A death row inmate, forced to choose between three options for his execution, will be executed by lethal injection in South Carolina this month.
Freddie Owens, 46, a convicted murderer who shot and killed a store clerk during a botched robbery in 1997, was given the choice of lethal injection, the electric chair or the firing squad when he was sentenced to death.
Although he was forced to decide his method of execution, Owens 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.
But while his attorney Emily Paavola opted for lethal injection, she cited ongoing problems with the method that has resulted in several recent executions lasting several hours or even failing to kill inmates.
Freddie Owens, 46, a convicted murderer, was given three options for execution this month, and his lawyer decided to opt for lethal injection.
Owens had to choose between lethal injection, firing squad or the electric chair. Pictured is SC’s execution chamber, showing the electric chair (right) and the firing squad chair (left).
Experts have sounded the alarm in recent years about the problems surrounding lethal injections, as shortages of the drugs used in the method have led some states to allegedly extend their supplies beyond their expiration date.
Critics argue this has led to several executions becoming drawn out and painful, including that of inmate Joe Nathan James, 50, who endured the longest execution in US history in 2022, at more than three hours.
In court papers deciding Owens’ fate this month, Paavola cited those concerns and said she is still not confident prison officials can effectively and humanely execute the killer.
“I have known Mr. Owens for 15 years. Given the circumstances and the information available to me at the time, I made the best decision I felt I could make on his behalf,” she wrote.
“I sincerely hope that the assurances of the South Carolina Department of Corrections are honored.”
Owens attributed the decision to his lawyer because of his Muslim faith, which teaches that suicide is a sin, and he considered choosing to execute himself to be taking an active role in his own death.
Had Paavola not made his decision, the state would have sent Owens to the electric chair, something the killer said he wanted to avoid.
Owens, pictured during his trial in 1999, was sentenced to death for the murder of store clerk Irene Graves during a botched robbery in 1997.
Owens denied being the one who killed Graves, and store surveillance video failed to clearly show who shot Graves in the head, and scientific evidence was never presented at his trial.
Owens’ attorney, Emily Paavola, opted for lethal injection on his behalf but cited ongoing problems with the method that has led to several recent executions being botched.
His execution is now set for September 20 and will be the first execution to take place in South Carolina in 13 years.
The delay was due to problems plaguing executions in states across the country, but last year South Carolina lawmakers voted to keep their pentobarbital supplier secret, effectively reopening the death chamber, the Associated Press reports.
This comes after the state had previously used a three-drug cocktail but switched to a single dose of pentobarbital, similar to the federal government’s method, to make it easier to obtain the drug.
The state Supreme Court also ruled in July 2024 that the electric chair and firing squad methods were also legal.
This led to Owens finally setting his execution date, as he had exhausted all his appeal options.
However, Owens could still be granted a stay of execution as the Supreme Court will hear an argument from his lawyers that his co-defendant lied during his 1999 trial about reaching a deal to testify against Owens.
At trial, his co-defendant Steven Andra Golden testified that Owens was the one who pulled the trigger to kill store clerk Irene Graves when she struggled to open the safe during a robbery.
Owens denied being the one who killed Graves, and store surveillance video failed to clearly show who shot Graves in the head, and scientific evidence was never presented at his trial.
However, although Owens pleaded not guilty to murder, prosecutors say the testimony against him was strengthened by Owens’ confession to murdering his mother and girlfriend.
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.
Less than 12 hours after being convicted of Graves’ murder, Owens also killed fellow inmate Christopher Bryan Lee, 28 (pictured), in a jail cell argument.
Owens, seen in a more recent mugshot from death row, will become the first person executed in South Carolina in 13 years if his Sept. 20 execution goes ahead.
Prosecutors also say the issues raised by Owens’ lawyers in seeking a stay of execution have been thoroughly scrutinized during his numerous appeals.
Owens’ death sentence was overturned twice while he was on death row, but subsequent trials ended with a recommendation for death again.
“Owens has had ample opportunity to litigate his conviction and sentence. Nothing further is due to him,” the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office wrote in a court filing.
Now that he has exhausted his other options (including failed arguments over long-term use of pentobarbital), Owens may have to rely on South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to grant him a last-minute reprieve.
However, no governor has done so in the state’s 43 executions since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.
Gov. Henry McMaster has said he will follow long-standing tradition and not announce his decision until prison officials make a call from the death chamber minutes before the execution.