Bill Janklow still dead

In 1974 ('75?), if a smoky memory serves, then-Attorney General Bill Janklow gave a speech to a standing room only crowd in the Volstorff Ballroom at SDSU.

Remember that time? Not only was the audience smoking, Janklow came to the podium with a cigarette, too.

He was heckled throughout the address hosted by the Vet's Club. Be mindful that this took place in the wake of the Nixon Era, the Custer Court House siege, the Wounded Knee Occupation, and Peter Matthiesen's book exposing Janklow's alleged rape of Jacinta Eagle Deer.

A brash, wild-eyed sophomore (yes, ip) piped up and questioned how the State of South Dakota could persecute marijuana smokers while turning a blind eye to service clubs like the VFW, Knights of Columbus, and American Legion that were running illegal games of chance with impunity. My query received rapturous applause from those in attendance. Mr. Janklow shouted over the din, "mail me their names," and then was booed off the stage.

From South Dakota Magazine:

At a rural intersection near Trent on this day in 2003, U.S. Representative and former four-term Governor Bill Janklow ran his white Cadillac through a stop sign and collided with 55-year-old Minnesotan motorcyclist Randy Scott. The collision was fatal for Scott, who was thrown from his motorcycle and killed instantly. Janklow emerged with a broken hand and bleeding on the brain; but his political career would be devastated. Janklow had been driving at least 70 miles per hour; although he claimed his wreckless [sic] driving was a result of his diabetes, Janklow was convicted of second-degree manslaughter by a Moody County jury. He would serve 100 days in jail. Janklow was stripped of his law license, which was later reinstated, and resigned his seat in Congress after serving just a year. A $25 million wrongful death suit has been filed by the Scott family against Janklow. Today, Janklow works as a lawyer and lobbyist.

Portraits of the still-dead former governor have been been put on display in the GOP-owned Statehouse tucked far away from the media universe.

South Dakota: Land of Infinite Entitlement.