With his execution date set for late September, Freddie Owens, who has spent over a decade on South Carolina's death row, faces the grim decision of choosing how he will die and the prospect of his death has attracted condemnation from one local activist group.
Freddie Owens, the first South Carolina death row inmate to be executed in 13 years, has two weeks to decide in which manner he wants to die.
Owens will be given the choice between lethal injection, the electric chair, or a firing squad.
His execution date is set for September 20, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
The prospect of Owen's death earned the attention of the SCADP (South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which is a group dedicated to abolishing "the death penalty and [catalyzing] criminal justice reform through public advocacy, grassroots organizing, and community mobilization."
Their Executive Director, Reverend Hillary Taylor put out a statement that their efforts are aimed at "rehumanizing Freddie Owens" by advocating for his clemency.
"His case further demonstrates the unfairness of the death penalty, especially when it comes to people who experience racism and poverty," she went on to explain.
"We call upon Governor [Henry] McMaster to grant clemency to Freddie Owens. If all lives truly matter in our state, then our society must work to restore the lives of people who commit great harm in our midst," Taylor demanded.
📢📢📢FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SCADP Speaks Out Against Freddie Owens’ Execution Warrant. For media inquiries, contact Executive Director Rev. Hillary Taylor at info@scadp.org or 864-625-3245
— SCADP (@SCADeathPenalty) August 24, 2024
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The State Supreme Court sent the execution notice to the state's prison director on August 23, permitting him four Fridays by law to execute Owens.
Owens, 46, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting Irene Graves, a convenience store clerk, on November 1, 1997, while robbing the store with an accomplice during Halloween night.
In court, he maintained his innocence, claiming he was at his home at the time of the crime. Following a guilty verdict, Owens killed his Greenville County jail cellmate before being transferred from the jail to state prison.
He was resentenced twice, the last taking place in September 2006, following the Supreme Court's reversal of his two initial death sentences.
He was originally scheduled for execution in 2021, but he has an active lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina challenging the constitutionality of execution by electrocution and firing squad under the federal Constitution. However, because there is no stay of execution ordered by the federal court, Owens can be issued a death warrant, according to The Post & Courier.
