A South Carolina man was executed by firing squad Friday, becoming the third person to die by that method in the state this year.
According to The Associated Press, Stephen Bryant, 44, was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. following a decades-old crime spree that left three people dead.
Three prison employees, all armed with live ammunition, carried out the execution. Bryant had chosen the firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair.
He made no final statement and briefly glanced at the ten witnesses before a hood was placed over his head. About 55 seconds later, the shots rang out. A doctor confirmed his death after checking his pulse with a stethoscope.
Oakland Police described the execution as highly targeted. “This was a very targeted incident,” Assistant Chief James Beere said. Bryant and the suspect knew each other, though they were not close. Authorities said the suspect was familiar with the Laney College campus and had played football at a high school where Bryant previously coached.
Bryant had killed three people in five days in 2004. Prosecutors said he shot Willard “TJ” Tietjen after stopping at his rural Sumter County home and later killed two men he had offered rides to, shooting them when they stepped out of the car.
For his final meal, Bryant requested spicy seafood stir-fry, fried fish over rice, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and German chocolate cake.
Bryant’s lawyer, Bo King, highlighted the man’s difficult upbringing, citing a genetic disorder, childhood sexual and physical abuse, and his mother’s binge drinking. King called Bryant’s life and death a tragedy, saying he “showed grace and courage in forgiving his family and great love for those in and outside of his prison.”
South Carolina has executed seven people since resuming capital punishment last year after a 13-year hiatus caused by shortages of lethal injection drugs. The state has relied on firing squads and lethal injection, with the electric chair still legally available.
King criticized all seven executions since the resumption, calling them “brutal and shameful” and arguing they have not made the state safer or more just. Bryant’s death marks the 50th execution in South Carolina since the death penalty was reinstated in the state.
