A man who killed two people in cold blood uttered only one word before he was executed in a South Carolina prison on Friday, the first in the state in 13 years.
Freddie Owens said goodbye to his lawyer and was then strapped to a gurney where he awaited the lethal injection that led to his final death.
Owens remained conscious for a minute before his eyes closed, his breathing shortened and his face contorted for five minutes before he died.
The 46-year-old killed convenience store clerk Irene Graves during a botched robbery in Greenville in 1997.
During his trial, he murdered fellow inmate Christopher Lee in a county jail, earning him the death penalty.
Double murderer Freddie Owens died by lethal injection on Friday in the first execution in South Carolina in 13 years
Owens’ execution was the first in South Carolina in 13 years, amid a struggle to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections.
After saying goodbye, his lawyer said “goodbye” and administered the injection.
A doctor came in and pronounced him dead just over 10 minutes later, at 6.55pm.
His last meal was two cheeseburgers, fries, a well-done rib eye, six chicken wings, two strawberry sodas, and a slice of apple pie.
Owens’ last-minute appeals were repeatedly denied, including by a federal court on Friday morning.
His execution was thrown into last-minute chaos after a key witness said in an affidavit that he had lied to secure his conviction.
Owens killed convenience store clerk Irene Graves in Greenville in 1997 during a botched robbery, as well as county jail inmate Christopher Lee during his trial for Graves’ murder.
Owens’ execution was the first in South Carolina in 13 years amid problems obtaining the drugs needed for lethal injections.
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.”
But despite Golden’s retraction, the South Carolina Supreme Court On Thursday, he ruled that it was not enough to stop prison officials from executing Owens.
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.
Since the pause in involuntary executions, South Carolina’s death row population has declined.
At the beginning of 2011, the state had 63 people convicted. It now has 31 after Owens’ death on Friday.
Some 20 people have been rescued from death row and have received various prison sentences after successful appeals. Others have died of natural causes.