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Thread: Briley Wayne Piper - South Dakota Death Row

  1. #11
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    Sickening!!! Considering his role in this brutal crime the attorney has choosen the wrong words. Sparing his life, because he´s sorry for his actions would be a hit in my face if I would be a relative or friend of Mr. Poage. Saying sorry is not enough after such a crime.

  2. #12
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    Edited

    Piper sentencing trial gets underway with autopsy photos

    Lawrence County State’s Attorney John Fitzgerald told jurors that he believes the evidence will prove all three elements. And he wasted no time addressing the heinousness of the crime, calling forensic pathologist Dr. Donald Habbe as his first witness.

    Habbe performed the autopsy on Poage, whose nearly naked body was found in a creek in Higgins Gulch in April 2000. Habbe testified that bruising and blood on and inside Poage’s body proved Poage was alive as he was beaten and when he received three stab wounds to the neck and head. Two of those stab wounds may have been fatal.

    Evidence photos projected onto a screen in the courtroom showed bruising and lacerations on Poage’s head. The photos also showed that parts of both ears and most of the skin on the back of Poage’s head were missing.

    Habbe said one of the potentially lethal stab wounds cut Poage’s jugular vein. The other, above his right ear, penetrated his skull and went about one inch into his brain – something Habbe has never seen before.

    “The skull is a bone,” he explained. “To penetrate the skull, that’s a good deal of force.”

    Habbe said Poage could have survived for some time despite his wounds.


    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/pip...#ixzz1SYisqLFt

  3. #13
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    Judge rejects request for mistrial in Piper case after question about inmate privileges

    Legal counsel for admitted killer Briley Piper moved for a mistrial Wednesday after a Lawrence County state’s attorney’s question ventured into an area the judge had previously ruled off limits.

    Lawrence County State’s Attorney John Fitzgerald asked a prison warden if inmates are allowed to watch television and defense attorney Robert Van Norman immediately asked for a recess. After the jury left the room Van Norman said Fitzgerald’s question was a direct violation of 4th Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich’s order not to bring up the privileges inmates receive behind prison walls.

    Fitzgerald responded by saying he had merely asked a general question.

    Eckrich disagreed. “You stepped over the line there,” he said, but added, “I don’t think it’s irretrievable.”

    Penitentiary unit manager Brad Woodward’s response to the question had been brief and proceedings were immediately stopped. However, Eckrich directed Fitzgerald to “not even get close” to the topic when testimony resumed.

    Jurors in the case are charged with determining whether Piper, 30, deserves the death penalty or life in prison for his role in the 2000 murder of 19-year-old Chester Allan Poage.

    When Fitzgerald posed the television question, Woodward testified that since Piper arrived at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls in 2001 he had broken administrative rules 80 times, 22 of those for what are deemed “major infractions,” such as getting a tattoo in prison.

    Woodward said none of the infractions were for insolence to staff or for violent acts. Piper is confined to his cell 23 hours each day, with one hour for showering and recreation in a locked “cage.”

    Woodward said he would describe Piper as more of a leader than a follower, noting that he is intelligent and outgoing. But he acknowledged that Piper had not used those “leadership qualities” to create problems in prison.

    Van Norman pointed out that 15 of Piper’s major infractions occurred during his first two years in prison. However Woodward estimated that 75 percent of inmates become better behaved over time.

    Wednesday’s testimony began with former prison psychiatrist Dr. Ulises Pesce, who met with Piper between 2001 and 2004 to treat him for depression, anxiety and other problems. Pesce told jurors Piper said “he didn’t do anything wrong and shouldn’t be here.” Piper also felt that what the state was doing to him by imposing the death penalty was a terrible crime, according to Pesce.

    In 2004 Pesce diagnosed Piper with anti-social personality disorder, which typically involves a lack of remorse or concern for others. Manipulation, deceitfulness and violence can also be associated with the disorder.

    “Anybody can have an anti-social behavior,” Pesce explained. “This is an enduring pattern of behavior.”

