South Carolina is set to carry out its first execution in over 13 years, marking a significant shift in the state's capital punishment landscape. Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is scheduled to be executed on September 20, 2024, at a correctional facility in Columbia.
Owens was convicted for a fatal robbery at a Greenville convenience store in 1997. His final appeals have been unsuccessful, leaving clemency from Governor Henry McMaster as his last hope for avoiding execution.
The resumption of executions in South Carolina comes after a prolonged pause due to difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. To overcome this obstacle, the state implemented new protocols and passed legislation to protect the identities of drug suppliers.
The Palmetto State has a complex history with capital punishment. Since 1912, South Carolina has executed 282 individuals, employing various methods including hanging, electrocution, and lethal injection. In 2021, the state added firing squad as an option, reflecting ongoing challenges in administering the death penalty.
"The new protocol uses pentobarbital, similar to the method used in federal executions."
South Carolina's death row population has significantly decreased during the execution hiatus. In early 2011, there were 63 inmates facing capital punishment. Today, that number stands at 32, with some inmates receiving alternative sentences through successful appeals.
The state's approach to executions has evolved over time. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia, which effectively suspended the death penalty nationwide, South Carolina reinstated capital punishment in 1974. The state's first post-Furman execution took place in 1985.
South Carolina's decision to resume executions has sparked debate among citizens and advocacy groups. Supporters of alternatives to the death penalty plan to hold a vigil outside the prison prior to Owens' scheduled execution.
As South Carolina prepares to carry out this execution, it joins a diminishing number of states actively implementing capital punishment. Only nine states have executed more inmates than South Carolina since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.
The resumption of executions in South Carolina raises questions about the future of capital punishment in the state and the nation as a whole. As legal challenges and ethical debates continue, the coming months may prove pivotal in shaping the landscape of criminal justice in the Palmetto State.