Briley Piper is the only death row inmate in South Dakota. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the March, 2000, murder of Chester Poage in rural Lawrence County. His case has been up and down the South
Dakota state court system four times: twice on direct appeal and twice on habeas corpus proceedings. After the most recent decision by the SD Supreme Court in 2019 (affirming his conviction and sentence), Piper
sought relief in the U.S. Supreme Court which was denied in October, 2020. Thereafter, Piper filed a federal habeas corpus action in the U.S. District Court for South Dakota. The case was assigned to the Honorable Roberto A. Lange. Judge Lange denied relief in a lengthy decision handed down in March, 2024. Today, the 8 th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed Judge Lange’s decision. The 8th Circuit decision is 20 pages long, addressing numerous contentions on appeal.

The last time an inmate was executed in South Dakota was on November 4, 2019. Inmate Charles Rhines was executed by lethal injection for the 1992 murder of Donnivan Schaeffer

A copy of today’s 8 th Circuit Decision may be obtained by sending an e-mail request to rogermbaron@gmail.com .