South Dakota Death Penalty News

[Jeff1857]

PIERRE -- A state Senate committee has approved a measure that would clarify South Dakota laws dealing with the death penalty.

Laurie Feiler, deputy secretary of the state Corrections Department, said the bill establishes new procedures that circuit judges would use to determine whether an execution should be stopped because a death-row inmate is mentally incompetent.

SB53 also clarifies that people who take part in good faith in an execution are generally immune from civil lawsuits or criminal prosecution.

South Dakota held its first execution in six decades last year when Elijah Page was killed by lethal injection for the 2000 murder of Chester Allan Poage, 19, near Spearfish. Page stopped his appeals and asked to be executed.

Current law provides that when a death-row inmate appears to be mentally incompetent, the prison warden must notify the governor, who then appoints a panel of physicians to determine whether the inmate is mentally competent to be executed.

The bill would shift the proceedings to circuit court, where the circuit judge could order psychiatric examinations and hold hearings to determine whether an inmate is competent to be executed. If an inmate was found to be incompetent to stand trial, a periodic review would be done and an execution could be rescheduled once the inmate became mentally competent.

DOC lawyer Max Gors said an inmate is mentally competent to be executed if the inmate knows he is going to be executed and why. A person can be mentally competent when convicted, but become "pretty flaked out" by the time an execution is scheduled after years of appeals, he said.

The bill also clarifies the procedures to be followed if a female death-row inmate is pregnant. The execution is suspended until after the child is born.

[Granny B]

The bill also clarifies the procedures to be followed if a female death-row inmate is pregnant. The execution is suspended until after the child is born.

__________________________________________________________________

Before the death penalty could be administered to her, what with all the appeals and her being in prison for umpteen jillion years awaiting the end of her appeals processes, her uterus and ovaries should shrivel up to the size of prunes and she would be long past her child bearing years.  And if by some chance, she ever got pregnant while in prison, some male guard would be in deep doo doo. 

[Jeff1857]

PIERRE (AP) - Changes in state laws dealing with death-row inmates were approved unanimously Monday by the South Dakota House.

SB53, which awaits a final vote in the state Senate, outlines new procedures a judge must use to decide if someone is mentally incompetent and an execution should be stopped.

Noting that South Dakota had its first execution in six decades last year, Rep. Garry Moore, D-Yankton, said the bill was drafted by the Corrections Department to make sure that all death sentences are properly carried out.

"They want to do this right and with dignity and all the professionalism that they can," Moore said.

The execution of Elijah Page last year went off without a hitch. Page was killed by lethal injection for the 2000 murder of Chester Allan Poage, 19, near Spearfish. Page stopped his appeals and asked to be executed.

Current law provides that when a death-row inmate appears to be mentally incompetent, the prison warden must notify the governor, who then appoints a panel of physicians to determine whether the inmate is mentally competent to be executed.

The bill would shift the proceedings to circuit court, where a judge could order psychiatric examinations and hold hearings to determine if an inmate is competent to be executed. If an inmate is found incompetent, a periodic review would be done and an execution could be rescheduled if the inmate became mentally competent.

"A defendant is mentally competent to be executed if the defendant is aware of the impending execution and the reason for it," the legislation states.

[Jeff1857]

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A statute approved by this year's South Dakota Legislature outlines new procedures judges must use in deciding if someone is mentally incompetent and should not be executed by the state.

When a death-row inmate appears to be mentally incompetent, previous law has required the warden to notify the governor so a panel of doctors can be appointed to determine if the inmate is competent to be executed.

The new law will shift those proceedings to circuit court, where judges can order psychiatric evaluations and hold hearings to
determine if inmates are fit to be executed. If an inmate is found mentally incompetent, periodic reviews will be done to determine if they later are determined competent to be put to death by lethal injection.

Three inmates already on death-row in South Dakota will not be affected by the changes because state laws generally cannot be
applied retroactively. The state's first execution in six decades was done last year when Elijah Page of Athens, Texas, volunteered to be put to death.

Page and two other men killed Chester Allan Poage of Spearfish in 2000 after kidnapping and torturing him.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/22702634.html

[kanga]

Hi Jeff. I see that Elijah Pages pal Briley Piper is going to have a nap on Oct.7th.

