LEGISLATIVE INCARCERATION FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT

EIGHTY-NINTH SESSION LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 2014

HOUSE BILL NO. 1183

AN ACT TO PROSPECTIVELY REPEAL THE DEATH PENALTY. A legislative incarceration fiscal impact statement has been requested on HB1183 d u e t o t h e r e p e a l o f " d e a t h " a s a p e n a l t y f o r a C l a s s A f e l o n y. Section 1 of the Act removes the penalty of death for prospective Class A felony c o n v i c t i o n s. A s a r e s u l t , p e r s o n s w h o a r e s e n t e n c e d t o d e a t h f o r a C l a s s A conviction will instead be sentenced to life imprisonment. SDCL 2-1-20(2) requires the Legislative Fisc al Impact Statement to include the projected cost of the bill on the state prison system and county jails on an annual basis and the cost over a ten year period. The method used to project costs to the state prison and county jails is based on the averag e length of stay for a person sentenced to de a th and for a person sentenced to life imprisonment. 1) Data received from the De par tment of Corrections (DOC), shows that since 1 9 7 9 , w h e n S o u t h D a k o t a r e i n s t a t e d t h e d e a t h p e n a l t y, t h e r e w e r e s e v e n persons sentenced to death in South Dakota. Because there are only seven i n m a t e s, t h e l e n g t h o f s t a y d a t a v a r i e s b y t h e a c t i o n s o f e a c h i n m a t e , s u c h as: when an inmate waives his right to appeal and submits voluntarily to his execution; when an inmate commits suicide be fore his execution could occur; or when an inmate uses the appeals process in South Dakota and f e d e r a l c o u r t s. a) T he length of stay for the inmate that waived his rights to appeal and submitted to his execution was .93 years a nd the inmate who c o m m i t t e d s u i c i d e b e f o r e h i s e x e c u t i o n w a s 3 . 9 8 y e a r s. ( R o b e r t . 9 3 y r s. , A n d e r s o n 3 . 9 8 y r s. ) b) T he averag e length of stay for the inmates that used their rights to a p p e a l o r a r e c u r r e n t l y u s i n g t h e i r r i g h t s t o a p p e a l i s 1 2 . 7 7 y e a r s. ( M o e l l e r 2 0 . 1 7 y r s. , R h i n e s 2 1 . 4 4 y r s. , P i p e r 1 3 . 4 6 y r s. , Pa g e 6 . 4 y r s. , a n d B e r g e t 2 . 4 y r s. ) c) T he averag e length of stay for the three inmates that are cur rently ser ving death sentences and are appealing their sentence is 12.43 y e a r s. ( R h i n e s 2 1 . 4 4 y r s. , P i p e r 1 3 . 4 6 y r s. , B e r g e t 2 . 4 y r s. ) W i t h o u t c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f a n y v a r i a b l e s, w a i v e r, s u i c i d e , o r u s e o f a n i n m a t e ' s r i g h t t o a p p e a l , a s o f Ju l y 1 , 2 0 1 4 , t h e a v e r a g e l e n g t h o f s t a y f o r t h e s e v e n i n m a t e s o n d e a t h r o w s i n c e 1 9 7 9 i n S o u t h D a k o t a w i l l b e 9 . 8 3 y e a r s.

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H o w e v e r, t h e d e c i s i o n s o f t w o i n m a t e s g r e a t l y s k e w a n y g r o s s s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s f o r t h e a v e r a g e l e n g t h o f s t a y. I f t h e a n a l y s i s d o e s n o t c o n s i d e r t h e w a i v e r o f a p p e a l a n d s u b m i s s i o n t o e xe c u t i o n , a n d a n i n m a t e ' s s u i c i d e , t h e a v e r a g e l e n g t h o f s t a y i n c r e a s e s t o 1 2 . 7 7 y e a r s. N a t i o n a l d a t a f r o m t h e U. S. Ju s t i c e D e p a r t m e n t r e p o r t s t h e a v e r a g e l e n g t h o f s t a y o n d e a t h r o w i s 1 4 . 8 3 y e a r s. DOC data indicates that the averag e length of stay for a person sentenced t o l i f e i m p r i s o n m e n t f o r m u r d e r a n d d i e d i n p r i s o n i s 2 0 . 7 1 y e a r s.

Reg ardless of whether the inmate is sentenced to death, or is sentenced to life imprisonment, the inmate will spend, on averag e, the first 10 years in prison. As a result, we estimate no impact to annual incarceration costs, or incarceration costs over a ten year period. T his Legislative Incarceration Fiscal Impact Statement was drafted to comply with the statutor y requirements of SDCL 2-9-19 and 2-19-20. This statement considers only the estimated fiscal impact on the prisons and jails as a result of HB 1183 and does not validate, or calculate any potential costs or savings associated with the j u d i c i a l o r a p p e a l s p r o c e s s.

Approved:/S/Fred Schoenfeld Date:2/13/2014 Interim Director, Legislative Research Council

2014-638A