South Carolina Resumes Executions After 13-Year Pause, Inmate Freddie Owens Executed

South Carolina resumed executions after a 13-year hiatus, administering a lethal injection to Freddie Owens, convicted of killing a clerk during a 1997 robbery. Owens' last-minute appeals were denied, including a petition to the US Supreme Court. He was executed after Governor McMaster declined to commute his sentence.

South Carolina resumed its death penalty protocol after a 13-year hiatus by executing inmate Freddie Owens. Owens, convicted for the 1997 murder of a Greenville convenience store clerk, faced a barrage of last-minute appeals, all of which were denied, including a petition to the US Supreme Court.

His final hope rested with Governor Henry McMaster, who after careful review, denied Owens' clemency request. Owens was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm, reinstating the state's lethal injection protocol.

This marks the first of potentially several pending executions in South Carolina, signifying a return to regular capital punishment procedures after legislative efforts to secure drug supplies and update execution methods.

(With inputs from agencies.)