GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) – South Carolina has executed Greenville County murderer Freddie Owens, the first inmate sentenced to death by the state in 13 years.
Owens, 46, died by lethal injection on Friday, September 20 – nearly three decades after the murder of supermarket employee Irene Graves.
His last meal consisted of two cheeseburgers, French fries, ribeye steak, six chicken wings, two strawberry lemonades and a piece of apple pie.
FOX Carolina anchor Justin Dougherty witnessed the execution. Dougherty said at 6:35 p.m., the prison warden gave permission for the execution and the curtain between the execution chamber and the witness room was opened. The execution was delayed from the originally scheduled time of 6 p.m. as officials awaited a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Minutes before the execution, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for a temporary disbarment of Owens, and Governor Henry McMaster refused to grant any form of pardon.
Owens was wearing a green jumpsuit and was lying horizontally with a white blanket pulled up to his chest. An IV was being put into his arm from another room.
Owens did not make a final statement. Dougherty said that in his final moments, Owens wore a gentle smile and appeared to be in no pain. He maintained eye contact with his defense attorney and mouthed unclear words to her.
In his last moment of consciousness, he said goodbye to his lawyer.
Between 6:37 p.m. and 6:42 p.m., Owens appeared unconscious, but nodded his head slowly and exhibited shallow breathing. Between 6:43 p.m. and 6:53 p.m., Owens did not move at all.
At 6:53 p.m., a doctor checked Owens’ wrist pulse. She then used her stethoscope and at 6:55 p.m., Owens’ death was confirmed.
A South Carolina Department of Corrections official subsequently stated, “The South Carolina case against Freddie Owens is closed.”
Owens was 19 years old when he committed a series of robberies on Halloween night in 1997. Irene Graves, 41, was a clerk at one of the convenience stores he targeted. Owens was reportedly angry that Graves took so long to open the safe and shot her in the head.
Owens was convicted of Graves’ murder in 1999. During the 24 hours he spent in custody between the conviction and sentencing, he killed his cellmate Christopher Bryan Lee in the Greenville County Detention Center. Lee was arrested on a traffic violation.
Family members of Graves and Lee were present at the execution. They stared at Owens throughout the procedure.
In addition to moderator Justin Dougherty, other media witnesses to the execution included Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press and David Ferrara of the Greenville Post and Courier. A spiritual advisor and an employee of the Greenville County Attorney’s Office were also in attendance.
Even though Owens’ co-defendant made a last-minute plea of innocence during the robbery that killed Graves, it did not stop officials from carrying out the execution.
The day before the execution, Steven Golden signed an affidavit stating, “Freddie Owens is not the person who shot Irene Graves.”
Golden said he was high on cocaine and marijuana when he was arrested and questioned by police on Nov. 11. At the time, he signed a statement saying Owens shot Graves in the head. He also testified during Owens’ murder trial.
Several courts said Golden’s affidavit contradicted numerous previous witness statements and Owens’ own confessions.
A member of Owens’ legal team, Gerald “Bo” King, chief of the Capital Habeas Unit for the Fourth Judicial District in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of North Carolina, issued the following statement:
“Freddie Owens did not kill Ms. Graves. His death tonight is a tragedy. Mr. Owens’ childhood was marked by suffering on a scale that is hard to comprehend. He spent his adult life in prison for a crime he did not commit. The legal errors, hidden collusion and false evidence that made this evening possible should shame us all.”
FULL COVERAGE: Execution of South Carolina murderer Freddie OwenS
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