An inmate at the South Dakota State Penitentiary is charged with murdering his cell mate. Staff discovered Kent Davidson dead in his cell after midnight on September 8, 2014. The 37-year-old was serving life in prison for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend. Davidson’s death certificate shows he died from asphyxia and ligature strangulation.
A grand jury Thursday approved an indictment. Douglas Ipsen, 28, faces alternative counts of first degree murder, second degree murder and first degree manslaughter in the death of fellow prison inmate Kent Davidson.
Earlier this week, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said potential charges ranged from assisted suicide to murder. Jackley says evidence in the case prompts the more serious indictment.
"When it comes to a suicide, suicide deals with when somebody does the act to themselves. When somebody else is the actual perpetrator, whether it be firing the gun or using the ligature, then that does not qualify as a suicide," Jackley says. "So, as a legal determination, a decision was made that this case fits more squarely with first-degree/second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter."
Jackley says South Dakota statute and the State Supreme Court are the legal backbone of that decision.
The Attorney General says inmate Douglas Ipsen is already serving 75 years in prison for rape and sexual contact with a young child.
"The penitentiary is a very dangerous place, and it’s a concentration of individuals that have been found responsible for very serious acts. Given that, though, this is still an area that there’s a rule of law that must be followed, and it’s going to be followed," Jackley says.
Jackley says Ipsen will have an initial arraignment, but that isn’t yet scheduled.