South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. Photo from Facebook

A member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of South Dakota pleaded guilty to an old election-related crime that has her husband wondering whether her arrest was politically motivated.

Janice Howe, 54, has criticized the state for its handling of Indian child welfare cases. She was able to secure the return of her two granddaughters after nearly two years of fighting.

Despite her prominence on the issue -- Howe was featured in a National Public Radio series that drew widespread attention in the state -- authorities waited until last month to arrest her on a criminal complaint that was filed in January 2002, Attorney General Marty Jackley announced. The complaint itself is linked to a petition drive from even further back -- in 1999.

“It is Jackley,” Louis Adrian, Howe's husband, told The Pierre Capital Journal. “He’s the one who wants to get pay back from her.”

Adrian told the paper that Howe was arrested on the reservation on July 13. He said she was denied bond and kept in jail despite her age and health issues.

A judge finally set bond yesterday as Howe pleaded guilty to one charge of perjury and was released from jail. She faces a maximum of two years when she is sentenced on October 6, the Capital Journal reported

Get the Story:
Crow Creek woman gets plea deal on 1999 petition crimes (The Pierre Capital Journal 8/19)
Critic of South Dakota foster care arrested on old charge (AP 8/19)
Harrold Woman Pleads Guilty To Perjury For Election Law Violations (KDLT 8/18)