South Dakota | Latest appeal from state's lone death row inmate denied

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has rejected the latest appeal from Briley Piper, the only person on death row in South Dakota.

In March 2000, Briley Piper, along with co-defendants Elijah Page and Darrell Hoadley, conspired to burglarize the Lawrence County home of 19-year-old Chester Poage before abducting and murdering him by beating, stabbing, and stoning in a remote area.

Piper was subsequently arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, while his accomplices received either a death sentence—carried out against Page in 2007—or a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.

Following his conviction, Piper exhausted multiple rounds of direct and collateral appeals in the South Dakota state court system, eventually transitioning to federal habeas corpus proceedings.

In March 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota denied his petition, a ruling that was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on May 4, 2026, maintaining Piper's status as the state’s sole inmate on death row.

“Briley Piper has never accepted responsibility for his actions and has consistently tried to shift blame onto others for his sentence. The 8th Circuit’s rejection of his appeal marks an important step toward final justice for Chester Poage and his family,” South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a news release.

A state court originally imposed the death sentence, which was later vacated by the South Dakota Supreme Court.

After a jury resentencing, the death sentence was reimposed and upheld on appeal.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the court reviewed six issues on appeal, including: the constitutionality of federal habeas corpus review standards under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA); the application of South Dakota’s res judicata doctrine to Piper’s challenge to his guilty pleas: whether an evidentiary hearing was required regarding mitigating mental‑health evidence; whether trial counsel adequately investigated and presented impeachment evidence regarding witness testimony; issues related to testimony about alleged prison‑rule violations; and, a claim of cumulative prejudice. The 8th Circuit rejected each of Piper’s claims.

Last year, Piper asked a federal judge to overturn his sentence through a writ of habeas corpus, which was rejected.

South Dakota has a very small death row, and Piper’s case continues to draw attention as the state’s only active capital sentence.

Source: keloland.com, Marissa Brunkhorst; DPN, May 4, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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