South Carolina Executes Man for 1997 Murder, Restarts Executions After 13-Year Pause

Freddie Owens, convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a robbery, was executed Friday evening in South Carolina, marking the state's first execution in over a decade. Five other inmates have exhausted their appeals, and the South Carolina Supreme Court has cleared the way to hold an execution every five weeks.

A South Carolina man convicted of the 1997 killing of a convenience store clerk during a robbery was put to death Friday, as the state restarted executions following a 13-year pause.

Freddie Owens, 46, was declared dead at 6:55 p.m. at the Broad River Correctional Institution (BRCI) in Columbia, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal and a petition for a stay of execution.

South Carolina Executes Man for 1997 Murder, Restarts Executions After 13-Year Pause

Owens' execution marks the first in South Carolina since 2011, when the state put to death Jeffrey Motts for the 1995 murder of a convenience store clerk. It is also the first execution in the United States since April 21, when Texas executed John Hummel for the 2005 murder of his wife.

Owens' last meal consisted of two cheeseburgers, french fries, a well-done ribeye steak, six chicken wings, two strawberry sodas, and a piece of apple pie, the South Carolina Department of Corrections told Fox News Digital.

South Carolina Executes Man for 1997 Murder, Restarts Executions After 13-Year Pause

Owens was convicted of the 1997 killing of a Greenville convenience store clerk during a robbery. However, he killed an inmate at a county jail while on trial. His confession to that attack was read to two different juries and a judge who all sentenced him to death.

While strapped to a gurney, Owens declined to make a final statement but said "bye" to his lawyer before losing consciousness inside the BRCI death chamber.

South Carolina Executes Man for 1997 Murder, Restarts Executions After 13-Year Pause

His last chance to avoid death was from Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison. McMaster denied Owens' request as well, stating that he had "carefully reviewed and thoughtfully considered" Owens' application for clemency.

Owens was the first inmate to be put to death in South Carolina in over a decade. Five other inmates have exhausted their appeals, and the South Carolina Supreme Court has cleared the way to hold an execution every five weeks.

South Carolina first tried to add the firing squad to restart executions after its supply of lethal injection drugs expired, but no company was willing to publicly sell the state more.

To carry out executions, the state switched from a three-drug method to a new protocol of using just the sedative pentobarbital. The new process is similar to how the federal government kills inmates, according to state prison officials, The Associated Press reported.

Inmates also have the right to choose lethal injection, the new firing squad, or the electric chair built in 1912.

Owens allowed his lawyer to choose how he died, saying he felt if he made the choice he would be a party to his own death and his religious beliefs denounce suicide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.