    Pesce acknowledged that he had not seen Piper for seven years. He also said Piper’s history of attention-deficit disorder could affect his ability to make good choices.

    Jurors ended the day by watching a two-hour videotaped interview investigators did with Piper in Alaska in late April 2000, less than a week after Poage’s body was found near Spearfish. In it Piper appears calm and relaxed as he tells investigators how his friend Elijah Page came up with a plan to rob Poage, then “flipped out” and held a gun to Poage’s head, tied him up and forced him to drink hydrochloric acid.

    “I sat back and watched in awe,” Piper said, though he admitted kicking Poage in the face as he lay on the ground “because he reached for me.”

    In the interview, Piper calmly tells how he, Page and Darrell Hoadley took Poage to Higgins Gulch, made him strip down to his T-shirt, and proceeded to beat and kick him. He denies stabbing Poage and says he retreated to Poage’s Blazer when Page began throwing rocks at Poage’s head.

    “I was like, ‘Man I can’t hang with this anymore’ … I could hear Allan screaming his head off,” Piper says, telling how he turned up the music to drown out the sound. “It sounded like rock on rock.”

    Piper also tells how the trio robbed Poage’s house and then drove his Blazer to Missouri, pawning stolen items and using Poage’s ATM card to get money along the way. He says they stayed in Missouri just 12 hours before returning to South Dakota, where Page dropped the others off in Rapid City.

    Throughout the tape Piper maintains that Page was the “ringleader” and that he hadn’t wanted to participate but went along because he was afraid Page might come after him. Piper also says that “if a friend of mine’s getting into a fight, I’ve got his back” – though he never said Poage fought back.

    “Why didn’t you just get the hell out of there that night?” asks investigator Pat Humphrey, to which Piper replies, “I’m homeless.” At the time he was living at Page’s house.

    At one point Piper says Poage “seemed like a cool guy” and that “for a brief second” he thought about helping him. Instead, he kicked him “four or five times” in the head and body with his combat boots.

    When Humphrey tells Piper that Poage died of brain hemorrhaging, Piper replies, “I tried not to kick him too hard in the head.”

    Testimony resumes today.

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/jud...#ixzz1Sk4l2U00

  4. #14
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    Prosecutors contend Piper was the ringleader in murder

    Fourth Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich removed a juror from Briley Piper's sentencing hearing Friday after the older man admitted to not hearing about 50 percent of convicted murderer Darrell Hoadley's testimony Thursday.

    Jurors are deciding whether Piper, 30, lives or dies for his involvement in the March 2000 murder of Chester Allan Poage near Spearfish.

    One of the three alternate jurors listening to the hearing filled the vacancy after Eckrich dismissed the juror Friday afternoon, thanked him for his service and reminded him not to discuss the case with anyone until the verdict is decided.

    "This is one of the reasons we have alternates," Eckrich said Friday. He took the opportunity to remind the remaining 14 jurors to speak up if they cannot hear something and commended them on their attentiveness thus far.

    "That's what you do. That's your job," Eckrich said.

    If any of the 12 jurors decides against the death penalty, Piper will be sentenced to life in prison.

    For Piper to receive the death penalty, prosecutors must prove the murder was exceptionally cruel and inhuman, that Piper benefited financially from Poage's death or that Poage was killed to eliminate him as a witness.

    Piper's attorneys objected to the juror's removal, citing a violation of Piper's fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendment rights.

    Friday's testimony resumed with Hoadley continuing to argue the semantics of his past statements with Lawrence County State's Attorney John Fitzgerald and refusing to name Piper as the ringleader in the murder. Hoadley previously had said that it was Piper's idea to rob Poage.

    "He's the one that brought it up to me; therefore, I said it was his idea," said Hoadley, wearing a blue Meade County Jail prison uniform. "I don't know if it was."

    Hoadley is serving a life sentence for his role in Poage's death; he spent Thursday casting the blame on Elijah Page, who was executed in 2007 for the crime.

    Piper, Page and Hoadley kidnapped Poage and robbed his mother's house in 2000. They killed Poage to cover up their crime. His body was found several weeks later in a stream near Spearfish.

