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  "description": "Jack McCall was the state's first execution in 1877. He was convicted of killing Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood. ",
  "path": "/fact-brief-sd-always-lethal-injection-executions/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-07T10:00:07.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.sdnewswatch.org",
  "tags": [
    "this one.",
    "Jackley: Piper execution likely in late 2026",
    "List: Charles Rhines will be South Dakota's 20th execution since 1877",
    "Death Penalty by State",
    "South Dakota News Watch",
    "Gigafact",
    "on the tipline",
    "sdnewswatch.org"
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  "textContent": "## No.\n\nSouth Dakota executed prisoners via hanging and the electric chair until the state carried out its first lethal injection execution in 2007.\n\nFive people have been executed via lethal injection since 2007, when Elijah Page was the first execution in almost 60 years. Page was convicted of the torture and murder of Chester Allan Poage in 2000. Briley Piper remains the only person on death row. He was also involved in the killing of Poage and could face execution later this year.\n\nJack McCall was the state's first execution by hanging in 1877. He was convicted of killing Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood.\n\nIncluding McCall, 14 people were executed by hanging until 1915, when the state banned the death penalty. It was reinstated, and George Sitts was executed by electrocution in 1947.\n\nThe state changed the method of execution to lethal injection in 1984, though it would take more than 30 years for the first one.\n\n_This fact brief responds to conversations such as_  this one.\n\n## Sources\n\nKELO-TV, Jackley: Piper execution likely in late 2026\n\nSioux Falls Argus Leader, List: Charles Rhines will be South Dakota's 20th execution since 1877\n\nDeath Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty by State\n\n* * *\n\nSouth Dakota News Watch partners with Gigafact to publish fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context. Send questions or feedback to _news@sdnewswatch.org_. Submit a question for us to answer on the tipline.\n\n _**South Dakota News Watch** is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at _sdnewswatch.org_.**Contact freelance reporter Michael Klinski:** michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org._",
  "title": "Fact brief: Has SD always used lethal injection for executions?",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-07T10:00:10.393Z"
}