FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :     Thursday, August 16, 2012   
CONTACT:    Sara Rabern,  (605) 773-3215

South Dakota Supreme Court Upholds Robert’s Death Sentence

PIERRE, S.D  -    Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that the South Dakota Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the death sentence of Eric Donald Robert. 

“The death sentence is reserved for only the most brutal crimes that are committed,” said Jackley. “The horrific actions of Robert leave no other alternative and justify the sentence of death.”

The South Dakota Supreme Court, “aware of society’s interest in the constitutional imposition of the death penalty” is obligated to review each death sentence imposed in the State of South Dakota. The Court affirmed the lower court’s decision, finding death was warranted and that Robert’s request to die had no impact on its review of the evidence and its determination that the death sentence was warranted. The Court went on to recognize that Robert’s death sentence was comparable to other South Dakota cases where death had been imposed, finding “The disparity in suffering endured by victims is an important and legitimate consideration when evaluating the proportionality of a death sentence.”

It will be the State’s intent to seek the setting of an execution date.

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