A South Carolina death‑row inmate, Stephen Bryant, is set to be executed on Nov. 14 after the state Supreme Court issued a death warrant last Friday. The court rejected his lawyers’ request for a delay, citing the federal court shutdown and the state’s recent death‑penalty schedule.
Bryant, 44, faces one murder charge but prosecutors say he also killed two other men in 2004 while giving them rides in Sumter County. The three victims were shot on the side of rural roads while the men were urinating. The 2004 case also involved a strange taunt: Bryant wrote “catch me if u can” in the victim’s blood on a wall after shooting Willard “TJ” Tietjen more than 20 years ago.
He has until Oct. 31 to decide how he will die. The options—lethal injection, firing squad, or electric chair—are all part of South Carolina’s new execution methods. Since the state restarted executions in September 2024 after a 13‑year pause caused by drug shortages, four inmates have chosen lethal injection, two have been executed by firing squad, and a few have opted for the electric chair.
Bryant’s case has drawn criticism from death‑row lawyers who argue the state’s methods violate the Constitution. They say lethal‑injection protocols can leave inmates paralyzed and unable to breathe or move, while firing‑squad shots often miss the heart and cause needless pain.
The death‑penalty debate in South Carolina is fresh. In 2024 the state revived the death penalty after a 13‑year halt, passing a shield law that keeps lethal‑injection drug suppliers confidential. The legislature also added the firing squad as an execution option.
Bryant will become the 50th person to be executed in South Carolina since the death penalty was reinstated in 1985 and the seventh since the state resumed executions last year. Across the United States, 39 men have been executed in 2024 so far, with at least five more executions scheduled for the end of the year.
Source: New York Post
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