The other guy involved Darrel Hoadley got life.

[Rick4404]

Hi Jeff. I see that Elijah Pages pal Briley Piper is going to have a nap on Oct.7th.

The other guy involved Darrel Hoadley got life.

It's not likely that Briley Piper's execution will be carried out this fall. Check out the "pending executions" threads and there is a thread about Briley Piper. The judge in the case issued the death warrant merely to fulfill a technical legal requirement. Piper's attorneys are in the process of certifying their "appealable" claims. Once those have been certified by the state Supreme Court, his lawyers may then pursue those claims.

Piper has numerous habeas appeals left in both the state and federal courts, so I rather doubt he'll be executed anytime soon. He and his lawyers are still fighting to get him resentenced to life without parole.

[heidi salazar]

House Committee to Vote on Bill to Repeal South Dakota Death Penalty

A bill that would repeal the death penalty in South Dakota will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee Wednesday.

HB 1245 would mandate life in prison without parole for people convicted of Class A felonies.

The Association of Christian Churches of South Dakota supports the bill.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/84021777.html

[Rick4404]

House Committee to Vote on Bill to Repeal South Dakota Death Penalty

A bill that would repeal the death penalty in South Dakota will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee Wednesday.

HB 1245 would mandate life in prison without parole for people convicted of Class A felonies.

The Association of Christian Churches of South Dakota supports the bill.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/84021777.html

Just a note that the House State Affairs Committee (the committee who's jurisdiction is matters such as these) kicked this political football over to the House Health and Human Services Committee on a 12-0 vote. I have no idea why they would have done that.

South Dakota's regular legislative sessions are very short, this year they will meet for only 38 legislative days. I doubt the repeal bill will survive all the way through to the governor's office. Although South Dakota has only had one execution in 60-plus years; it is a good law and order state and with the Republican majority in both houses of the Legislature as well as a Republican governor in Mike Rounds, I think the DP is safe in South Dakota indefinitely. Although homicides are rare in South Dakota and the seeking of a death sentence even rarer in many cases; I think the people of South Dakota have the cajones to impose the ultimate punishment in cases where it is warranted.

[heidi salazar]

Bill Would Repeal South Dakota's Death Penalty

Thursday morning, state lawmakers will discuss a bill to eliminate the death penalty in South Dakota. Capital punishment was re-introduced to South Dakota by Governor Bill Janklow in 1979.

In the three decades since Governor Janklow signed that bill to re-introduce the death penalty, just one person has been executed in South Dakota. Elijah Page was executed in 2007. Three inmates at the prison in Sioux Falls are currently on death row.

The basics of House Bill 1245 will be debated in Pierre starting Thursday morning. It calls for repealing the death penalty and replacing it with life in prison. Those who are currently on death row for a class A felony would have their sentence changed to life in prison.

The bill's sponsor, democratic Representative Gerald Lange says he wants to do away with the death penalty.

"To keep somebody on death row most states are finding its very expensive," said Lange.

Meanwhile, state Attorney General Marty Jackley wants to keep capital punishment.

"The death penalty does serve as both a deterrent and as an alternative sentencing option in very limited cases," said Jackley.

South Dakota is the only state in our area that still has the death penalty. Minnesota banned the death penalty in 1911; Iowa's ban started in 1965.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/84687617.html

[heidi salazar]

Bill to Repeal the Death Penalty Fails

Also in Pierre today a move to repeal the death penalty in South Dakota was shot down by a house committee. A house committee voted 8 to 5 to kill the bill that would have repealed the death penalty and changed the sentence for all death row inmates to life in prison without parole.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/84754817.html

[Rick4404]

The committee's vote means the bill is in all likelihood dead for this session.

www.ksfy.com/news/local/84754817.html?video=YHI&t=a

SD lawmakers refused to repeal death penalty

The Associated Press • February 18, 2010

A move to repeal the death penalty in South Dakota has once again been rejected in the state Legislature.

The House Health Committee voted 8-5 to kill a measure that would have repealed the death penalty and changed the sentence for all death-row inmates to life in prison without parole.

The bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Gerald Lange of Madison, says the death penalty is immoral. Lange has sponsored similar bills in past years.

