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#Post#: 262--------------------------------------------------
~ Rodney Berget, 29Oct18, (SD) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: August 8, 2018, 8:17 pm
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South Dakota sets execution for man in prison guard's death--
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
[IMG]
HTML http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/rapidcityjournal.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/61/f61191a3-b5ea-5814-af94-39146042281e/51c904e8133cb.image.jpg[/img]
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A man who pleaded guilty to the 2011
killing of a South Dakota prison guard is set to be executed in
the fall, the state's attorney general said Wednesday.
Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement that Rodney
Berget, 56, is scheduled to be executed between Oct. 28 and Nov.
3. Jackley's office said the warden of the state penitentiary
will choose the specific time and date, which will be announced
within 48 hours of the execution.
Circuit Court Judge Bradley Zell issued a warrant of execution
for Berget, who would be the first person put to death in South
Dakota in roughly six years.
"We will be ready to carry out the order of the court,"
Department of Corrections Secretary Denny Kaemingk said in a
statement.
Berget pleaded guilty in April 2012 to killing Ronald "R.J."
Johnson in a failed prison escape attempt in April 2011 along
with fellow inmate Eric Robert, who was executed in 2012.
An attorney for Berget wasn't immediately available to comment
to The Associated Press. Berget's mental status and death
penalty eligibility have played a key role in court delays.
Berget in 2016 appealed his death sentence, but later asked to
withdraw the appeal against the advice of his lawyers, the Argus
Leader reported .
"I want this to be the last day I appear in court," Berget said
at a September 2016 hearing.
The last execution in South Dakota was the lethal injection of
Donald Moeller on Oct. 30, 2012, for the killing of Becky
O'Connell.
State Department of Corrections policy says lethal injections
involve one to three drugs, depending on drug availability and
the date of the prisoner's conviction. State law makes a drug
supplier confidential.
HTML http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/08/south-dakota-sets-execution-for-man-in-prison-guards-death.html
8)
#Post#: 278--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Rodney Berget, 29Oct18, (SD) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: October 26, 2018, 1:55 pm
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South Dakota to execute inmate on Monday for guard's slaying--
Friday, October 26, 2018
When South Dakota executes an inmate Monday for killing a prison
guard during a 2011 escape attempt, it will be the state's
fourth execution since it reinstituted the death penalty in the
late 1970's.
Rodney Berget, 56, admitted his role in the slaying of Ronald
"R.J." Johnson, who was beaten with a pipe and his head covered
in plastic wrap. Johnson, a veteran guard of nearly 24 years,
died on his 63rd birthday.
Some background on the case:
DEADLY ESCAPE ATTEMPT
On the morning of April 12, 2011, Berget and inmate Eric Robert
attacked Johnson in a part of the South Dakota State
Penitentiary in Sioux Falls known as Pheasantland Industries.
It's where inmates work on upholstery, signs, furniture and
other projects.
After beating Johnson and leaving his body, Robert put on
Johnson's pants, hat and jacket and pushed a cart loaded with
two boxes, one with Berget inside, toward the exits. They made
it outside one gate but were stopped by another guard before
they could complete their escape through a second gate.
In a statement to a judge, Berget acknowledged he deserved to
die.
"I knew what I was doing, and I continued to do it," Berget
said. "I destroyed a family. I took away a father, a husband, a
grandpa."
GIVING UP
Robert was executed on Oct. 15, 2012. He hastened his own death
by attempting to waive the state's review of death penalty cases
and then told a judge that if allowed to live, he would kill
again.
Berget's mental status and death penalty eligibility have played
a key role in court delays. Berget in 2016 appealed his death
sentence, but later asked to withdraw the appeal against the
advice of his lawyers.
Berget wrote to a judge asking to proceed to execution. He said
he was worried the death penalty would be overturned and said he
couldn't imagine spending "another 30 years in a cage."
SOUTH DAKOTA'S METHOD
South Dakota uses lethal injection and has not had issues with
obtaining the drugs it needs, as some other states have. One
reason may be that the state shrouds some details in secrecy.
