USA - South Dakota. A jury unanimously sentenced to death Briley Piper, 31, white

A Lawrence County jury unanimously sentenced to death Briley Piper, 31, white, for the March 13, 2000 murder of Chester Poage, 19. Piper had pleaded guilty in 2001 but successfully appealed his original death sentence. The State Supreme Court overturned his sentence (see July 30, 2009) ruling that a jury, not a judge, should have decided his fate. Piper and Elijah Page, both had pleaded guilty to the slaying in 2001 and were sentenced to death by a judge. Their lawyers later said they believed Piper and Page had a better chance of avoiding the death penalty if the judge sentenced them because a jury would be swayed by the brutal nature of the crime. Page voluntarily ended his appeals and was put to death on July 11, 2007 (see). It was South Dakota's first execution in 60 years.