End nears for inmate who shunned appeals

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — As executions approach, loved ones of the condemned inmate and the victim's family wait and wonder whether a judge or governor will intervene before the appointed hour.

But for Elijah Page, 24, that's not likely.

After a childhood of abuse and bouncing between foster homes, the Athens, Texas, man is close to where he wants to be: He is days away from dying by injection for his role in the hourslong 2000 torture slaying of Chester Allan Poage, 19, of Spearfish.

Two other men also were charged in the killing, Briley Piper, 25, of Anchorage, and Darrell Hoadley, 26, of Lead. Piper pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. Hoadley went to trial, was convicted, and a split jury sentenced him to life in prison without a chance of parole.

Page likely will be able to decide his own fate, because Gov. Mike Rounds has said he is not inclined to step in. Page has ended all court appeals.

Page has been housed in a newer wing of the South Dakota State Penitentiary but will be taken to a cell at the old death row in an older part.

The chamber has been remodeled since the last execution in the state, although there are still holes on the floor from where the electric chair was bolted down for George Sitts' 1947 execution for killing two lawmen.

Besides being the first person executed in South Dakota in 59 years, Page would be among eight inmates younger than 25 put to death since capital punishment was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976. His case is also unusual because Page has asked to die.

State law does not allow the exact date and time of execution to be released until 48 hours beforehand, although the judge set it for this week.

Judge Warren Johnson of Deadwood granted Page's request to die only after concluding he was mentally competent. Johnson earlier had acknowledged Page's difficult childhood, which included physical and sexual abuse.

Page's sister, Desiree Page, said friends and family knew him as "a big teddy bear with a huge heart," one who is now remorseful.

"Elijah's very, very sorry," she told the Rapid City Journal. "He told me, 'I see that poor boy's [Poage's] face every minute of every day, and I dream about him every night.' "

Page is entitled to appeals that could last several more years, but earlier this year he wrote to the court indicating he wanted to die.

"I am writing this because I have decided to end my appeals and face execution," the handwritten letter said.

His lawyer has said he thinks Page is so depressed that his decision to end his appeals might be equivalent to a suicide attempt.