South Carolina Executes Death Row Inmate with First Lethal Injection in 13 Years

South Carolina Executes Death Row Inmate

South Carolina Executes Death Row Inmate with First Lethal Injection in 13 Years

Freddie Owens, a 46-year-old death row inmate, was executed by lethal injection on Friday, marking South Carolina's first execution in over a decade. Sentenced to death in 1999 for the robbery and murder of convenience store clerk Irene Graves, Owens was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. ET.

Despite last-minute appeals and a request for clemency from Governor Henry McMaster, the South Carolina Supreme Court declined to intervene, allowing the execution to proceed. Hours before his death, Owens’ attorneys filed a stay with the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied.

Owens had previously confessed to multiple murders, including the killing of a cellmate in 1999. He was executed using lethal injection, after choosing this method over the electric chair and firing squad, as directed by his attorney.

The execution follows a lengthy struggle for the state to secure the drugs necessary for lethal injection, which had not been performed since 2011. In a notable development, a co-defendant's recent affidavit claimed Owens was not present during the crime, but the court dismissed this as inconsistent with prior testimony.

Graves, a mother of three, was shot during a robbery on November 1, 1997, leading to Owens’ conviction for murder and armed robbery two years later.