That includes the supplier of the drug it will use. Lawmakers in
2013 approved hiding the identities of its suppliers. The
Department of Corrections has said it plans to use a "one-drug
protocol" in the execution, and policy calls for either sodium
thiopental or pentobarbital. Pentobarbital was used in its last
two executions.
State law also allows the Department of Corrections to withhold
a public announcement of the time of the execution until 48
hours beforehand. The state announced the week of Berget's
execution in August.
Johnson's family plans to be there. Berget will be executed at
1:30 p.m., rather than the typical 10 p.m. time, to keep a
balance between those involved and the need to maintain orderly
operations of the institution.
Afterward, witnesses and others will meet with media at the
Ronald "RJ" Johnson Training Academy on the prison grounds. It
was dedicated in Johnson's memory on the one-year anniversary of
his death.
'HE WAS SO KIND'
Johnson's widow, Lynette Johnson, says her husband didn't
deserve to die.
She told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that her husband was "so
kind" and "didn't have a bad word to say about anybody." Johnson
sized down R.J.'s wedding ring and now wears it next to her own;
she keeps his watch — its hands frozen at the time he was
attacked — in a clear case next to photos above her fireplace.
Lynette Johnson told the Argus Leader she appreciates letters
she has gotten from inmates who knew and respected her husband.
She said she is nervous about Monday's execution, worried that
Berget might try to escape. She said his death may bring a sense
of security.
Johnson didn't return a phone message from The Associated Press.
BERGET FAMILY HISTORY
Berget will be the second member of his family to be executed.
His older brother, Roger, was convicted of killing a man to
steal his car and spent 13 years on Oklahoma's death row until
his execution in 2000 at age 39.
Roger Berget was sentenced to death in March 1987. Less than
three months later, Rodney Berget, then 25 and serving time for
grand theft and escape, joined five other inmates in breaking
out of the South Dakota prison.
Rodney Berget was released in 2002 but didn't stay on the
outside for long. A year later he was sentenced to life in
prison for attempted murder and kidnapping.
READY TO DIE
Dennis Davis, director of South Dakotans for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty, has been visiting Berget regularly on death row.
Davis said Berget is tired of being locked in a cell 23 hours a
day and is ready to die.
"He doesn't want to be tortured anymore in solitary
confinement," Davis said. "Obviously he has some fears as any
human being would."
Davis said Berget's family has not been in contact with him for
many years and only one relative, a niece, has supported him.
It's not clear if she will attend the execution.
Davis, a Catholic deacon from Burbank, plans to walk with Berget
from death row to the gurney.
HTML http://www.foxnews.com/us/south-dakota-to-execute-inmate-on-monday-for-guards-slaying
8)
#Post#: 279--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Rodney Berget, 29Oct18, (SD) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: October 29, 2018, 10:43 pm
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'He chose to be evil': Rodney Berget executed after five-hour
delay--
Monday, October 29, 2018
Rodney Berget was executed by lethal injection Monday after a
delay of several hours, ending a six-year court battle over the
inmate's mental capacity to be put to death by the state.
Berget, 56, was sentenced to death for the 2011 killing of
correctional officer Ron "R.J." Johnson during a failed prison
escape attempt. Berget had been serving a life sentence for an
attempted murder and kidnapping conviction.
The other inmate who attempted to escape the prison, Eric
Robert, was executed in 2012 after pleading guilty to the
murder. Michael Nordman was sentenced to life in prison for
providing the plastic wrap and pipe used in the killing.
"The execution of inmate Rodney Berget was carried out in
accordance with state law," Department of Corrections spokesman
Michael Winder said at 8:10 p.m. Berget's official time of death
was 7:37 p.m.
Originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m., the execution was pushed
back six hours while the U.S. Supreme Court weighed a motion
from Chicago-based attorney Juliet Yackel, who argued that
Berget is intellectually disabled.
