South Carolina death row inmate dies by state’s first lethal injection in 13 years
Freddie Owens, 46, was sentenced to death in 1999 for killing a convenience store clerk Irene Graves during a robbery in Greenville, South Carolina, when he was 19 years old.
On Thursday evening, for the second time this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court refused to halt Owens’ execution despite a new affidavit signed Wednesday by his co-defendant, Steven Golden, who now claims Owens was not present at the time of the robbery and killing, court documents show.
Owens filed separate motions on August 30 and September 5 asking the court to halt the Friday execution. The court said it denied both motions on September 12 and saw no reason on Thursday to reconsider their decision.
Golden’s affidavit also claimed that he himself was not the gunman but “swears he knows the person’s identity,” according to a court order.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | September 21, 2024 10:08 AM
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“This new affidavit is squarely inconsistent with Golden’s testimony at Owens’ 1999 trial, at the first resentencing trial in 2003, and in the statement he gave law enforcement officers immediately after he participated in committing the crimes in 1997,” the order reads.
The court also noted Owens previously confessed to five people, including two law enforcement officers and his girlfriend.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | September 20, 2024 11:37 PM
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This is why the death penalty is a terrible idea. They elevate process over justice. If there’s any real possibility that someone has been wrongfully convicted, they should not be executed.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | September 21, 2024 3:45 AM
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19? Kids that age are so dumb
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | September 21, 2024 3:46 AM
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Y'all ina lection yar trees bare strange fruit.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | September 21, 2024 9:11 AM
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Exactly, R2.
Also? The death penalty is not a deterrent from carrying out violent crimes.
Psychopaths do NOT care about getting the needle or the chair. They don’t care about dying in 30 days, or 30 years, which brings me to this question:
What’s the point of a death penalty sentence, if the state takes 25-30+ years to execute a death row inmate?
That’s not justice. That’s double dipping. Get the money to keep the prisoners alive & well, and then get even MORE money to execute them?
Aside from the barbarity of this practice & the high risk of executing innocent people, this is a VERY expensive way to exact justice, & should be considered as a crime of financial fraud perpetrated upon tax payers.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | September 21, 2024 9:51 AM
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State sanctioned murder has no place in any modern democracy, this is barbaric behaviour.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | September 21, 2024 10:08 AM
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