Post by Anja on Aug 14, 2006 4:06:02 GMT -5
Page to attend hearing
Convicted murderer and death-row prison inmate Elijah Page - who says he
wants to be put to death - is scheduled to make an appearance at a court
hearing Monday in Deadwood.
Page, 24, Athens, Texas, is facing the death penalty for the March 2000
murder of Chester Alan Poage, 19, in Higgins Gulch near Spearfish.
At the 2 p.m. Monday hearing, 4th Circuit Judge Warren Johnson is
scheduled to consider the status of a psychological evaluation of Page
that was done earlier this year. If the evaluation shows that Page is
competent to make his own decisions, Johnson will consider prosecutors'
motions to allow Page to end his appeals and proceed without an attorney.
Johnson ordered the review in May to determine if Page is capable of
deciding his own fate. Page has told the court he wants to end all of his
appeals, dismiss his attorneys and go through with his death sentence.
According to court documents, Lawrence County sheriff's officers will
transport Page from the penitentiary in Sioux Falls to Lawrence County
Jail in Deadwood.
Johnson set an execution date in Sioux Falls for the week of Aug. 28.
Page's attorneys have submitted bills to Lawrence County for their work in
2006. Page's attorney, Mike Butler, has billed the county for $4,419.95 in
services, and co-counsel John Murphy has submitted a bill of $749.60,
according to court documents on file in Deadwood.
Page and Briley Piper are on death row at the penitentiary. Both pleaded
guilty to first- degree murder for torturing and beating Poage to death,
after first planning to rob him. Johnson sentenced both men to death.
A jury convicted a 3rd defendant, Darryl Hoadley, of murder, and he was
sentenced to life in prison.
Earlier this year, the South Dakota Supreme Court upheld Johnson's
sentences for Page and Piper. Page followed that decision with a
handwritten letter to the court, asking to be executed.
An execution time frame of October has been set for Piper, but he is
appealing, based on information in Page's letter that indicates that
Hoadley was the ringleader and that Piper was not directly involved.
(source: The Rapid City Journal)
Convicted murderer and death-row prison inmate Elijah Page - who says he
wants to be put to death - is scheduled to make an appearance at a court
hearing Monday in Deadwood.
Page, 24, Athens, Texas, is facing the death penalty for the March 2000
murder of Chester Alan Poage, 19, in Higgins Gulch near Spearfish.
At the 2 p.m. Monday hearing, 4th Circuit Judge Warren Johnson is
scheduled to consider the status of a psychological evaluation of Page
that was done earlier this year. If the evaluation shows that Page is
competent to make his own decisions, Johnson will consider prosecutors'
motions to allow Page to end his appeals and proceed without an attorney.
Johnson ordered the review in May to determine if Page is capable of
deciding his own fate. Page has told the court he wants to end all of his
appeals, dismiss his attorneys and go through with his death sentence.
According to court documents, Lawrence County sheriff's officers will
transport Page from the penitentiary in Sioux Falls to Lawrence County
Jail in Deadwood.
Johnson set an execution date in Sioux Falls for the week of Aug. 28.
Page's attorneys have submitted bills to Lawrence County for their work in
2006. Page's attorney, Mike Butler, has billed the county for $4,419.95 in
services, and co-counsel John Murphy has submitted a bill of $749.60,
according to court documents on file in Deadwood.
Page and Briley Piper are on death row at the penitentiary. Both pleaded
guilty to first- degree murder for torturing and beating Poage to death,
after first planning to rob him. Johnson sentenced both men to death.
A jury convicted a 3rd defendant, Darryl Hoadley, of murder, and he was
sentenced to life in prison.
Earlier this year, the South Dakota Supreme Court upheld Johnson's
sentences for Page and Piper. Page followed that decision with a
handwritten letter to the court, asking to be executed.
An execution time frame of October has been set for Piper, but he is
appealing, based on information in Page's letter that indicates that
Hoadley was the ringleader and that Piper was not directly involved.
(source: The Rapid City Journal)