South Dakota upholds death sentence in 2000 torture killing

The South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of an Alaska man convicted for his part in the torture killing of a 19-year-old man nearly two decades ago.

The justices said in a recent ruling that the arguments from 39-year-old Briley Piper, of Anchorage, were “untimely” and didn’t contest his guilt.

Piper is the only inmate on South Dakota’s death row.

Piper and two others were convicted for the death of Chester Allan Poage in Spearfish.

Piper argued in his latest appeal that his guilty pleas were not made voluntarily or intelligently.