# Majority of Noem's board-bypassed releases face new criminal charges  
**Published:** 2026-05-16T16:12:48.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/16/repub/more-than-half-the-inmates-noem-released-early-without-parole-board-review-have-been-re-charged/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/majority-of-noem-s-board-bypassed-releases-face-new-criminal-charges

More than half the inmates former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem released early without customary review by the state's pardon board have since been charged with new crimes, according to an investigation by [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/16/repub/more-than-half-the-inmates-noem-released-early-without-parole-board-review-have-been-re-charged/) and South Dakota Searchlight.

Twelve of the 19 people granted early release from prison by Noem without a customary review by a state board have since been charged with new crimes, with nine of them pleading guilty to one or more of those charges. The 12 people who have been accused of new crimes have largely faced drug charges, with seven of the charges being felonies.

Noem did something no governor had done in roughly two decades since former Gov. Bill Janklow: issue commutations to inmates who lacked an endorsement from the board. Commutations are clemency orders which can release a person from prison or shorten their sentence to make them eligible for parole, and are typically reviewed by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles before a governor considers them.

Governors in South Dakota have the exclusive state constitutional authority to issue commutations and pardons, which scrub an old conviction from a free person's criminal record entirely. Noem issued 348 pardons during her time in office.

Noem's commutations bypassing the board came in batches around Christmas 2022 and 2023, granting immediate freedom to all 19 recipients. In contrast, the eight commutations she issued after the board's recommendation offered shorter sentences and a shot at early release, not immediate freedom. Of those five who have been released, only one has been charged with a new crime.

Gov. Larry Rhoden, who took over for Noem when she left South Dakota for a job in the Trump administration, has not issued any pardons or commutations that weren't first reviewed by the board.

The commutations issue is becoming a flashpoint in South Dakota's 2026 gubernatorial race. U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, one of three candidates running against Rhoden in the June 2 Republican primary for governor, brought up commutations at a campaign event last month. "At the federal level, I've seen pardon abuses from presidents of both parties," Johnson said. "It's convinced me that state pardons should require experts at the table, and I support a constitutional amendment making that the case."

Rhoden said the state constitution "is not broken, and I do not support changing it," while stating "I respect the review and recommendation of the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. They have experience and expertise in this area."

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/16/repub/more-than-half-the-inmates-noem-released-early-without-parole-board-review-have-been-re-charged/)
- [South Dakota Searchlight's investigation into Noem commutations and recidivism](https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/05/15/more-than-half-the-inmates-noem-released-early-without-parole-board-review-have-been-re-charged/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/16/repub/more-than-half-the-inmates-noem-released-early-without-parole-board-review-have-been-re-charged/.