Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A woman from Oglala, South Dakota, has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for voluntary manslaughter. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler delivered the sentence on March 17, 2025.
Alexis Wounded, aged 26, received a sentence of five years and ten months in federal prison. This will be followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, she is required to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and restitution was ordered.
Wounded was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2024 and pleaded guilty on December 11, 2024. Her conviction stems from an incident on April 21, 2024, near Pine Ridge where she stabbed her partner, Roger Big Crow, during a quarrel. Big Crow died from the stab wound inflicted by Wounded who was highly intoxicated at the time. Initially claiming that Big Crow fell onto the knife accidentally, Wounded later admitted to intentionally stabbing him but without planning or intending to kill him.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case under the Major Crimes Act which requires certain violent crimes occurring in Indian country to be tried in federal court rather than state court.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety with Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox handling prosecution duties.
Following sentencing, Wounded was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
