Cells at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. (Courtesy of South Dakota Department of Corrections)
Three inmates died on three consecutive days at the South Dakota State Penitentiary this week, continuing an uptick in deaths within the state’s prison system.
The week began with the Monday death of 57-year-old Keith McLain in the penitentiary’s Jameson Annex. A press release from the Department of Corrections said McLain died by “apparent suicide.” He was found unresponsive in his cell, the release said, and taken to a Sioux Falls hospital, where he died.
Deaths in DOC custody, by fiscal year
2018: 12
2019: 10
2020: 14
2021: 14
2022: 11
2023: 11
2024: 14
2025: 19
2026 (July-Sept): 6
On Tuesday, inmate Kaleb Lukkes, 25, was found unresponsive in his South Dakota State Penitentiary cell.
“This death is being aggressively investigated in collaboration with the Division of Criminal Investigation and the DOC Office of the Inspector General,” Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko said in a statement to South Dakota Searchlight.
Lukkes died on the same day lawmakers and Gov. Larry Rhoden met for a special legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre and approved a plan to build a 1,500-bed, $650 million men’s prison in northeast Sioux Falls.
On Wednesday, 64-year-old Frank Twiggs died “in a comfort care setting” at the Jameson Annex.
A request for a response to the deaths sent to spokespeople for Rhoden was not immediately returned Thursday.
South Dakota tracks inmate deaths by state fiscal years, which run from July 1 through June 30. The three deaths this week bring the number of deaths for fiscal year 2026 to six, consistent with a recent uptick for in-custody deaths.
The department says there were 19 in-custody deaths during the fiscal year that ended June 30. That’s the highest fiscal year tally since at least 2018.
Since the beginning of the 2025 calendar year, 18 men have died in South Dakota prisons, at least four by suicide. Another three men died from drug overdoses.
Attorney General Marty Jackley announced charges in drug distribution cases tied to those deaths earlier this summer, and announced charges last week against a separate set of defendants — including one former correctional officer – for their alleged roles in a drug smuggling ring.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX