Lance Russell vying for attorney general position
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HURON — As South Dakota’s next attorney general, Lance Russell said he would work to untie the hands of judges so they can send more violent criminals to prison where they can be treated for what is typically their addiction to methamphetamine.
Russell, a former Fall River state’s attorney now serving in the state Senate, said rather than going to the penitentiary those convicted of possession of methamphetamine are often sentenced to a mandatory maximum term of one year in the county jail where they are essentially being warehoused.
As a member of the state House, he opposed Senate Bill 70, the governor’s criminal justice reform bill.
“I have seen where the policy side can tie the hands of the local law enforcement to the degree that they don’t have the ability to do their job,” Russell said at the Beadle County Republican Women luncheon on Monday.
He is one of four candidates seeking the GOP nomination for attorney general in the June primary.
When he opposed SB70 he was in the vast minority, he said.
“I was most concerned about a spike in violent crime and, unfortunately, as I look back I was more correct than I was wrong,” Russell said.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said he agreed with Attorney General Marty Jackley’s request to bring legislation to Pierre to increase prison sentences for drug pushers, something Jackley announced last week.
Legislators open the 2018 session today with Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s final State of the State address.
An Edgemont native, Russell followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both lawyers who went on to be judges.
Photo:
Lance Russell, GOP candidate for attorney general in the June primary, addressed the Beadle County Republican Women luncheon Monday in Huron. Looking on are, Tom Hansen, center, and Rep. Bob Glanzer, R-Huron.
Photo by Roger Larsen/Plainsman