{KXLG – Watertown, SD} 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.
- Paul D. Jensen: At the age of fourteen, Jensen was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for the 1996 death of Michael Hare, a taxicab driver in Pierre, South Dakota. Jensen kidnapped, robbed, and murdered Hare for his cab fare, totaling $36.48. According to the South Dakota Supreme Court, “Jensen shot the victim once in the chest, listened to the victim plead for his life on his knees, and then proceeded to shoot the man two more times in the head.” Jensen is also serving a life sentence for kidnapping Hare. State officials believe Jensen’s kidnapping sentence is constitutional under the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision because it was not a mandatory sentence but a maximum sentence imposed based on the severity of Jensen’s crime.
- Jessi Owens: At the age of seventeen, Owens pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 1998 death of David Paul Bauman. Owens and then 19-year-old Renee Eckes went to Bauman’s house to steal $9,000. Bauman discovered Owens and Eckes, and a struggle ensued. According to the South Dakota Supreme Court, “Owens used a hammer that Eckes threw to her to hit Bauman in the head several times.” Bauman was found dead the next day.
- Daniel N. Charles: At the age of fourteen, Charles was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for the 1999 death of his stepfather, Duane Ingalls. With a high-powered rifle, Charles lay in wait behind his upstairs bedroom window, watching his stepfather. When Ingalls returned home, Charles shot him in the head. The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld Charles’ conviction, relying on testimony from the trial showing “Charles indicated he purposely killed Ingalls” and that “Charles had contemplated other ways to kill Ingalls.” The Court noted that the jury also heard testimony that Charles dragged Ingalls’ body into the garage, shut the door, cleaned the blood off the sidewalk, and cleaned the clothing he had worn. (“Mandatory Life Sentences for Juveniles Committing Murder in South …”)
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