A death row inmate, who has been incarcerated for over 20 years, now faces an execution date after his final appeal was unsuccessful.
Stephen Bryant from South Carolina is to be executed by an uncommon method after his last chance to contest his sentence was denied.
In 2008, Bryant, then 44, was found guilty of murdering three individuals in Sumter County, Florida, over a span of several days in October 2004.
During this spree, Bryant shot four victims, fatally injuring three and leaving one seriously wounded. He left a mocking message for law enforcement, written in a victim’s blood, stating: “Victim 4 in 2 weeks. Catch me if u can.”
Trial details revealed that Bryant, at 23, initiated his criminal activities with a burglary on October 5, followed by another the subsequent day, during which he acquired a handgun.
Soon after, on October 8, Bryant shot a stranger who was fishing, though the man survived.
On October 9, Bryant killed his alleged friend and colleague, Clifton Gainey, 36, leaving his body on a remote road before invading the home of 62-year-old Willard Tietjen. He shot Tietjen nine times, subsequently burning his face and eyes with a cigarette.
Reports indicate that Bryant used Tietjen’s blood to inscribe messages on the wall and answered calls from Tietjen’s daughter, informing her of her father’s death and referring to himself as the ‘prowler.’
On October 13, two days later, he murdered Christopher Burgess, 35, after meeting him at a convenience store.
Authorities have now confirmed that Bryant is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at 6pm on Friday, November 14, at a Columbia prison.
This development follows a last-ditch appeal by Bryant’s attorneys, who argued that the sentencing judge did not consider the severe brain damage Bryant allegedly suffered due to his mother’s alleged alcohol and drug use during pregnancy.
His legal team contended that a complete brain scan prior to the trial might have shown prenatal damage.
Moreover, Bryant’s lawyers cited new evidence from a 2024 interview where he allegedly described being sexually abused as a child.
Nonetheless, the South Carolina Supreme Court dismissed the appeal earlier this week, stating that even if Bryant had Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, it wouldn’t likely have altered the sentencing outcome.
The US Supreme Court also recently refused to reevaluate the sentence.
“By any stretch, (Bryant) demonstrated a high level of planning, decision making, and calculation,” the justices concluded in their unanimous decision on Monday, November 10.
Despite the recent death sentence, Bryant may still request the governor to commute his sentence to life imprisonment. This decision could be revealed just minutes before the execution, although no South Carolina governor has granted clemency in modern history, according to CBS.
Bryant will be the 50th individual executed in South Carolina since the death penalty was reinstated in 1985, and the third to face execution by firing squad in the state this year.