In what the Attorney General calls the end of a three-decade legal saga, courts have upheld the extradition of John Graham. Graham was convicted of the 1975 murder of Annie Mae Aquash.
Annie Mae Aquash was an American Indian Movement activist whose long-unsolved kidnapping, rape and murder shocked South Dakota and the nation in the mid-1970’s.
Her body was discovered in a rural area near Wanblee with a gunshot wound which traveled up from the hairline through the head.
State Attorney General Marty Jackley describes the crime as an execution and said he’s confident in the result of the trial. As a former United States attorney for South Dakota, Jackley has long been involved in the case.
“Ultimately, Graham took issue with the Canadian extradition and today (Monday), the Canadian Ministry of Justice has affirmed and reconsented to the extradition,." Jackley said. "John Graham will remain convicted of the execution of Annie Mae Aquash and will continue to serve his life imprisonment without the possibility of parole”.
Graham, a Canadian national, was arrested for the murder in 2003. He is now 70 years old.
Jackley said he believes the Aquash family has received justice.
“Her two daughters have gone through the tremendous loss of their mother, through lengthy federal proceedings in federal, state, and now Canadian court," Jackley said. "I’m happy for them, I feel justice has been served.”
Jackley said he believes this bookends the legal saga.
"I feel realistically this is the end of the road," Jackley said. "This is the Canadian Ministry of Justice. This is the appellate stage. So, absent a governor’s pardon, I feel John Graham is where he needs to be.”
Prior appeals from Graham’s team have gone to the state Supreme Court, federal courts, and now through the Canadian extradition process.