South Carolina prepares for first execution in 13 years after securing drugs

South Carolina inmate Freddie Eugene Owens is set to undergo the state’s first execution in 13 years, about a year after the state obtained the necessary drugs to carry out a lethal injection.

Owens was convicted of murdering Irene Graves, a 41-year-old mother of three children who was shot during a robbery while she was working overnight at a convenience store in Greenville on November 1, 1997.

Owens, who was 19 at the time, has maintained his innocence in the case and over the past 27 years has filed motions asking the court to halt the execution and has requested clemency from Gov. Henry McMaster (R).

Holding with tradition, McMaster said he will ultimately announce his clemency decision in a phone call with the prison moments before Owens’ scheduled lethal injection start time, according to the Associated Press.

However, no governor has granted clemency to a death row inmate since 1976, and McMaster praised the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the death sentence this summer.

“The Supreme Court has rightfully upheld the rule of law,” the governor said. “This decision is another step in ensuring that lawful sentences can be duly enforced and the families and loved ones of the victims receive the closure and justice they have long awaited.”

This week, the Supreme Court again refused to halt the execution, despite new testimony from his co-defendant denying that Owens was there the night of the killing.

However, Owens has admitted to another murder, detailing the killing of his former cellmate, Christopher Lee, before he was convicted in the Graves case. Owens blamed the act on years of abuse as a juvenile from his father and other inmates in prison prior to this conviction.

“I’m as fragile as a child,” Owens wrote in letters to his former girlfriend Aisha when he was first incarcerated.

Owens is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina.

The execution was delayed for years because the drugs needed for a lethal injection were not available, and procedures for a firing squad were still being finalized. Owners and his lawyers argued the third method, electric chair, was cruel and unusual.

The state obtained the lethal injection drugs in September 2023.

The Hill has reached out to all parties involved for comment.