    Piper and Page pleaded guilty to Poage's murder and were sentenced to death by a judge. Hoadley was found guilty by a jury and was sentenced to life in prison.

    The South Dakota Supreme Court set aside Piper's death sentence two years ago, giving him the right to let a jury determine if he deserved the death penalty or life in prison.

    While questioning Hoadley on Friday, Fitzgerald pointed to the acid and beer mixture the three men forced Poage to drink, the dull knife used to stab him and the four hours it took for him to die.

    "He wasn't like fighting back or anything, but he didn't just die," Hoadley said Friday while testifying.

    Defense Attorney Michael Stonefield asked Hoadley if the three of them knew anything about killing someone and whether they purposely meant to torture Poage for four hours. Hoadley answered no to both questions.

    The prosecution spent part of the day calling employees of the South Dakota State Penitentiary to testify that Piper was of above average intelligence, a leader, manipulative and showed no remorse for his crimes. The defense countered that testimony, attempting to establish that Piper was neither threatening nor disrespectful while in prison and that the employees did not try to talk to Piper about his remorse or the victim. The defense also tried to disqualify the state's witnesses by questioning them about speaking with other witnesses while under an order not to communicate with one another.

    In the afternoon, Fitzgerald called Christine Whartman to the stand. The Spearfish woman testified in the initial trials against all three men, saying she saw her son and Poage with Piper, Hoadley and Page the night Poage died. She recounted to the jury what Piper told her during one of their first meetings.

    "He wanted to kill somebody, because he wanted to know what it felt like," Whartman said Friday; she said she had then cautioned her son to stop hanging out with them.

    Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Monday; the defense is expected to call its first witness at 1 p.m.

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/pro...#ixzz1SwMkuM6H

  5. #15
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    Troubled childhood outlined in SD murder case

    At age 3, Briley Piper found a lighter and set his parents' bedroom on fire, but also climbed up to the kitchen sink to wash dishes to spare his 9-year-old sister a spanking.

    In kindergarten, Piper's behavior got him thrown off the school bus. Over the next 15 years, he tangled with school officials and the law until ultimately pleading guilty in 2001 to the murder of Chester Allan Poage. Piper now faces the death penalty.

    As Piper's sentencing hearing moves into its second week, his defense on Monday started exploring the 30-year-old's troubled past in an attempt to spare him the death penalty. A judge had sentenced Piper to death, but the state Supreme Court ruled that a jury, not a judge, should decide whether the Anchorage, Alaska, man should get death or life in prison.

    Two other men also were found guilty of Poage's murder. Darrell Hoadley was sentenced to life in prison by a jury. Elijah Page, who dropped his appeals, was executed after being sentenced to death by the same judge who sentenced Briley Piper.

    Piper's mother, Linda Piper of Anchorage, Alaska, took the stand Monday afternoon, The Rapid City Journal reported. Family photos showing Briley Piper with his three siblings and his parents were passed among the jurors. They saw snapshots of him dressed for a tae kwon do competition, wearing a high school T-shirt and preparing for a Boy Scout outing.

    Under questioning from defense attorney Robert Van Norman, Linda Piper, who suffered a stroke two years ago, recalled her son's formative years.

    "At first I just thought he was active," Linda Piper said, referring to her son's first five years. Briley Piper was active enough for about a dozen kids, she said.

    Although he was born prematurely, Briley Piper walked and talked at 7 months, she said. He grew fast and by the time he started kindergarten he was far bigger than his classmates. By the seventh grade, 5-foot-1-inch Briley Piper weighed 155 pounds.

    Briley Piper's father worked in the oil fields and was absent for two-week stretches, but sometimes spent four to six weeks away from the Pipers' Anchorage home.

    Briley grew so fast it was difficult to find clothes for him, Linda Piper said, adding that children teased him and teachers misinterpreted his behavior because of his size.

    But Lawrence County State's Attorney John Fitzgerald had another description for Briley Piper.

