The impending execution of a South Carolina man has been thrown into chaos after a key witness said in an affidavit that he lied to get his conviction.
Freddie Owens is to be executed by lethal injection later today for the 1997 murder of Greenville convenience store clerk Irene Graves during a robbery.
On Wednesday, his attorneys filed a statement from his co-defendant Steven Golden saying Owens was not in the store at the time Graves was killed.
Golden said he blamed Owens, who was 19 at the time, because he was high on cocaine and facing pressure from police.
She wrote: “I thought the real shooter or his accomplices might kill me if I reported him to the police. I am still afraid of that. But Freddie was not there.”
Freddie Owens is to be executed by lethal injection later today for the 1997 murder of Greenville convenience store clerk Irene Graves.
His attorneys submitted a statement from his co-defendant Steven Golden saying Owens was not in the store at the time Graves, seen here, was killed.
Despite Golden’s claims, the South Carolina Supreme Court has refused to intervene and stop Owens’ execution by lethal injection.
Judges ruled Thursday that Golden’s statement was not enough to stop prison officials from executing Owens.
Attorney Gerald ‘Bo’ King said: ‘South Carolina is on the verge of executing a man for a crime he did not commit. We will continue to defend Mr. Owens.’
Golden had testified at Owens’ trial saying prosecutors had promised to consider his testimony in his favor, but that he still faced a death sentence or life in prison.
He was eventually sentenced to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Golden said: ‘I’m coming forward now because I know Freddie’s execution date is September 20 and I don’t want Freddie to be executed for something he didn’t do.
“This has weighed heavily on me and I want to have a clear conscience.”
Prosecutors said several other witnesses testified that Owens was the one who pulled the trigger.
Those witnesses were friends of Owens, who said he had bragged to them about killing Graves. His ex-girlfriend also testified that he confessed to the murder.
Judges ruled Thursday that Golden’s statement was not enough to stop prison officials from executing Owens, pictured during his 1999 trial.
South Carolinans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Executive Director Rev. Hillary Taylor speaks at a news conference Thursday, Sept. 19
Less than 12 hours after being convicted of Graves’ murder, Owens also killed fellow inmate Christopher Bryan Lee, 28, in a cellblock argument after Lee allegedly revealed that his cousin was on the jury that sentenced Owens to death.
Prosecutors argued that Golden’s decision to backtrack on his story could not be trusted since he had now admitted to lying under oath, proving he cannot be trusted.
On Thursday, a group called South Carolina for Alternatives to the Death Penalty presented a petition with more than 10,000 signatures to Gov. Henry McMaster.
They want Owens sentenced to life in prison, and the director, the Rev. Hillary Taylor, has said: “Justice works to restore. You can’t restore someone who is killed.”
According to McMaster, a Republican, he will wait to announce his decision on clemency until officials call him minutes before the execution.
If executed, Owens would be the first in the state in 13 years to struggle to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections.
The state added a firing squad option and passed a shield law to keep many of the details of executions private. Then the state Supreme Court cleared the way for the death chamber to reopen this summer.
Owens was given the choice between lethal injection, electric chair or firing squad, and he opted for lethal injection.
He left his fate in the hands of his lawyer, arguing that his Muslim faith means he cannot take an active role in his own death.