South Carolina executed inmate Freddie Owens, who was convicted of killing a convenience store clerk in a robbery in 1997. Owens had also killed a person while on trial. He made no final statement before being put to death using a single sedative, pentobarbital. His last meal included cheeseburgers, a ribeye steak, chicken wings, soda, and apple pie. Despite several denied appeals, including from the U.S. Supreme Court, Owens was not granted clemency by Governor Henry McMaster. The state had been unable to carry out executions for 13 years due to a lack of lethal injection drugs.
Owens maintained his innocence and claimed he was wrongly convicted. His lawyers argued that there was no scientific evidence proving his guilt in the killing. They also highlighted his troubled childhood and brain damage from abuse. Owens, who changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah in prison, had two previous death sentences overturned on appeal.
South Carolina recently reinstated the death penalty, offering condemned individuals the choice of lethal injection, the electric chair, or the firing squad. Owens allowed his lawyer to choose his method of execution. The state had to pass a new law to keep execution protocols secret in order to resume carrying out death sentences. Owens’ execution may be the first of several scheduled in the coming months as the state plans to hold one every five weeks.
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