The South Dakota Supreme Court earlier denied a motion from
Yackel arguing that Berget lacks the intellectual capacity to
receive capital punishment.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the motion just before 6:30 p.m.,
echoing the state Supreme Court’s earlier decision.
"Berget wants to partially redeem himself in the public eye and
in the minds of his family by accepting his punishment," Jackley
wrote in his response to the late appeal. "It is not Juliet
Yackel’s place to thwart Berget’s wishes. Accordingly, Yackel’s
last-minute petition for a writ of prohibition and stay of
execution should be denied in full."
Another motion was filed by Karen Lopez challenging South Dakota
law relating to the method of execution, the Attorney General's
Office said in a news release. The Supreme Court denied that one
as well.
Family: Berget 'chose to be evil'
Shortly after 8 p.m. Monday, witnesses and others gathered in
the media briefing room at the penitentiary to share the news
that the execution had been carried out.
"This has been a very difficult and tragic case for R.J.
Johnson's family and his extended family, the correctional
officers," Jackley said. "I ask you tonight to please send
prayers for all of Berget's victims."
In that list, Jackley included Johnson, the two people Berget
shot and the store clerk he sexually abused and kidnapped,
crimes that landed him in prison over the course of his life.
Johnson's daughter, Toni Schafer, spoke about the trauma her
family has endured since her father's murder.
"Today was about choices. Berget had choices," Schafer said. "He
chose to be evil ... to get what he wanted no matter what the
cost.
"We choose as a family to be better," she said.
Witnesses said Berget never apologized to Johnson's family for
what he had done.
Having said his final words, Berget took several deep breaths,
groaned twice and snored before drifting off, witnesses said.
One of the most vocal proponents of Berget's sentence has been
R.J.'s widow, Lynette Johnson. She told the media not to pity
Berget, but to recognize that he received the painless death her
husband was denied.
"They broke his neck, they severed fingers, broke his wrists, he
didn't have the back of his head ... that's cruel and unusual
punishment," Johnson said. "What Berget went through ...
peaceful, clean, sterile, dignified."
Timeline of execution
6:57: Berget was removed from holding cell
6:58: Transferred to execution table
7:02: Restraints were secured
7:05: Administered first IV
7:08: Witnesses escorted into viewing area
7:23: Curtains open
7:24: Secretary of Corrections informed warden that he was
cleared to proceed
7:25: Last statement
7:25: Injection began
7:37: Berget pronounced dead
Supreme Court delays push back execution
Earlier, as Jackley waited for a ruling, the scheduled 1:30 p.m.
execution time came and went. Around 4 p.m., execution witnesses
were released for a dinner break until 5:30.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., Jackley told the media he had received
word of the denial from the Supreme Court and that the execution
would go forward in about 30 to 45 minutes.
"We are at a point this evening where the Constitution was
satisfied, and it will now be up to the Department of
Corrections to carry out the court's sentence of capital
punishment," Jackley said.
Berget filed an affidavit over the weekend saying he had told
Yackel that he has "not authorized her to submit anything to the
court on his behalf."
He also said he told her on Aug. 27 that he doesn't want to
contest the execution, according to the affidavit. He said he
refused a visit from Yackel on Oct. 2.
Supporters, protesters frustrated by delay
Outside the penitentiary, the delay was met with mixed reaction.
Death penalty protestors saw signs of possible hope, while
capital punishment proponents bristled at the legal maneuvers.
“Unbelievable,” a supporter of Berget’s execution yelled as
another supporter held up a cell phone, showing her the news
that the execution was on hold.
With flags and buttons bearing the image of “RJ” Johnson, the
group of supporters, largely friends of the Johnson family,
nervously paced around the front yard of the prison as a
decisive answer on whether the execution would take place
remained out of reach.
As the hours ticked by, they huddled around cell phones to watch
the latest news update, or rush to a reporter who informed them
something new had happened. But anything short of news of
Berget’s death was just one more disappointment in a seven-year
string of delays.
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