The state of South Dakota carried out its first execution in 60 years Wednesday night, taking the life of Elijah Page, 25, for a brutal torture slaying committed in 2000. Page, of Athens, Texas, died at 10:11 p.m. from a lethal injection administered at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
He pleaded guilty to killing Chester Allan Poage, 19, of Spearfish, who was stabbed, beaten with rocks and forced to drink hydrochloric acid during a robbery of his home. The torture lasted two to three hours.
If the punishment fit the crime, Page got off easy, compared to what HE and his fellow perps did to Poage. At least there is SOME balance rendered by his execution.