South Carolina executes Freddie Owens, first inmate to die in 13 years

Sept. 21 (UPI) — South Carolina officials have executed Freddie Owens, convicted of murdering a store clerk in 1997. It is the first execution in the state in more than a decade.

Owens was executed by lethal injection Friday night at the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina

The 46-year-old was convicted of killing store clerk Irene Graves during a 1997 robbery in Greenville, South Carolina

Relatives of the 41-year-old single mother of three witnessed the execution.

Owens was 19 at the time of the murder and was convicted two years later, based in part on the testimony of his co-defendant.

He is the first inmate to be executed in South Carolina in 13 years, after the state struggled for years with supply problems in obtaining the drugs needed for the execution.

Authorities declared Owens dead at 6:55 p.m. EDT Friday, about 20 minutes after the proceedings began. He did not release a final statement other than to say a brief goodbye to his attorney.

Governor Henry McMaster, R-S.C., has denied a request for clemency from Owens’ attorneys.

The state Supreme Court previously refused to grant a stay of execution, which was granted just hours before the execution.

Days before the execution, Owens’ attorneys filed an affidavit from co-defendant Steven Golden. Golden was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime, but said he was pressured by police decades ago to name Owens as the one who pulled the trigger and killed Graves.

Golden swore that Owens was not even at the scene of the robbery, but the South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday denied Owens’ request for a new trial.