 | M | October 20, 1893 | Electa Blighton | Charles H. Sheldon | |||
| 7 | White | 28 | M | November 15, 1894 | John Meyer | ||||
| 8 | Native American | — | M | December 28, 1894 | Four victims | ||||
| 9 | Black | 54 | M | July 14, 1897 | Emma Stone | Andrew E. Lee | |||
| 10 | Native American | — | M | September 19, 1902 | George Puck and George Ostrander | Charles N. Herreid | |||
| 11 | Native American | — | M | October 21, 1902 | Ghost-Faced Bear | ||||
| 12 | Native American | 41 | M | December 5, 1902 | C. Edward Taylor and John Shaw | ||||
| 13 | White | 19 | M | November 16, 1909 | Mr. and Mrs. James Christie, Mildred Christie, and Michael Ronayne | Robert S. Vessey | |||
| 14 | Black | — | M | December 3, 1913 | Ellen Fox and Mildred Fox | Frank M. Byrne | |||
| 15 | White | 33 | M | April 8, 1947 | Electrocution | Special state agent Thomas Matthews | George T. Mickelson |