    "Your son has chosen to be a bully," Fitzgerald said when it was his turn to cross-examine Linda Piper.

    When Van Norman asked Linda Piper how she punished her four children, she said she had a belt, a switch and a piece of plastic race track.

    "The Hot Wheels track worked best," Linda Piper said.

    Linda Piper, who has one adopted child, said her natural children had behavior issues and were involved with alcohol and drugs in their early teens.

    Briley, the youngest, was the most loving of the four children, Linder Piper said.

    "He really is the best of any I've got," she said. "He's very loving."

    She testified that she had frequent disagreements with school officials about her son's conduct but continued to seek help for his behavior and poor academic performance.

    "I didn't believe everything they had to say," Linda Piper said.

    When therapists advised taking away privileges and toys as punishment, Linda Piper said it wouldn't work.

    Briley Piper was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in junior high; although he was reading at a 10th grade level, his comprehension was very poor, she said.

    He was 13 when he was arrested for allegedly grabbing a woman on the buttocks on an Anchorage bike path. A few months later, he was arrested for assault after robbing a classmate at knife point.

    Authorities wanted to send him to a group home after the first arrest, but Linda Piper refused.

    "I didn't believe the state would beat him enough to keep him in line," Linda Piper said.

    He ultimately agreed to go to the group home for a short period.

    Linda Piper also admitted refusing counseling for her son because she didn't agree with therapists' recommendations.

    Fitzgerald reminded Linda Piper that when Briley Piper was questioned about pulling a knife on the student he had responded that "the kid deserved it" for referring to Linda Piper in a derogatory way.

    The response was similar to a comment Briley Piper made about the killing of Chester Allan Poage, Fitzgerald said.

    When Fitzgerald accused Linda Piper of enabling her son's conduct, Briley Piper's mother responded: "Maybe I am the reason."

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/sta...#ixzz1TFtRVzjd

  6. #16
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    Jury could hear from Piper today

    Jurors considering the fate of confessed killer Briley Piper could hear from Piper today as his sentencing hearing comes to a close.

    Piper’s defense team of Robert Van Norman and Michael Stonefield rested their case Wednesday afternoon.

    The jury that will decide if Piper deserves the death penalty for his role in the 2000 murder of Chester Allan Poage will hear closing statements Friday morning, Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich said Wednesday.

    Eckrich reserved time Thursday afternoon for a possible statement by Piper to the jury and to give the jury its instructions.

    It would be the first time the jury has heard from Piper during the sentencing hearing.

    Over the past two weeks, jurors have heard testimony about Poage’s torture and murder, including comments from convicted killer Darrell Hoadley, who is serving a life sentence for Poage’s murder.

    Lawrence County State’s Attorney John Fitzgerald has taken every opportunity to note Piper’s lack of remorse for Poage’s death and his conduct over the past 10 years in prison.

    Piper chose to participate with Hoadley and Eljiah Page in Poage’s killing, Fitzgerald stressed.

    Piper was heard by others claiming he wanted to commit murder, Fitzgerald said.

    Fitzgerald has characterized Piper as manipulative and deceptive.

    Piper’s team has attempted to contradict those descriptions of their client by calling behavior experts and family members to the stand.

    At least one witness has described Piper as a “learned man” who is coping with his current situation better than most prison inmates.

    Wednesday’s witnesses included Dr. Hal Wortzel, a forensic neuro-psychiatrist from Denver hired by the defense.

    Wortzel said that Piper’s youth at the time of the crime, habitual substance abuse, his childhood and the group dynamics between Page, Hoadley and Piper should be considered as mitigating factors in determining Piper’s sentence.

    Piper turned 20 the week following Poage’s death.

    Wortzel testified that Piper had said Poage’s murder was wrong and he couldn’t make amends. Wortzel also said Piper described a half-hearted involvement in Poage’s killing.

    In his cross-examination, Fitzgerald quickly pointed out that Piper had a reason to minimize his role in Poage’s death when he spoke with Wortzel.

    Fitzgerald also reminded Wortzel that mental health personnel at the prison had commented in 2004 that “guilt is an emotion he (Piper) does not feel.