Attorney General Marty Jackley says the death penalty helps deter people from committing murder and protects the public from killers.

South Dakota has two men on death row. Their appeals are pending in federal court.

[JeffB]

JANUARY 28, 2011:


SOUTH DAKOTA:

After Page, 3 others remain on death row in S.D.


After Elijah Page, 3 inmates remain on death row in South Dakota: Donald Moeller, Charles Rhines and Briley Piper.

The average death-row inmate nationally waits about 11 years before he or she is executed. That's because the appeals process can take decades to exhaust.

All death sentence cases in South Dakota are automatically reviewed by the state’s supreme court. After that, the cases' paths become less predictable.

None of South Dakota's death-row inmates have exhausted their possible appeals, and it’s anybody’s guess whose time might run out first, legal experts say.

"I think that's very difficult to predict,” said Roberto Lange, a Sioux Falls lawyer who represents Rhines in federal court.

(source: Argus Leader)

[AnneTheBelgian]

http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/SD-official-says-execution-drug-helps-in-appeals-1333731.php

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

SD official says execution drug helps in appeals

CHET BROKAW, Associated Press

Published 03:06 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, 2011

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota recently bought a scarce lethal injection drug partly to help fight against appeals by the state's two death row inmates, Attorney General Marty Jackley said Tuesday.

The purchase of sodium thiopental at least settles the question of whether the state would have the sedative in the event executions are set for the two men, although other issues remain in the appeals that challenge the constitutionality of the lethal injection process, Jackley said.

"One of the bases for the state to obtain the drug at this time, even though there's no execution date scheduled, is not only the existence of the shortage, but to take that issue out of the litigation," Jackley said.

The attorney general announced last week that South Dakota paid $5,000 for 500 grams of sodium thiopental, enough to carry out the execution of the two death row inmates. He has not said where the drug was obtained.

Sodium thiopental is part of a three-drug injection cocktail used by most of the 34 death penalty states. Sodium thiopental renders the condemned person unconscious, while the other two stop the breathing and heart.

The sole U.S. manufacturer of sodium thiopental stopped making the drug last year, and a pharmaceutical company in India announced last week it was no longer selling the drug to American prison officials.

Both South Dakota death penalty cases have long and complicated histories. The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld both men's convictions and sentences in their direct appeals, but both have pursued secondary appeals.

A federal court appeal by Donald Moeller argues that the state did not follow proper procedures in setting its execution method. Moeller also contends the execution method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, partly because drugs obtained from foreign sources not approved by federal agencies could be flawed and cause pain during the execution.

The other death row inmate, Charles Russell Rhines, also is challenging South Dakota's method of execution. Rhines, 54, convicted of killing 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer during a 1992 burglary of a Rapid City doughnut shop, has appeals tied up in both state and federal court.

Moeller, 58, was sentenced to death for the 1990 rape and killing of 9-year-old Becky O'Connell of Sioux Falls.

A federal judge has rejected Moeller's arguments that mistakes were made in his trial, and that part of his case is now pending in a federal appeals court.

However, the second part of Moeller's appeal remains in federal court in South Dakota, where he has asked a judge to prevent his execution because of constitutional flaws in the state's execution scheme.

Moeller's court-appointed lawyer, Deborah Ann Czuba of the Federal Public Defender's Office in Little Rock, Ark., said Tuesday she cannot comment on pending cases.

But in a proposed amended complaint filed in federal court March 16, Czuba argues South Dakota has not followed required procedures for setting execution rules, has given prison officials too much discretion in setting the execution method, has not obtained federal Food and Drug Administration approval to use sodium thiopental, and has no federal prescription for the drug.

A sedative obtained from a foreign source might be flawed, which would leave Moeller conscious to suffer excruciating pain when the second two drugs are used to stop his breathing and heartbeat, the appeal says.

The state has asked U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol of Sioux Falls to throw out Moeller's challenge to the lethal injection process because state officials argue new safeguards will keep a condemned inmate from feeling any pain when the death-inducing chemicals are delivered.

"The state's position is it's constitutional," Jackley said.

The attorney general the state will make sure the sedative is effective and of high quality.

