Former prisoner commuted by Gov. Noem arrested again
Woman among seven released from custody on Christmas Eve by order of governor
A woman released early from prison by Gov. Kristi Noem late last year is set to appear in court this month on a new drug charge.
An initial appearance hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Grant County for Britni Jean Goodhart, 33, who faces a felony charge of ingesting a controlled substance stemming from an April 23 arrest.
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According to court documents obtained by The Dakota Scout, Goodhart was cited for alleged consumption of methamphetamine and didn’t show up to an initial hearing on June 6, leading to Judge Dawn Elshere issuing a warrant for her arrest.
The September hearing was scheduled after Goodhart was processed on the arrest warrant on June 20. It’s unclear if she was arrested or turned herself in.
The Grant County Deputy State’s Attorney was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Goodhart was one of seven former South Dakota Department of Corrections inmates who had their prison sentences commuted by the governor on Christmas Eve. Noem commuted Goodhart’s five year prison sentence for a previous drug arrest. She’d spent less than a year behind bars.
Three of the individuals who had their sentences commuted were in DOC custody for charges related to killing someone. Noem faced heavy criticism from members of the victim’s families for the decision to commute their sentences.
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“Each of these individuals has demonstrated a low risk of recidivism,” Noem said in a press release announcing the commutations in December. “They are being released with precautions in place such as electronic monitoring and parole supervision to help them succeed.”
The governor’s office declined to comment Thursday.
The Dakota Scout was unable to locate contact information for Goodhart. A call to her attorney, Thomas Sannes of Webster, was not immediately returned.
I remember at the time that none of the women whose sentence she commuted had been recommended by the parole board for parole or commutation. But she didn't ask them.
The hits keep coming for Kristi. She has made one unforced error after another.