The Latest: High court clears way for South Dakota execution
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Latest on the planned execution of South Dakota inmate Rodney Berget (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the execution of a South Dakota man who killed a prison guard in a failed 2011 escape attempt.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says the high court denied a request Monday from attorney Juliet Yackel to stay the execution of 56-year-old Rodney Berget.
Berget’s execution was delayed for more than five hours, but Jackley says it will move forward Monday evening. The state Supreme Court earlier denied a motion from Yackel arguing that Berget lacks the intellectual capacity to receive capital punishment. Berget asked that court to dismiss Yackel’s petition.
Berget is to be put to death for the slaying of Ronald “R.J.” Johnson in a failed 2011 escape. Berget and fellow inmate Eric Robert beat Johnson with a pipe and covered his head in plastic wrap.
Robert was executed in 2012. Berget in 2016 appealed his death sentence, but later asked to withdraw it.
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2:20 p.m.
South Dakota’s attorney general says the state is waiting for direction after a lawyer asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution of an inmate who killed a prison guard.
Rodney Berget was scheduled to be put to death at 1:30 p.m. Monday. Attorney General Marty Jackley said after the scheduled execution time had passed that he would address reporters once a decision is reached.
Attorney Juliet Yackel says in her U.S. Supreme Court filing that Berget is intellectually disabled. The state Supreme Court earlier denied a motion from Yackel arguing that Berget lacks the intellectual capacity to receive capital punishment. Berget asked that court to dismiss Yackel’s petition.
Berget is to be put to death for the slaying of Ronald “R.J.” Johnson in a failed 2011 escape.
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11:55 a.m.
A lawyer who unsuccessfully asked South Dakota’s highest court to stop the death sentence of a man who killed a prison guard has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution.
Rodney Berget is to be put to death at 1:30 p.m. Monday. Attorney Juliet Yackel says in the U.S. Supreme Court filing that Berget is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.
The state Supreme Court earlier denied a motion from Yackel arguing that Berget lacks the intellectual capacity to receive capital punishment. Berget in an affidavit asked that court to dismiss Yackel’s petition.
Berget is to be put to death for the slaying of Ronald “R.J.” Johnson in a failed 2011 escape. Berget and fellow inmate Eric Robert beat Johnson with a pipe and covered his head in plastic wrap.
Robert was executed in October 2012.
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11:30 a.m.
A South Dakota inmate facing execution has received a last meal that included pancakes, waffles, breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs and French fries.
Corrections officials say Rodney Berget also ordered Pepsi and Cherry Nibs licorice for his last meal. It was served Sunday night.
Berget’s execution is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday.
He’s to be put to death for the slaying of prison guard Ronald “R.J.” Johnson in a failed 2011 escape. Berget and fellow inmate Eric Robert beat Johnson with a pipe and covered his head in plastic wrap.
Robert was executed in October 2012. Berget in 2016 appealed his death sentence, but later asked to withdraw it.
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9:05 a.m.
South Dakota’s attorney general says the state Supreme Court has rejected two motions to stop the execution of a man who killed a prison guard in a failed 2011 escape attempt.
Attorney General Marty Jackley says there are currently no court orders to stop or delay Rodney Berget’s execution, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday. One motion was filed by a woman whose son is serving a life sentence, the other by an attorney without Berget’s support.
Berget is to be put to death for the slaying of Ronald “R.J.” Johnson. Berget and fellow inmate Eric Robert beat Johnson with a pipe and covered his head in plastic wrap.
Robert was executed in October 2012.
Berget in 2016 appealed his death sentence, but later asked to withdraw it.
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12 a.m.
A man who killed a South Dakota prison guard in a failed 2011 escape is facing execution in what would be the state’s fourth lethal injection since reinstating the death penalty in the late 1970s.
Rodney Berget is scheduled to die Monday for the slaying of Ronald “R.J.” Johnson.
Berget and fellow inmate Eric Robert beat Johnson with a pipe and covered his head in plastic wrap. Robert was executed in October 2012.
South Dakota’s last execution was later that month.
Berget in 2016 appealed his death sentence, but later asked to withdraw it. Berget wrote to a judge saying he worried the death penalty would be abolished and he feared spending “another 30 years in a cage.”
Johnson’s family plans to attend the 1:30 p.m. execution.
