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A South Carolina death row inmate convicted of killing a man and writing a message to investigators with the victim’s blood more than 20 years ago elected on Friday to die by firing squad.
Stephen Bryant, 44, will be executed Nov. 14, making him the third man this year to die by South Carolina’s newest execution method, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Bryant had until Friday to choose if he wanted to die by lethal injection, firing squad or the electric chair.
South Carolina resumed executions in 2024 after an involuntary 13-year pause due to trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs. Since then, four inmates selected lethal injection and two died by firing squad.
Stephen Corey Bryant listens as his defense attorney presents his closing argument during Bryant’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday at the Sumter County Court House. (AP)
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Bryant admitted to fatally shooting Willard “TJ” Tietjen in his home, burning his eyes with cigarettes and painting “catch me if u can” on the wall with Tietjen’s blood.
Candles were lit around Tietjen’s body and the corner of a potholder was dipped in Tietjen’s blood and used to write “victem 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can” on a wall, according to officials.
Tietjen’s daughter called him six times, telling investigators on the final call, a strange voice answered and told her they killed Tietjen.
The state’s death chamber in Columbia, S.C. with the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
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Prosecutors alleged Bryant also shot and killed two other men in October 2004, one prior to Tietjen’s death and one after.
Bryant was accused of giving the men rides and shooting them in the back as they were relieving themselves on the side of rural roads.
Bryant’s lawyers said he was distressed before the killings, repeatedly asking for help as he struggled with trauma from being sexually abused by four male relatives as a child, according to the report. He allegedly tried to cope through drug use, including meth and bug-spray-laced joints.
Death row inmates who choose death by firing squad are shot from 15 feet away. (AP)
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Bryant will be shot by three volunteers, 15 feet away.
A legal battle is likely following the execution, as attorneys for the most recent man who died by firing squad claimed the executioners nearly missed his heart, causing prolonged suffering.
Witnesses reported several groans from the death row inmate, with it taking more than a minute for him to die, according to the outlet. Prison officials said executioners only have to hit the heart, and do not have to destroy it.
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Since 1977, only three U.S. prisoners—all in Utah—have been executed by firing squad. This year, 41 men have been executed nationwide, with at least 18 more scheduled, according to the report.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.