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(8/29/2006)
Stay of Execution for Murderer Elijah Page Governor Rounds is delaying execution until at least July 2007
BY BOB ELLIS KELO TV is reporting that because of the drugs used for the lethal injection, Elijah Page has a reprieve from the execution he asked for. South Dakota Attorney General and Governor Mike Rounds told KELO that because South Dakota statutes specify that a two-drug combination, and officials were prepared to use a three-drug combination for the lethal injection, the governor is using his constitutional authority to issue a reprieve or delay in the execution. Rounds said he will issue that reprieve until at least July 2007, giving the legislature time to review state statutes and ensure they are similar to what is required for lethal injection in other states. State law requires a quick-acting barbiturate be used in combination with a paralytic agent, but the state was planning to also use potassium chloride in addition to the other drugs. Some argue that potassium chloride should not be used because it is too painful. Others, however, such as death penalty expert Dudley Sharp, say this is not the case. Page was convicted of murdering Chester Allan Poage in 2000 and sentenced to death. Accomplices Darrell Hoadley and Briley Piper were also found guilty, but while Page and Piper waived jury trials and were sentenced to death, Hoadley opted for a jury trial was sentenced to life in prison when the jury could not unanimously agree on the death penalty.
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