In South Carolina, inmate Freddie Owens was executed after a 13-year pause in executions due to a lack of lethal injection drugs. Owens was convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a robbery in 1997, as well as another inmate while in jail. Despite multiple appeals, Owens was put to death by lethal injection. The state has recently passed laws to allow for executions every five weeks, including the option of a firing squad. Owens changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah while in prison, but was still referred to as Owens in court records.
Owens’ last appeals focused on inconsistencies in the evidence presented in his trial, his young age at the time of the crime, and the traumatic events he experienced during his childhood. His lawyers argued that he was wrongly convicted and should not be put to death. Despite protests outside the prison, Owens was executed as scheduled.
South Carolina is now restarting executions, with plans to carry out more in the coming weeks. The state has faced challenges in obtaining lethal injection drugs, leading to the addition of the firing squad as an execution method. Owens’ execution marks the first in the state in over a decade and comes as the death row population has decreased due to appeals and natural causes.
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