It’s official. A South Carolina prison director just confirmed the execution methods of America’s past we thought were dead and gone are now an option again for a death row inmate slated to be executed next month.
Freddie Eugene Owens has been awaiting inevitable death by execution since 1997. Authorities say he was convicted in the killing of a store clerk in a string of robberies. Though, during his trial, the jury didn’t even finish deliberation before he committed another murder: the killing of his cellmate in Greenville County Jail, per court documents.
Owens explained to investigators in gruesome detail how he stabbed the man, burned his eyes, choked him and stomped on him, authorities said. Across his several attempts at appeals, he was sentenced to death row three times, according to PBS’ report.
However, Owens was stuck on death row for a decade with no execution date in sight. South Carolina hadn’t held any executions since May 2011 due to an expired supply of lethal cocktails and the refusal of companies to sell any more drugs to the state if their transactions were publicized, according to PBS.
However, a 2022 Supreme Court decision to get the ball rolling on executions ruled that the electric chair (from like 1912) and the firing squad were constitutional methods of execution.
Corrections Director Bryan Stirling submitted a written statement by orders of the Court on Wednesday informing Owens that he now has the power to choose how he wants to die. He has three options: the electric chair, firing squad and a newly refurbished lethal injection — all of which have been tested and proved to be perfect condition for operation. He was given the deadline of Sept. 6 to make his decision by way of his attorney, who he’s given the power to decide, according to The AP. His execution date is slated for Sept. 20.
If Owens wishes to have his life spared, his only option is a Hail Mary clemency decision by Gov. Henry McMaster, which may not come until the very moment he’s already in the execution chamber.