The reflection of Wayne Edmonds Jr. is seen as he prepares to testify before the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles on March 15, 2023, at the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. (Photo by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
SIOUX FALLS — The longest-serving current member of the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Wednesday that he’s resigning.
Ken Albers said during the board’s meeting at the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary that he would not be able to return for the December meeting. He later told South Dakota Searchlight that he’s leaving for personal reasons.
The board can grant early release to state prison inmates. Its nine members also serve as a screening panel for pardons, which clear an old crime or crimes from a person’s public record, and commutations, which reduce the sentence of current inmates. The board can recommend clemency in either of those situations, but under the state constitution only the governor can grant it.
Three of the board’s members are appointed by the governor, three by the attorney general and three by the state Supreme Court. Each of the three appointing offices is required to choose at least one attorney. Members are confirmed by the state Senate.
Albers, a former Lincoln County sheriff and former state lawmaker, was appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and has since been reappointed three times. He’s served a total of 15 years, according to the Department of Corrections.
Gov. Larry Rhoden is empowered to appoint an interim parole board member for Albers, and can nominate an official replacement with a letter to the state Senate.
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