james homer elledge (december 9, 1942 – august 28, 2001) was an american murderer who was executed by lethal injection in washington state penitentiary for the murder of 47-year-old eloise jane fitzner. the case raised questions before and after the execution about how the death penalty was applied in washington state, especially in cases where a defendant refused to present a defense in the penalty phase and refused to allow the filing of any appeals.