WATERTOWN, S.D.(Press Release)- Governor Kristi Noem has approved the commutation of Renee Eckes’ life sentence. Eckes, now 43, was involved in the murder of David Bauman over 25 years ago. She appeared before the South Dakota Pardons and Paroles Board in July and is set to be released from the South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre in late 2026 or 2027. (“Gov. Kristi Noem signs off on Watertown murderer’s commutation request”)

During the board’s monthly meeting in Sioux Falls, Eckes expressed remorse and emphasized that she is no longer the young woman who participated in the failed home robbery that led to Bauman’s death in 1998.

The original press release from July 5, 2012, provides detailed information about the sentencing of juveniles committing murder in South Dakota. Attorney General Marty J. Jackley, with the assistance of South Dakota Department of Corrections officials, identified three inmates serving mandatory life sentences for murders committed when they were under the age of 18. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama held that mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juvenile homicide offenders is unconstitutional. The Court concluded that severe punishment for murder, including life without the possibility of parole, may still be imposed on juvenile offenders, but only if circumstances such as the youth of the offender are considered when determining the appropriate sentence.

South Dakota followed the majority rule of twenty-eight states and the Federal Government, which allowed mandatory life-without-parole terms for juveniles convicted of murder. Chief Justice Roberts’ dissenting opinion noted that this decision could affect 2,500 state and federal prisoners serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for murders committed before the age of eighteen.

The three South Dakota inmates serving mandatory life sentences for murders committed when they were under eighteen are Paul D. Jensen, Daniel N. Charles, and Jessi Owens.