Right now in South Dakota, there's no justice for Joseph Boever, who was killed last year by state attorney general Jason Ravnsborg.
And that injustice comes without the state's top lawman from ever having to set foot in a courtroom on any of the minor charges for the "accident."
On Thursday, Stephen Groves reported in South Dakota AG Jason Ravnsborg avoids jail time for fatal crash, drawing ire of victim's family:
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg pleaded no contest Thursday to a pair of misdemeanor traffic charges over a crash last year that killed a pedestrian, avoiding jail time despite bitter complaints from the victim’s family that he was being too lightly punished for actions they called “inexcusable.”
Circuit Judge John Brown had little leeway to order jail time. Instead, he fined the state’s top law enforcement official $500 for each count plus court costs of $3,742. Brown also ordered the Republican to “do a significant public service event” in each of the next five years near the date of Joseph Boever’s death – granting a request from the Boever family. But he put that on hold pending a final ruling after Ravnsborg’s attorney objected that it was not allowed by statute.
Ravnsborg said in a statement after the hearing that he plans to remain in office. The plea capped the criminal portion of a case that led Gov. Kristi Noem – a fellow Republican – and law enforcement groups around the state to call for his resignation. But he still faces a likely lawsuit from Boever’s widow and a potential impeachment attempt.
Ravnsborg’s statement accused “partisan opportunists” of exploiting the situation and said they had “manufactured rumors, conspiracy theories and made statements in direct contradiction to the evidence all sides agreed upon.” . . .
Jeepers, those partisan opportunists. Keloland reported Thursday in Gov. Kristi Noem says ‘Ravnsborg has not accepted responsibility’ for Boever’s death:
Gov. Kristi Noem said she was “disappointed” in the entire process regarding South Dakota’s Attorney General.
In a strongly worded news release, the Republican Governor said Jason Ravnsborg has “not accepted responsibility for the death of Joseph Boever and did not even appear in court today to face the charges or the Boever family.”
Noem said she’s disappointed with the prosecutors and outraged about the plea deal Ravnsborg took.
Along with herself, she noted the South Dakota Sheriff’s Association, the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association, and the South Dakota Fraternal Order of Police previously called on him to resign.
“If Ravnsborg does not resign, as I believe he should, the Legislature can and should consider the articles of impeachment already brought in the House,” Noem said in a news release. “I have therefore instructed the state Department of Public Safety to provide Speaker Gosch a complete copy of the investigation file in the coming days to assist the House in its important work.”
On Thursday, Judge John Brown ordered Ravnsborg to pay $1,000 for two misdemeanor counts, more than $3,000 to Hyde County for costs associated with the investigation and ordered Ravnsborg to perform public service on distracted driving education.
Ravnsborg’s charges were announced in February after a months-long investigation into the death of Joe Boever, who was killed after being struck by Ravnsborg’s car while walking on the shoulder of Highway 14 just west of Highmore on the night of Sept. 12, 2020.
After the crash, Noem repeatedly called for Ravnsborg to resign. At one point, Judge Brown ordered the governor to remove two videos of Ravnsborg’s interviews with investigators from the state Department of Public Safety website.
And that's just the hyper-Republican governor. We don't often agree with Noem, but we see her point here.
Keloland reported later Thursday evening in Impeachment a possible next step for Ravnsborg:
Jason Ravnsborg’s future as South Dakota attorney general may be decided by members of the South Dakota legislature.
The South Dakota House passed a bi-partisan resolution during this year’s session to evaluate whether articles of impeachment should be drawn up against Ravnsborg once his case is settled. The political will remains with some lawmakers to proceed with impeachment.
The reading of a resolution for impeachment on the House floor earlier this year marked a historic moment at the South Dakota capitol: the first time such a resolution was ever read before state lawmakers. Lawmakers would later change House Resolution 7001 to delay impeachment considerations against Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg until his case was settled in court. Now that Ravnsborg has entered his plea, one of the original co-sponsors of the resolution wants to revisit the impeachment issue.
“I think definitely, we will look at that as an option so, right now, we can’t do anything because we are not in session,” Rep. Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls said.
But even though lawmakers are not in session, they can meet informally to discuss possible impeachment options.
“You just have to have conversations with people and we’re constantly having meetings as well at different topics across the state so those relationships are still tight, so that’s a conversation that will be had,” Smith said.
But to bring up impeachment this year would require a special session and the legislature already has a crowded schedule with an upcoming special session on redistricting in November. Smith says another option could be to wait until next year’s regular session, which starts in January. Not a long time away, Smith says, for such an important decision by lawmakers. . . .
In the Daily Beast, Justin Rohrlich and Tom Lawrence report in South Dakota Lawman Who Ran Over Man Cuts No-Jail Deal:
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, the state’s top law enforcement officer, pleaded no contest on Thursday to misdemeanor traffic charges stemming from a fatal hit-and-run in September 2020 that killed a 55-year-old man walking along the shoulder of U.S. Highway 14.
