South Carolina resumed executions after a 13-year pause, putting to death inmate Freddie Owens for the 1997 killing of a convenience store clerk and another inmate while on trial. Owens was executed via lethal injection after his last appeals were denied, including a request for clemency from the governor, claiming he was wrongly convicted. Owens made no final statement and was declared dead about 10 minutes after the drugs were administered.
Owens allowed his lawyer to choose his method of execution, opting for lethal injection, as the state recently added the firing squad and electric chair as options due to a lack of lethal injection drugs. South Carolina had to pass a shield law to keep execution protocol secret to resume executions. Owens changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah while in prison.
During Owens’ final appeal, his attorneys argued there was no scientific evidence he committed the crime and cited his troubled childhood and brain damage from violence in juvenile prison. South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty held a vigil before Owens’ execution.
This is the first execution in South Carolina since 2011, following a decade of legislative maneuvers to restart capital punishment. The state has historically executed 43 people since 1976, with a decrease in the death row population over the years due to successful appeals and natural causes. Five other inmates are currently out of appeals and could face execution in the coming months.
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