    In 2001, a comment in Piper’s file indicated that he has never regretted anything in his life, Fitzgerald said. According to the notes, Piper blamed others for his situation and “takes the victim’s stance,” he said.

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/jur...#ixzz1TPddFcWW

  7. #17
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    Briley Piper will ask jury to spare his life

    Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich told jurors Thursday to go home and pack a bag to prepare for possibly being sequestered while they debate whether Briley Piper should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.

    Piper pleaded guilty to the 2000 murder of Chester Allan Poage in 2001 and was sentenced to death by Judge Warren G. Johnson. The state Supreme Court later overturned Piper's sentence and said a jury should decide his fate.

    For the past two weeks, Piper, now 30, has sat silently just a few feet from Dottie Poage while the prosecution vividly described her 19-year-old son's slow, brutal murder and characterized Piper as a manipulative and anti-social individual deserving of the death penalty.

    Jurors will hear from Piper today and receive their final instructions before hearing closing statements from Lawrence County State's Attorney John Fitzgerald and the defense team of Robert Van Norman and Michael Stonefield.

    Piper's parents, John and Linda Piper of Anchorage, Alaska, have been present to hear experts comment on how they physically punished their children yet refused to take the advice of school and court officials who said their son needed a structured environment to curb his impulsive, anti-social nature.

    Eckrich revised the schedule for the final events of Piper's sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon.

    Piper was expected to address the jury Thursday, but Eckrich moved the convicted man's comments to Friday morning, noting that he preferred to have everything fresh in the jurors' minds when they begin their deliberations.

    Fitzgerald must give the jury enough evidence to conclude that Piper's actions met at least one of three aggravating circumstances:

    Piper participated in Poage's murder to benefit himself or another financially.
    Poage's death was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind or aggravated battery.
    Poage was murdered to prevent Piper's arrest.

    Piper's defense team must demonstrate that there are circumstances about the case or their client's life that should temper or mitigate sentencing him to death.

    If only one juror disagrees with a death penalty sentence, Piper will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/bri...#ixzz1TVQktrvW

  8. #18
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    Jury begins deliberating Alaska man's fate in South Dakota death penalty case

    Jurors deciding whether an Alaska man should live or die for his part in the murder of a 19-year-old South Dakota man have started deliberating.

    The Rapid City Journal reports that the jury started deliberating Briley Piper's fate at 12 p.m. Friday.

    A judge initially sentenced the 30-year-old Piper to death for his admitted role in the March 2000 killing of 19-year-old Chester Poage (pohg) near Spearfish. The South Dakota Supreme Court later ruled that the Anchorage native should have been sentenced by a jury.

    Piper made a brief statement to the jury Friday morning before apologizing to Chester Poage's mother, Dottie, and his parents for his actions.

    If only one juror disagrees with a death penalty sentence, Piper will spend the rest of his life in prison.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...D--Piper-Case/

  9. #19
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    Piper sentenced to death

    RAPID CITY – Convicted murderer Briley Piper received the death sentence Friday for the murder of a Spearfish man over 10 years ago.

    Briley Piper, of Anchorage, Ala., pleaded guilty in 2001 to aiding in the murder of 19-year-old Chester Allen Poage, of Spearfish, with the aid of Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley. The trio kidnapped, robbed, tortured and killed Poage in an icy stream near Spearfish in March of 2000.

    A 12-person jury unanimously called for the death penalty after less than a day of deliberation following the week-long resentencing trial.

    Piper originally received the death penalty from 4th Circuit Court Judge Warren Johnson, but appealed it. The South Dakota Supreme Court overturned the sentence so Piper could be resentenced by a jury.

    On the final day of proceedings before the case was handed to the jury for a verdict, Piper said he was “so sorry” for his involvement in the murder.

    “I’m here because I’m responsible for the death of Allen Poage,” Piper said. “That’s a responsibility I’m going to pay for, for the rest of my life.”

    “When this happened, I was very young,” Piper told the jury. “If there’s anything I could do to change what I did that night, I would.”

