If we want to improve public safety, we need to increase investment in rehabilitation and reentry, not incarceration. By eliminating the possibility of parole for entire groups of people who are incarcerated, there is no motivation for self-evaluation and genuine desire for change.

Senate Bill 146 prescribes a one-size-fits-all solution to a very complex issue that increases costs to the state’s prison system and lacks a thoughtful approach to real-people’s lives.

Black people make up just 2 percent of the state’s population, but comprise 8 percent of the South Dakota prison population.

The Advocacy Academy is a series of comprehensive virtual trainings and community hours designed to teach people how to make a difference in their community on a state and local level.

The ACLU of South Dakota opposes House Bill 1212, legislation that would lower South Dakota’s already extremely low standards when justifying the use of force.

The enormous amount of money South Dakota spends on incarcerating people for drug-related offenses is disproportionate and causes more harm than good to individuals struggling with addiction, their families and their communities.

Senate Bill 163 would have given the parole board more direction as to who is eligible for release, particularly when it comes to listening to the recommendations of public health experts during a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Dakota's counterproductive drug policies have swept thousands of nonviolent drug offenders into the state’s criminal legal system and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. This settlement is another reminder of why criminal justice reform is needed.

The concept of putting fewer people behind bars may seem like a difficult stance to take in a state as conservative as South Dakota, but tough-on-crime policies can’t fix society’s problems – especially in regards to addiction.