Freddie Owens has become the first inmate to be executed in South Carolina in 13 years, receiving a lethal injection at the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia on Friday evening. Owens, who was convicted of murder in 1999, was found guilty of killing shop worker Irene Graves during an armed robbery in Greenville in 1997.
The South Carolina Supreme Court rejected multiple appeals to stop Owens’ execution, stating that recent claims of his innocence from his co-defendant were inconsistent with his original testimony during the trial. Owens, 46, was pronounced dead at 6:55 PM local time after being injected with pentobarbital, and he did not make a final statement.
Owens’ death comes after a hiatus in executions in the state due to difficulties in obtaining the necessary drugs for lethal injections. He received a death sentence for his role in Graves’ murder, committed two years prior to his sentencing. Following his conviction, Owens reportedly killed his cellmate.
During the trial, it was revealed that Owens, then 19, and his co-defendant, Steve Golden, held Graves at gunpoint while attempting to rob the convenience store where she worked. Owens shot Graves when she could not open a safe behind the counter. At the time of her death, Graves was a 41-year-old single mother of three.
Efforts by Owens’ attorneys to stop the execution, including two requests made in September, were unsuccessful. Their most recent appeal cited a new affidavit from Golden, claiming Owens was not present at the crime. The court dismissed this statement as contradicting Golden’s previous testimony.
Advocates against the death penalty and Owens’ mother also sought clemency from Governor Henry McMaster, which was denied. Just hours before the execution, his mother described the situation as a “grave injustice,” emphasizing Owens’ long-standing claims of innocence. In South Carolina, inmates can choose their method of execution; Owens opted for lethal injection through his attorney. Family members of Graves were present during the execution.