    Piper was 20 years old when Poage was murdered. He is now 31.

    Addressing Poage’s mother and loved ones, Piper said, “I know I will never deserve your forgiveness.”

    He also apologized to his own parents, John and Linda Piper, for the “shame” he brought to them. He marveled at the fact that they still loved him after what he did.

    “I am so sorry for what I did,” he said.

    Friday, the jury heard closing arguments from defense attorneys Robert Van Norman and Michael Stonefield.

    Their case throughout the trial was based on Piper’s character. They argued that since Piper was incarcerated, he has taken on education and religion, and accepted responsibility for his crime. They also pointed out that Piper’s childhood was marked by physical discipline and drug use in his family.

    Lawrence County State’s Attorney John Fitzgerald also delivered the state’s closing arguments Friday. The state pushed for the death sentence in the case due to the brutal nature of the murder. Fitzgerald argued that Piper is an expert at manipulating people into getting what he wants, and he has shown little or no remorse for killing Poage throughout his time in prison.

    Piper is the last of the convicted trio to receive sentence. Page pleaded guilty before Johnson, received the death penalty and was executed in July 2007. Hoadley pleaded not guilty, was convicted by a jury and received life in prison.

    The case was overseen by 4th Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich.

    http://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/...cc4c03286.html

  10. #20
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    Judge sets date for Piper execution

    STURGIS -- It only took a few moments Friday for Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich to set an execution date for Briley Piper, who pleaded guilty in 2001 to killing a 19-year-old man along with two others.

    Dressed in an orange South Dakota State Penitentiary jumpsuit and wearing flip-flops, Piper appeared relaxed and even smiled while speaking with his attorney, Robert Van Norman, during the sentencing hearing.

    The judge set the 30-year-old Piper's execution date for the week of March 18, 2012. It is expected, however, that Piper will appeal the sentence, which means it could be years before the execution would happen.

    The first appeal likely will be to the South Dakota Supreme Court.

    Van Norman said he will not handle Piper's appeal, which means Judge Eckrich will appoint an attorney, at Lawrence County's expense, to handle the appeals.

    Piper pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder in 2001 for the torture and murder in 2000 of Chester Allan Poage. The victim's body was found in a creek bed near Spearfish.

    Within three weeks of the violent death, Piper of Anchorage, Alaska, Elijah Page of Texas and Darrell Hoadley of Lead were arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary and grand theft.

    Evidence and testimony from the three men revealed that Poage was beaten, stabbed and pummeled with rocks over the course of several hours.

    Page also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. He chose not to pursue appeals and was executed in 2007.

    Hoadley was sentenced to life in prison by a jury.

    Piper, who was sentenced to death in 2001 by Circuit Judge Warren G. Johnson, appealed the decision. The South Dakota Supreme Court then sent his case back for a re-sentencing that included a two-week sentencing hearing before a jury in Rapid City, which ended July 29.

    Poage's mother, Dottie Poage, was not at Friday's sentencing but did attend the sentencing hearing.

    After hearing the testimony, a jury unanimously agreed that Piper's role in Poage's death met the aggravating circumstances required under South Dakota law to merit the death penalty.

    Piper now joins Donald Moeller and Charles Rhines on South Dakota's death row. Moeller was sentenced to death for the 1990 murder of 9-year-old Becky O'Connell of Sioux Falls. Rhines was sentenced in 1993 for the 1992 murder of a Rapid City man during a doughnut-shop burglary. Both of their cases are now under appeal.

    Piper was returned to the South Dakota State Penitentiary immediately after the sentencing.

    Lawrence County State's Attorney John Fitzgerald said after the sentencing that the case is finally over with for him.

    Fitzgerald praised the jury for recommending the death penalty.

    "I was very impressed with the jury's courage. It has to be difficult," he said.

    Fitzgerald said sentencing someone to the death penalty is an "absolute deterrent" to other murder.

    "It's the price of civilization," Fitzgerald said.

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/jud...#ixzz1UG2SmwAN

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