Ravnsborg, who was able to avoid both trial and jail time in light of the plea deal, was fined $500 for each of two misdemeanor charges, and a judge ordered that he pay court costs. But a third misdemeanor charge of careless driving was dropped.
In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this week, Beadle County State’s Attorney Michael Moore said, “[T]here won’t be a trial and there will be a plea entered,” citing a court order he said prevented him from sharing further details. The deal will be formalized on Thursday, the day Ravnsborg’s trial was set to start, according to Moore.
An accident report released by investigators last November stated that a distracted Ravnsborg veered onto the strip of asphalt where Joseph Boever was walking on the night of Sept. 12 and hit him. Ravnsborg, who was driving home from a GOP fundraiser, was allegedly going 67 mph at the time, or 2 mph over the speed limit. He was later charged with use of an electronic device while driving, illegal lane change, and careless driving: Misdemeanors which, if convicted, could have landed him in jail for up to 30 days on each count, along with a maximum fine of $500. . . .
The Daily Beast was unable to contact Jenny Boever, Joseph Boever’s widow, on Wednesday. But Nemec said she was told of the incipient plea deal on Tuesday and was not happy about it.
“She thinks it’s a coward’s way out,” Nemec said. “It’s cowardly on the part of Ravnsborg and the prosecutor. She’s disappointed the state’s attorney did not go ahead with [the trial].”
Nemec said Jenny Boever also is disappointed that Ravnsborg never reached out to the family to express any regret or sorrow. She would still accept an apology from Ravnsborg, Nemec said.
“At least it would show he manned up and took responsibility,” he said. “I don’t expect it. I don’t think he has it in him.”
Ravnsborg’s claim he was unaware he had struck a person was met with a great deal of doubt, which only grew when recorded interviews with a pair of North Dakota investigators were released. Boever’s face came through the windshield, one investigator said, and his glasses were found in Ravnsborg’s car.
“That means his face came through your windshield,” a North Dakota Bureau of Investigation agent told Ravnsborg in one interview. “His face is in your windshield. Think about it.”
Ravnsborg—who the interviews revealed may have been reading a far-right conspiracy theory about Joe Biden seconds before the crash—objected when Gov. Kristi Noem ordered the videos released, and they were taken down from a state website days later. Copies remain online.
Ravnsborg has refused to step down despite calls for his resignation by everyone from the victim’s family to his fellow Republicans and incumbent governor. Undeterred, Ravnsborg continues to campaign for a second term.
Ravnsborg’s attorney, Timothy Rensch, did not respond to a request for comment. Ravnsborg himself has declined most interview requests, stating he is innocent of wrongdoing. His spokesman, Mike Deaver, a Salt Lake City public relations specialist, has not responded to calls, emails, or texts seeking comment.
Boever’s widow reportedly plans to file a wrongful death suit against Ravnsborg.
At the Mitchell Republic, Christopher Vondracek reports in South Dakota's AG to pay thousands in fines but avoids jail time for deadly crash:
Jason Ravnsborg, South Dakota's top law enforcement official, will pay thousands in fines but serve no jail time for striking and killing a pedestrian in 2020.
Ravnsborg, the state attorney general, pleaded no contest Thursday morning, Aug. 26, to two, low-level misdemeanors.
In accepting Ravnsborg's plea on crossing a lane and use of a phone last September on the night he struck and killed pedestrian Joe Boever on a highway west of Highmore, South Dakota, 6th Judicial Circuit Judge John Brown said he found the attorney general guilty, putting to rest an 11-month criminal investigation that will almost certainly be followed by a civil lawsuit.
Ravnsborg did not appear in the Stanley County Courthouse Thursday. Instead he was represented by attorney Tim Rensch, who railed against what he called a "homicide case"-like atmosphere in the courtroom. He also called absurd accusations that Ravnsborg knowingly left Boever to die in a ditch on Sept. 12, 2020, or benefited from his position as the attorney general to avoid culpability.
"What happened out there that night could've happened to anybody," said Rensch, with Boever's family looking on. "Anybody who has gone across rumble strips knows that it happens." . . .
The Thursday event opened with dramatic testimony from both Boever's sister, Jane Boever, and his widow, Jenny Boever, who spoke publicly for the first time about their reactions to Joe's death and their difficulties over the last year. Those difficulties were exacerbated by Ravnsborg's refusal to publicly acknowledge the killing, his prolonged legal fight, and his refusal to appear in court, they said.
"His cowardly behavior leaves us frustrated and makes moving on [difficult]," Jane Boever said. "Why after having to wait nearly a year do we not have the chance to face him?"
Jenny Boever, who has hired a Sioux Falls attorney to potentially bring a civil lawsuit against Ravnsborg, was even more condemning of the Republican AG in her rhetoric, documenting her own anxiousness, rage, and overwhelming sadness. In the year since her husband's death, "My life has become incomprehensible," she said.
