South Dakota Criminal Records

South Dakota Criminal Records

In a criminal trial, it is the judges who hand down sentences. However, if you want to clear up
your South Dakota criminal records, judges are not the people you would want to approach. In
South Dakota, the governor is the only one who has the power to clear up a person's criminal
records.

Clearing Up your South Dakota Criminal Records - The Process

The process of clearing up your South Dakota criminal records begins with the Board of Pardons
and Paroles. However, you also have the option of going directly to the governor. You can make
a request or send out a letter to his office to jumpstart the process.

"The pardoning power is all with the executive branch," said Minnehaha County Circuit Judge
Gene Paul Kean. "Once you sentence somebody and pass them on to the executive branch…
the court loses control over that person."

From July through December of 2002, 23 applications for South Dakota criminal records
clearance were made. According to Michael Winder, policy and information specialist for the
South Dakota Department of Corrections, the parole board considered all 23 applications and
recommended granting 12. The number has lessened compared to the number of applications
received by the parole board in 2000. There were 117 applications for South Dakota criminal
records clearance and 64 were recommended for approval by the board.

However, even though the board made recommendations, the governor has the final say and is
not bound by any recommendation made. This was what Winder said in an interview.

An estimate of 60 pardons was made by Gov. Bill Janklow in 2002. All these were done without
involvement from the board of paroles. The exact number is not known because state law
provides that the pardons be sealed.

Shortening Sentence

Aside from South Dakota criminal records pardons, there is another way for a convicted felon to
get out of prison before completion of his sentence. The procedure is known as commutation and
it involves cutting a prison term from its original length. This is done by either freeing a person or
allowing for the possibility of parole.

The same process applies. The applicant may request for commutation through the board of
paroles or go directly to the governor.

Removing Conviction from South Dakota Criminal Records

Under state law, a convicted felon loses the right to possess or own a firearm, to vote, to hold
public office, to serve on a jury and to possess a police scanner, and others. And these, along
with a variety of other reasons, are the purposes why a convicted felon might want to clear a
conviction from his South Dakota criminal records.