In its detailed report on the switch in political focus from building a new prison to working on rehabilitation to reduce the number of South Dakotans behind bars, South Dakota News Watch reminds us that South Dakota’s prisons are holding 3,694 inmates in facilities meant to hold only 2,775:
The new prison approved last week will have 1,488 beds. That’s 1,062 more beds than the 1881 penitentiary it will replace is supposed to have and enough to fit the 919 over capacity we had in 2024.
South Dakota is already a prison so why bother to codify it?