"We've obtained the drug. We'll keep legal custody of the drug. We'll appropriately test the chemical properties of the drug,'" Jackley said.

The drug also could be provided to others to conduct their own tests, he said.



















Anne

[Rick4404]

This really is not much of a new development. Both Moeller and Rhines have numerous appeals on the federal level to avail themselves of. I highly doubt either of them will get strapped down to the gurney and executed for at least five years.

I haven't seen any updates on Briley Piper lately.  Last I understood was the South Dakota Supreme Court had remanded his case back to the trial court in Deadwood, S.D. for a new penalty phase.  Ten years later.  It seems the judge in the case (who recently recused himself from the case) was too quick to allow Piper and co-defendant Elijah Page (who was executed) to plead guilty and let the judge alone decide the sentencing.  While Piper's guilty verdict stands, he was taken off death row pending the outcome of the new proceedings. 

South Dakota of course is a small state which sees very little violent crime.  As a result, the rare homicide that does happen down there oftentimes doesn't reach the level of a death penalty eligible crime.  Most prosecutors in South Dakota have no experience in prosecuting a possible death penalty case.  Before Page's execution in 2007, South Dakota had not carried out an execution in 60 years prior to that. 

[JeffB]

South Dakota House panel approves measure seeking limit on appeals by death-row inmates

CHET BROKAW  Associated Press
First Posted: February 15, 2012 - 2:01 pm
Last Updated: February 15, 2012 - 4:18 pm


PIERRE, S.D. — A South Dakota House committee endorsed a plan Wednesday aimed at preventing death-row inmates from filing repeated appeals in an effort to delay their executions.

Although the limits would apply to all serious criminal cases, Attorney General Marty Jackley said the limits are especially needed in death penalty cases. Two men convicted and sentenced to death two decades ago have avoided execution because their appeals are still proceeding through the courts, he said.

Murder victims' families should not have to wait 20 years to see a death sentence carried out, Jackley said.

"It doesn't end," Jackley said. "It's time to give a fair resolution, but a timely resolution for victims."

People convicted of crimes in South Dakota can appeal their convictions to the state Supreme Court.

Under the bill, convicts who lose a first direct appeal usually could file only one secondary appeal. State law currently puts no limit on those secondary appeals, called habeus corpus petitions. Those petitions generally argue that a convict's constitutional rights were violated, and they often contend the person's previous lawyers made mistakes.

The bill would limit convicts to one secondary appeal, unless new evidence is discovered or an appeals court recognizes a new constitutional right that would apply to the case. Those secondary appeals also would have to be filed within two years of when the first direct appeal was decided or new evidence was discovered.

"At some point, there needs to be finality. I would suggest this would give it fair and reasonable finality," Jackley said.

The bill would apply to all people convicted of serious crimes, but South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says the limits are particularly needed in cases where murderers have been sentenced to death.
The attorney general said the bill's limits on secondary appeals are the same as those applied in 31 other states and the federal court system. If those limits were in place in South Dakota, an execution could probably take place within five to 10 years after a conviction, he said.

Ed and Peggy Schaeffer, whose son Donnivan was killed during a 1992 burglary of a Rapid City doughnut shop, told lawmakers to adopt the changes. Peggy Schaeffer said the man convicted and sentenced to death for her son's murder, Charles Russell Rhines, is using secondary appeals to manipulate the judicial system and delay his execution.

"It's almost as if Donnivan never existed," she said. "Well, he did. This is why we are here today, waiting for justice."

Jackley also noted that Donald Moeller was sentenced to death for the 1990 rape and killing of 9-year-old Becky O'Connell of Sioux Falls, but Moeller's appeals continue.

"There has been no justice for the death of that 9-year-old girl," Jackley said.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 10-3 to send the bill to the full House.

Rep. Mark Feinstein, D-Sioux Falls, voted against the bill, suggesting that the state's legal costs would be lower if murderers were sentenced to life in prison instead of death.

Supporters said the measure protects the rights of convicts but avoids unnecessary repeated appeals.

"Families should not have to wait, and South Dakotans should not have to wait for decades to see justice," said Rep. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/68746625cdf34aef933a95c41c78d0cd/SD--XGR-Death-Penalty-Appeals/