South Dakota executes inmate who killed prison guard in 2011

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota inmate was executed today for killing a prison guard in a failed escape seven years ago in the state's first execution since 2012.

Rodney Berget, 56, was put to death for the 2011 slaying of Ronald "R.J." Johnson, who was beaten with a pipe and had his head covered in plastic wrap at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

It was the state's fourth execution since it reinstated the death penalty in the late 1970s, and the first since 2012.

The execution, originally scheduled to be carried out at 1:30 p.m. CDT, was delayed for hours while the U.S. Supreme Court weighed a last-minute legal bid to block it. Department of Corrections spokesman Michael Winder said the time of death was 7:37 p.m. CDT.

Berget was serving a life sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping when he and another inmate, Eric Robert, attacked Johnson on April 12, 2011, in a part of the penitentiary known as Pheasantland Industries, where inmates work on upholstery, signs, furniture and other projects. After Johnson was beaten, 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. Berget admitted to his role in the slaying.

Robert was executed on Oct. 15, 2012. The last execution in South Dakota was on Oct. 30, 2012.