Pierre, South Dakota Pierre, South Dakota Pierre (; Lakota: "čhúŋkaške", "fort") is the state capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second-least populous state capital in the United States after Montpelier, Vermont, and the eighth-most populous city in South Dakota. Founded in 1880 on the east bank of the Missouri River opposite Fort Pierre, Pierre has been the state capital since South Dakota gained statehood on November 2, 1889. It was challenged by Huron for the capital and won because of its location in
Capital punishment in North Dakota person on federal death row for a crime committed in North Dakota. Because Rodriguez took Sjodin's corpse across state lines, he was eligible for federal prosecution, and therefore for the death penalty. U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson arranged that Rodriguez would be executed according to South Dakota rules. Rodriguez was the first person in North Dakota to receive a death sentence in over a century. Capital punishment in North Dakota Capital punishment was abolished in the U.S. state of North Dakota in 1973. Historically, a total of eight people have been executed in North Dakota, including one execution prior to