South Carolina Schedules First Execution in 13 Years

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South Carolina Schedules First Execution in 13 Years \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ South Carolina is preparing to execute Freddie Eugene Owens, convicted of a 1997 murder, marking the state’s first execution in 13 years after a long pause due to drug shortages for lethal injections. Owens’ final appeals, including a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, have been denied, but his legal team continues to advocate for him, citing new testimony and concerns about his brain damage. South Carolina, which recently reinstated its death penalty process, has several more executions lined up following a legal overhaul.

South Carolina’s First Execution in 13 Years: Quick Looks

Freddie Eugene Owens’ Execution: Owens, convicted of murdering a convenience store clerk in 1997, is scheduled for execution after a 13-year pause in South Carolina’s death penalty process.
Legal Challenges: Owens’ lawyers are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing new testimony and claims of brain damage from childhood trauma.
Restored Execution Protocol: South Carolina passed a shield law protecting drug suppliers’ identities and switched to a pentobarbital-only method to restart capital punishment.
Execution Choices: Owens could choose between lethal injection, electric chair, or the firing squad, but opted to let his lawyer make the decision due to religious beliefs.
Broader Impact: South Carolina, which once executed several inmates a year, is now preparing for more executions, with five inmates cleared for death row after legal reforms.

Deep Look:

After a 13-year hiatus, South Carolina is set to carry out its first execution since 2011, scheduling Freddie Eugene Owens to be put to death just after 6 p.m. on Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. Owens, 46, was convicted of killing Irene Graves, a convenience store clerk, during a 1997 robbery in Greenville. His execution marks a significant milestone as South Carolina resumes its death penalty process after a lengthy pause caused by difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.

The Case of Freddie Eugene Owens

Owens’ crime occurred in 1997 when he shot Irene Graves, a mother of three, after she was unable to open the store’s safe. The state’s case against Owens relied heavily on the testimony of a co-defendant who claimed that Owens was the shooter. Owens’ final appeals have argued that there was no scientific evidence linking him to the murder and introduced new testimony from Steven Golden, who recently stated that Owens was not present during the crime. Despite these claims, the South Carolina Supreme Court and other courts have consistently rejected his appeals.

Beyond the Graves murder, Owens was also implicated in the killing of fellow inmate Christopher Lee after his initial conviction. Owens confessed in graphic detail to attacking and killing Lee, claiming he did it because he was “wrongly convicted” of Graves’ murder. This confession played a major role in his death sentence, and although he was charged with Lee’s murder, those charges were later dropped in 2019 as Owens neared the end of his appeals process.

Execution Resumes After Long Pause

South Carolina’s death penalty has been on hold since 2011, primarily due to difficulties obtaining the drugs needed for lethal injections. In response, the state initially tried to restart executions by adding the option of a firing squad. However, South Carolina lawmakers ultimately passed a shield law that keeps the identity of drug suppliers secret, allowing the state to resume lethal injections using pentobarbital as the sole drug—similar to federal execution protocols. The state also continues to offer inmates the choice of lethal injection, firing squad, or the electric chair.

Owens, however, allowed his legal team to choose how he would be executed, citing his religious beliefs and refusal to actively participate in what he considered a form of suicide. Owens had changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah while in prison, but the legal system continues to refer to him by his birth name.

Legal Appeals and Controversies

As of Friday morning, Owens’ lawyers were still making last-ditch appeals, including a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a stay of execution. They argue that Owens, who was only 19 at the time of the crime, was a victim of brain damage from physical and sexual abuse during his time in a juvenile detention center, which affected his mental state. They also question the reliability of key witnesses, such as the co-defendant who implicated Owens at trial.

However, state officials, including South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, have shown little interest in halting the execution. McMaster, following the state’s tradition, will review Owens’ clemency petition shortly before the execution but has indicated that he trusts the verdicts reached by the prosecutors and juries involved.

Restoring the Death Penalty in South Carolina

South Carolina’s decision to resume executions comes after years of legal battles and legislative efforts to revive the death penalty. Since the 1976 Supreme Court decision reinstating capital punishment, the state has executed 43 inmates. In the early 2000s, South Carolina carried out as many as three executions a year. But the unintentional pause caused by a shortage of lethal injection drugs reduced the death row population from 63 inmates in 2011 to 32 today. Some inmates have been re-sentenced following appeals, while others have died from natural causes while awaiting execution.

Now that the legal framework is in place, South Carolina is preparing to carry out more executions. Five inmates have already exhausted their appeals, and the state Supreme Court has cleared the way for an execution every five weeks.

Conclusion

As Freddie Eugene Owens faces the possibility of becoming the first person executed in South Carolina in over a decade, his case highlights the broader legal and ethical issues surrounding the death penalty in the state. Despite appeals, Owens is likely to be the first of several inmates to face execution following South Carolina’s efforts to revive its capital punishment process.

The case has sparked ongoing debate about the justice system, lethal injection protocols, and the future of the death penalty in South Carolina, especially as Owens’ lawyers continue to argue that he may not have been the shooter in the crime for which he was sentenced to death.