South Carolina executed inmate Freddie Owens on Friday, marking the state’s first execution in 13 years. The prolonged pause was due to prison officials’ inability to acquire the necessary drugs for lethal injections.
Owens, 46, was convicted of murdering Irene Graves, a convenience store clerk, during a robbery in 1997. While awaiting sentencing, he killed another inmate, Christopher Lee, in a county jail. His confession to that crime was presented to two juries and a judge, all of whom sentenced him to death.
He declined to make a final statement before his execution. Owens’ last meal consisted of two cheeseburgers, french fries, a well-done ribeye steak, six chicken wings, two strawberry sodas, and a slice of apple pie.
As the curtain to the death chamber opened, Owens was strapped to a gurney with his arms extended. After the lethal drug was administered, he bid farewell to his lawyer. Witnesses reported that he smiled slightly, but his expression remained largely unchanged before he lost consciousness approximately one minute later. His breathing gradually slowed, and after several minutes of twitching, he was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m.
Owens’ final appeals were consistently denied, including by a federal court on the morning of his execution. He sought a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, but his request was rejected shortly before the execution time. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster also denied a clemency request, stating he had “carefully reviewed” Owens’ application.
Owens is likely the first of several inmates who will be executed in the coming months, as the South Carolina Supreme Court has authorized executions every five weeks. Five other inmates are currently out of appeals.
The state had attempted to reinstate executions using a firing squad due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs. A new law was enacted to keep the identity of drug suppliers confidential, allowing the state to proceed with lethal injections. South Carolina has shifted to using a single drug, pentobarbital, for executions, mirroring federal execution protocols.
Under state law, condemned inmates can choose between lethal injection, the firing squad, or the electric chair. Owens opted to leave the method of execution to his attorney, stating that making the choice himself would equate to participating in his own death, which his religious beliefs prohibit.
Although he changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah while incarcerated, court and prison documents still refer to him as Owens.
Owens’ conviction stemmed from the 1999 killing of Graves, who was shot in the head when she could not open the store safe. His case was complicated by his later killing of Lee, for which he confessed in detail. The confession was presented to juries during sentencing, leading to his death sentences. Despite two previous sentences being overturned on appeal, he ultimately returned to death row.
In his final appeal, Owens’ attorneys argued that prosecutors failed to present scientific evidence linking him to Graves’ murder, relying instead on a co-defendant’s testimony. A sworn statement submitted just days before the execution claimed Owens was not present during the robbery. However, other witnesses testified that Owens bragged about the crime.
Owens’ lawyers highlighted his traumatic childhood, noting that he was only 19 at the time of the murder and suffered from brain damage due to violence in juvenile detention.
“Mr. Owens’s childhood was marked by suffering on a scale that is hard to comprehend,” attorney Gerald “Bo” King stated after the execution. “The legal errors, hidden deals, and false evidence that made tonight possible should shame us all.”
Approximately 90 minutes before Owens was executed, advocates from South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty held a vigil outside the prison.
Friday’s execution was the first in South Carolina since May 2011. The state has executed 43 people since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976. After a decade-long struggle in the legislature to restart executions, South Carolina now has 31 inmates on death row, down from 63 in early 2011.
