South Carolina to Resume Executions After 13-Year Hiatus

Freddie Eugene Owens is scheduled to be executed on September 20 for killing a store clerk in 1997 and a cellmate in 1999. South Carolina had trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs in recent years, but a new shield law allows officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private.

South Carolina is set to carry out its first execution in more than 13 years next month, resuming a practice that has been stalled due to difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is scheduled to be executed on September 20 for the 1997 killing of store clerk Irene Graves during a string of robberies in Greenville. Owens also killed his cellmate at the Greenville County Jail after his conviction in 1999, but before his sentencing.

Once one of the busiest states for executions, South Carolina faced challenges in recent years in securing lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical companies were reluctant to sell the drugs to state officials due to concerns that they would have to disclose the sale, which could lead to negative publicity and potential legal liability.

South Carolina to Resume Executions After 13-Year Hiatus

To address this issue, the South Carolina legislature passed a shield law that allows officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private. This law has cleared the way for the state to resume executions, with Owens' case being the first in line.

Owens will have the choice of being executed by lethal injection, electrocution, or a firing squad. The last U.S. execution carried out by a firing squad occurred in Utah in 2010. The prison's director has five days to confirm that all three execution methods will be available for Owens to choose from.

South Carolina to Resume Executions After 13-Year Hiatus

Owens' lawyers are awaiting a sworn statement from prison officials regarding the purity, potency, and quality of the lethal injection drug. They will then determine whether the drug is acceptable to both the state and federal courts.

If Owens does not choose an execution method within a week, the state will use the electric chair by default. A lawyer for Owens expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the source of the execution drugs and the potential for a painful death.

South Carolina to Resume Executions After 13-Year Hiatus

South Carolina previously used a mixture of three drugs for lethal injections, but will now use only pentobarbital, a sedative. This protocol is similar to that used by the federal government.

The state's last execution was carried out in May 2011. While the state did seek to pause executions, its supply of lethal injection drugs expired, and companies refused to sell more if the transaction was made public.

South Carolina to Resume Executions After 13-Year Hiatus

Executions may now resume after a decade of debate in the legislature, including the addition of the firing squad method and the passage of the shield law. South Carolina has executed 43 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976, with only nine states executing more.

The state's death row population has decreased since the unintentional pause on executions. In 2011, the state had 63 condemned inmates, but now only has 32. Successful appeals and natural causes have led to the removal of 20 inmates from death row.

In addition to Owens, at least three other inmates have exhausted their regular appeals, and several more are nearing the end of their appeals. The recent South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that reopened the door for executions found that the state shield law was legal and that the electric chair and firing squad were not cruel punishments.

The South Carolina General Assembly authorized the state to establish a firing squad in 2021, giving inmates the choice between that method and the electric chair. Owens has been sentenced to death three times during his appeals.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has criticized the execution method of firing squad, stating that "it violates human dignity and may result in a torturous death."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.