Former South Dakota DOC warden speaks out against Lincoln County prison plan

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A longtime Chief Warden for the State of South Dakota has asked legislators to reconsider spending nearly a billion dollars on a new men’s prison in Lincoln County.

Douglas Weber retired from his position as chief warden for the South Dakota Department of Corrections in 2013 after working at the State Penitentiary for 32 years. With 16 years in the position, Weber is the second-longest-serving warden in the history of the state pen.

In a letter released on Friday and obtained by Dakota News Now, Weber wrote that he acknowledges there is a need to build new incarceration facilities in the state, but he does not agree with the current $825 million plan to build a new men’s facility in rural Lincoln County to replace the prison in Sioux Falls, which Weber refers to as “The Hill.”

Weber stated that the proposal for the new, 1,512-bed facility has “excessive initial estimated building costs” and the remote location will hinder prison services and create financial and logistical challenges.

Weber said the state should instead focus on Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield.

The facility was originally built as college dormitories, and Weber said Mike Durfee does not provide “adequate or appropriate safety and security features,” which was demonstrated with prison unrest last summer. He claimed the buildings are “extremely vulnerable” to damage from both weather disasters and inmate actions.

Both Mike Durfee and The Hill were originally built in 1881, but Weber said The Hill has maintained continuous upgrades in the main facility and with the addition of the Jameson Annex in 1993. This has allowed the Sioux Falls prison to “maintain its effectiveness as a safe, secure, and modernized linear style prison,” according to Weber.

Weber then suggested the possibility of state-owned land in both Minnehaha and Yankton County where a new facility could be placed that could “address the needs that are currently being debated.”

Weber advises the citizens of South Dakota to request their legislators pause additional funding and construction on the project this year and complete a summer study on other options.

Weber then called on the DOC to release transparent financial breakdowns on the funds requested for the project as well as cost estimations for the project and its ongoing operations, including the cost of connecting the proposed prison to Lennox by 14 miles of sewer pipelines.

Read Weber’s full letter below.

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