Former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Granted Clemency to 19 Inmates Without Parole Board Review; Subsequent Recidivism Reported
前南達科他州州長 Kristi Noem 在未經假釋委員會審查的情況下，赦免 19 名囚犯；隨後據報出現再犯現象
Introduction
A report indicates that Kristi Noem, during her tenure as Governor of South Dakota, authorized the early release of 19 prisoners without the customary evaluation by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. Of these individuals, 12 have subsequently been charged with new offenses.
一份報告指出，Kristi Noem 在擔任南達科他州州長期間，在未經州赦免與假釋委員會按例評估的情況下，授權提前釋放 19 名囚犯。在這些人之中，有 12 人隨後被指控犯下新罪。
Main Body
The commutations were issued in two distinct tranches: seven in December 2022 and an additional twelve in 2023. According to an investigation by The South Dakota Searchlight, three of the 2022 cohort have pleaded guilty to new charges, including drug possession, misdemeanor domestic violence, and driving under the influence. Among the 2023 group, nine have been accused of reoffending, with six charged with drug possession, two with drug distribution, and one with domestic violence—though the latter charge was later dismissed. Noem also issued eight clemency orders that did undergo board review; five of those prisoners were released, and one has been charged with a new crime. The standard clemency process in South Dakota requires an application to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, a two-person screening, a full board recommendation, and subsequent gubernatorial approval. Noem bypassed this procedure for the 19 commutations. Her successor, Governor Larry Rhoden, has issued two commutations and 90 pardons, each with board approval. Representative Dusty Johnson, a Republican primary challenger to Rhoden, has pledged to establish a public safety task force and reform the clemency process, characterizing the current system as permitting repeated harm by violent criminals. Rhoden, conversely, has stated that the system is not broken and does not support alterations. Noem has not responded to requests for comment on her decision-making or the origin of the prisoner names.
這些減刑指令分為兩個批次發出：2022 年 12 月 7 人，2023 年另外 12 人。根據《The South Dakota Searchlight》的調查，2022 年的群體中有 3 人對新指控認罪，包括持有毒品、輕微家庭暴力及酒後駕車。在 2023 年的組別中，有 9 人被指控再犯，其中 6 人被指控持有毒品，2 人指控分銷毒品，1 人指控家庭暴力——儘管後者指控隨後被撤銷。Noem 還發出了 8 項經過委員會審查的赦免令；其中 5 名囚犯獲釋，1 人被指控犯下新罪。南達科他州的標準赦免程序要求向赦免與假釋委員會提交申請，經過兩人篩選、全體委員會建議，最後由州長批准。Noem 在這 19 次減刑中繞過了此程序。她的繼任者州長 Larry Rhoden 發出了 2 次減刑和 90 次赦免，且每一項都經過委員會批准。共和黨初選挑戰 Rhoden 的眾議員 Dusty Johnson 承諾將成立公共安全工作小組並改革赦免程序，將目前的系統描述為允許暴力罪犯反覆造成傷害。相反，Rhoden 表示該系統並未失效，且不支持修改。Noem 並未回應有關其決策過程或囚犯名單來源的評論請求。
Conclusion
The report highlights a divergence in clemency practices between Noem and her successor, with the former’s bypass of standard review correlating with a high rate of subsequent criminal charges among released inmates.
該報告凸顯了 Noem 與其繼任者在赦免做法上的分歧，前者繞過標準審查，而獲釋囚犯隨後被指控犯罪的率較高。
Vocabulary Learning
The Architecture of Forensic Precision
To bridge the chasm between B2 and C2, one must move beyond 'clear' communication toward lexical precision—the ability to select words that carry specific legal, temporal, or administrative weight. This text is a masterclass in administrative nomenclature.
⚡ The 'Precise Substitute' Pivot
C2 mastery is not about complexity, but about the refinement of specificity. Observe how the text avoids generic verbs in favor of specialized terminology:
- "Authorized the early release" Not merely let out, but authorized (implies official power) and early release (a specific legal status).
- "Issued in two distinct tranches" A B2 student says groups or parts. A C2 speaker uses tranches, a term typically reserved for finance or structured distributions, lending the prose an air of clinical objectivity.
- "Bypassed this procedure" Instead of skipped, bypassed suggests a conscious circumvention of an established system.
⚖️ Nominalization as a Tool for Objectivity
Note the heavy use of Nominalization (turning verbs/adjectives into nouns) to distance the author from the subject and maintain a journalistic 'neutral' distance:
"...the former’s bypass of standard review correlating with a high rate of subsequent criminal charges..."
Instead of saying "Noem bypassed the review and then prisoners committed crimes," the writer converts the action into a noun (the bypass). This transforms a sequence of events into a conceptual correlation, which is the hallmark of academic and high-level professional English.
🔍 The Nuance of 'Subsequent' vs. 'Later'
While a B2 learner relies on after or later, the text employs subsequent and subsequently. In a C2 context, subsequent denotes a formal causal or chronological chain. It doesn't just mean 'after'; it implies that the second event follows as a result of, or within the context of, the first.
C2 Pro-Tip: To elevate your writing, identify 'event-based' verbs and attempt to convert them into 'system-based' nouns. Stop describing what people did and start describing the phenomena that occurred.