Kristi Noem commutes sentences for two convicted of murder

Gov. Kristi Noem commuted the sentences of two people convicted of murder and issued 45 more pardons since February.

Since taking office in 2019, Noem has commuted the sentences of 27 people and pardoned 341.

Her first commutation of the summer was granted to 70-year-old John Proctor on July 24.

Proctor has served 51 years in prison for killing Meade County rancher Arlon Hamm. Proctor had been carrying on an affair with Hamm’s stepmother, Billie Jean Hamm, with whom he’d plotted to kill Arlon Hamm. Billie Jean Hamm, now deceased, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.

The South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended a commutation for Proctor last fall. The parole board had also recommended a commutation for Proctor in 2021.

Noem denied Proctor’s 2021 clemency request in a letter dated March 15, 2022.

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The recently approved commutation reduces Proctor’s sentence from life in prison to 410 years. With credit for time served and good behavior, Proctor will be eligible for parole next July.

Noem’s most recent commutation went to 45-year-old Renee Eckes on Aug. 21, less than two months after her appearance before the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles. Her commutation was previously reported by The Dakota Scout.

Eckes had been serving a life sentence; her sentence was reduced to 45 years. She will be eligible for parole in September of 2027, the commutation says.

The board unanimously recommended that Noem issue a commutation for Eckes after its July meeting. The board reviews clemency applications, but Noem has the final say on the recommendations.

Noem has also issued commutations for people who didn’t follow the formal process of applying to the board. Most recently, in December, Noem commuted the sentences of 12 women convicted of felony drug ingestion, a charge unique to South Dakota that can land a person in prison for having illicit substances in their system. None of the women made their case before the parole board.

Eckes was 19 years old when she and 17-year-old Jessi Owens killed David Bauman with a hammer during a burglary attempt. The pair entered Bauman’s Watertown home in search of cash, but he came home and caught them in the act, setting up the physical altercation that ended his life. Owens grabbed a hammer and struck Bauman, after which Eckes picked it up and continued to strike him.

Owens’ life sentence was reduced after a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional. She was released in 2018.

Power of mercy: Noem decisions highlight outsized importance of pardons in South Dakota

On the pardons side, Noem issued 45 between July 2 and Aug. 21, signing them in batches on July 2, July 24, July 26 and Aug. 21.

Pardons permanently erase old charges from a person’s criminal record. Because the state constitution grants sole authority for clemency to the governor, pardons represent the only pathway for South Dakotans to clear their record of old charges for which they were convicted or pleaded guilty. Pardons are sealed after five years.

The summer pardons cover a range of crimes, including DUIs, controlled substance possession and burglary, among others, as well as a 39-year-old aggravated assault conviction.

Prior to July, Noem’s most recent batch of pardons were signed on Feb. 23.

On that same date, Noem signed four commutation denial letters, including one for Rex Gard, convicted of grand theft by embezzlement and sentenced to 65 years. Two members of the parole board, which voted 8-1 to recommend a commutation, called the sentence “excessive” during his clemency hearing in the summer of 2023.

As of April, Noem had signed nine denial letters in total, according to records released at the request of South Dakota Searchlight.

Noem’s office did not immediately respond to a request for any new denial letters issued since April. Spokesman Ian Fury also did not respond to questions on Noem’s reversal in the Proctor situation or her swiftness in acting upon the Eckes commutation recommendation.

Here are the latest 45 pardons issued by Noem.

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com. Follow South Dakota Searchlight on Facebook and X.