"This was not an unfortunate accident," Jenny Boever said in an emotional address captured on the live audio feed of Thursday's proceedings. "This was a reckless action on his [Ravnsborg's] part."
Before Brown's sentence, Sovell also acknowledged that she'd spoken with Boever's family and that the "recompense they seek cannot be given in this court today."
So it goes. Finally, in Vanity Fair's article, “I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS A MAN”: THE SURREAL STORY OF HOW A DEADLY CRASH UPENDED SOUTH DAKOTA POLITICS (we're keeping the original all caps), Tom Kludt reports:
. . .On a steamy morning last month, [Victor] Nemec and his older brother Nick, a former Democratic state legislator, did what they have done dozens of times since their cousin was killed. Standing at the scene of the crash, the two area farmers assumed the role of forensic analysts, trying to make sense of what happened. Since September, they have acted as dual family spokesmen, determined to hold Ravnsborg accountable in a state where one party dominates and high-ranking officials seem to operate with impunity. South Dakota routinely ranks among the most corrupt state governments in the country, a distinction earned by a pervasive culture of secrecy. “The main reason Nick and I stepped forward is the state of South Dakota has a huge tendency to let people in positions of authority and power get away with a lot of things,” Victor said.
The THINK sign for Boever is positioned next to a cornfield at the bottom of the ditch, parallel to where his body landed after the collision. Three days after the crash, Nick found a swarm of flies hovering over dried blood where the shoulder of the road meets the grass. “I think that’s where the body eventually ended up,” Nick said. Chewing on a piece of straw, he pointed to green and white paint markings from the investigation, denoting the point of impact and location of skid marks.
In his 911 call, which prosecutors said was made less than a minute after the crash, Ravnsborg identified himself as the attorney general before explaining that he “hit something.”
“You hit something?” the dispatcher asked.
“By Highmore. Highmore. And it was in the middle of the road,” Ravnsborg said, clearly rattled.
More than a minute into the call, the dispatcher offered up a potential culprit.
“Okay, do you think it was a deer or something?” she asked.
“I have no idea,” Ravnsborg replied. “Yeah, it could be.”
For South Dakotans, hitting a deer or other wildlife is an experience as common as it is unmistakable, replete with telltale signs—namely animal fur—that were noticeably absent on Ravnsborg’s car. “Hitting animals in South Dakota, whether it’s a raccoon, a deer, a pheasant, we’ve all seen it,” said Nikki Gronli, the vice chair of the state Democratic Party. “It’s pretty rare that you would not know what you hit, and if you didn’t know what you hit and it came through your windshield like that, you weren’t paying attention.” . . .
There's more in the article, including a scrutiny of ugly claims that Boever was suicidal.
We hit a deer in Minnesota once, at night, which shattered our windshield. Not hard to tell it was a deer.
We'll post again if there are more developments, like a Ravnsborg resignation.
Related posts:
- Remember Joe Boever: AP reports South Dakota AG Ravnsborg objects to cameras at his trial
- Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Army Reserve blocks Ravnsborg promotion due to Boever death
- Boever death: Ravnsborg didn't see face coming through glass, flashlight like beacon in grass
- Ravnsborg's lawyer enters not guilty plea; South Dakota Attorney General not present in court
- Joe Boever was killed, but Ravnsborg's attorney claims client suffering is the worst thing ever
- Justice for Joe Boever: Governor Noem calls for AG Ravnsborg's resignation; articles of impeachment filed in South Dakota House
- Attorney General Ravnsborg charged with 3 misdemeanors in crash that killed Joe Boever
- Twitter memorials: 5 months ago, South Dakota Attorney General Ravnsborg killed Joe Boever
- Daily Beast: Ravnsborg killed a man. Family members fear Joe Boever has been forgotten
- Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Noem supports using grand jury to speed up Ravnsborg killing probe
- States attorneys looking into killing of Joseph Boever by AG Ravnsborg not talking to Noem
- Rapid City Journal: After 4 months, still no decision on whether AG Ravnsborg will be charged for killing Joseph Boever
- AP: Prosecutors waiting on debris testing in SD Attorney General killing of Joseph Boever
- Governor Kristi Noem takes off her positive pants, given pace of Ravnsborg investigation
- Well, that's illuminating: South Dakota Highway Patrol’s accident report on Boever killing
- South Dakota News Watch: Crash experts question Ravnsborg’s car-deer explanation
- SD News Watch: State's criminal & civil traffic laws favor drivers over pedestrians in collisions
- UPDATED: Joe Boever's tragic death on Hwy 14: news digest about Ravnsborg's fatal accident
Photo: Ravnsborg's Taurus, via Rapid City Journal. From the New York Times' transcription:"“We know that his face came through your windshield,” one investigator said. The vehicle also had an imprint from at least part of the man’s body on the hood, an investigator said, adding that “at some point he rolls off and slides into the ditch.”
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
NEW: I'm now on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments