South Dakota Supreme Court affirms 40-year imprisonment for 14-year-old who committed second-degree murder

Caleb Barber, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
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Oct. 5—PIERRE, S.D. — A 14-year-old who was convicted as an adult in a second-degree murder charge appealed his case to the South Dakota Supreme Court, saying his four-decades long imprisonment was disproportionate to his, and other similar crimes.

The court, ultimately, found the sentence sufficient.

Ronald Black Cloud was with 16-year-old Ross Johnson in Rapid City when the two got into an 2018 altercation with their friend's mother, Shayla Colbert Graham, and her husband Nathan Graham.

Black Cloud testified that Johnson, after fighting with the husband, handed him a pistol and told him to shoot him. Black Cloud fired, shooting Graham in the head once. The gunshot wound was ultimately fatal. Black Cloud pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the initial circuit court trial in Pennington County.

The defense appealed the lower court's decision, claiming the prosecutor's discussion of the sentencing for the other involved person, Johnson, unfairly swayed the jury which was to decide Black Cloud's trial.

Black Cloud also tried to appeal the circuit court's sentencing decision on the grounds that the court misused its discretion in determining the length of the sentence.

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's decision, agreeing the sentence of 40 years imprisonment, eligible for parole at age 34, was not grossly disproportionate to other sentences imposed on juveniles convicted of second-degree murder.

The high court stated that this sentence was proportionate to the crime, and that "this will allow him a realistic opportunity to live life outside of confinement while he is still a young man."

The maximum sentence for second-degree murder in South Dakota is life in prison.

The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower court's decision to refuse to consider a mistrial due to the prosecutor's discussion of Johnson's sentence.

The South Dakota Supreme Court

submitted its decision on this case on Thursday

.