A death row inmate forced to choose between three execution options is set to be executed by lethal injection this month in South Carolina.
Freddie Owens, 46, a convicted killer who shot and killed a store clerk during a botched robbery in 1997, was given the choice of lethal injection, the electric chair or firing squad when he was executed.
Although he was forced to decide his method of execution, Owens left his fate in the hands of his lawyer, saying his Muslim faith prevented him from playing an active role in his own death.
But even though his lawyer Emily Paavola opted for lethal injection, she cited ongoing problems with the method, which has seen a number of recent executions last several hours and not even kill inmates.
Freddie Owens, 46, a convicted murderer, was given three options for his execution this month, with his lawyer deciding on lethal injection.
Owens was given the choice of lethal injection, firing squad or the electric chair. Pictured is the Supreme Court’s execution chamber, showing the electric chair (right) and the firing squad chair (left).
In recent years, experts have sounded the alarm about problems with lethal injections, with shortages of drugs used in the method leading some states to extend their supplies beyond their expiration dates.
Critics say this has led to many lengthy and painful executions, including that of inmate Joe Nathan James, 50, who endured the longest execution in U.S. history in 2022, lasting more than three hours.
In court documents deciding Owens’ fate this month, Paavola cited those concerns as she remained unsure whether prison officials would be able to execute the killer in an efficient and humane manner.
“I have known Mr. Owens for 15 years. Under these circumstances and in light of the information currently available to me, I made the best decision I could make on his behalf,” she wrote.
“I sincerely hope that the assurances from the South Carolina Department of Corrections prove to be correct.”
Owens attributed the decision to his lawyer because of his Muslim faith, which teaches that suicide is a sin, and he viewed the choice to execute him as an active role in his own death.
If Paavola had not made a decision, the state would have sent Owens to the electric chair, something the killer said he wanted to avoid.
Owens, pictured at his trial in 1999, was sentenced to death for the murder of saleswoman Irene Graves during a botched robbery in 1997.
Owens denied killing Graves, and store surveillance video failed to clearly show who shot Graves in the head — and the forensic evidence was never presented at his trial.
Owens’ attorney, Emily Paavola, opted for lethal injection on his behalf, but cited ongoing problems with the method that has seen a number of recent executions fail.
His execution is now scheduled for September 20, the first in South Carolina in 13 years.
The delay was due to problems plaguing executions in states across the country, but last year, South Carolina lawmakers voted to keep their pentobarbital supplier secret, effectively reopening the death chamber, the Associated Press reports.
That’s because the state had previously used a three-drug cocktail but switched to a single dose of pentobarbital — similar to the federal government’s method — to make the drug easier to obtain.
The state Supreme Court also ruled in July 2024 that the electric chair and firing squad methods were also legal.
This allowed Owens to finally set an execution date, as he had exhausted all his appeal options.
However, Owens could still receive a stay of execution as the Supreme Court will hear an argument from his lawyers that his co-defendant lied during his 1999 trial about reaching a deal to testify against Owens.
At trial, his co-defendant Steven Andra Golden testified that Owens was the one who pulled the trigger to kill store employee Irene Graves as she struggled to open the safe during a robbery.
Owens denied being the one who killed Graves, and store surveillance video failed to clearly show who shot Graves in the head — and forensic evidence was never presented at his trial.
However, although Owens has pleaded his innocence to the murder, prosecutors say the testimony against him was strengthened by Owens’ confessions to his mother and girlfriend of the murder.
Less than 12 hours after being convicted of Graves’ murder, Owens also killed fellow inmate Christopher Bryan Lee, 28, during a cell dispute after Lee allegedly revealed that his cousin was on the jury that sentenced Owens to death.
Less than 12 hours after being convicted of Graves’ murder, Owens also killed fellow inmate Christopher Bryan Lee, 28, (pictured) during a prison cell argument.
Owens, seen in a more recent death row photo, will become the first person executed in South Carolina in 13 years if his Sept. 20 execution goes ahead.
Prosecutors also say the issues raised by Owens’ lawyers in staying his execution were all addressed during his numerous appeals.
Owens’ death sentence was overturned twice while he was on death row, but retrials resulted in a new death penalty recommendation.
“Owens has had ample opportunity to assert his rights regarding his conviction and sentence. He is not entitled to any further punishment,” the South Carolina attorney general’s office wrote in a court filing.
With his other options exhausted – including unsuccessful arguments over the continued use of pentobarbital – Owens may have to rely on South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to grant him last-minute clemency.
However, no governor has done so in the 43 executions carried out in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.
Gov. Henry McMaster said he would follow a longstanding tradition and not announce his decision until prison officials gave a call from the death chamber minutes before the execution.
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