South Carolina’s Supreme Court has denied a final appeal from convicted murderer Stephen Bryant, clearing the way for his execution by firing squad on Friday evening.
According to The Associated Press, Bryant, 44, was convicted of killing three people over a five-day rampage in 2004, leaving behind grisly crime scenes and blood-written taunts to police. He is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. at a Columbia prison, marking what will be the state’s third firing squad execution this year.
Bryant’s attorneys filed a last-minute appeal arguing his death sentence should be reconsidered due to evidence suggesting he suffered from severe brain damage caused by his mother’s drug and alcohol use during pregnancy. They claimed this condition, known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, was never properly examined before his 2008 trial.
But the state’s high court unanimously rejected that argument Monday, ruling that the new evidence would not have changed Bryant’s fate. “By any stretch, (Bryant) demonstrated a high level of planning, decision making, and calculation,” the justices wrote.
Bryant was sentenced to death for the killing of Willard “TJ” Tietjen, whom he shot inside his home before burning his eyes with cigarettes and scrawling “catch me if u can” and other taunting messages on the walls using the victim’s blood. Prosecutors said he also murdered two different men during the same period, shooting them after giving them a ride in his truck.
His lawyers argued that childhood trauma, including alleged sexual abuse, affected his ability to control his behavior. They cited a 2024 interview with a psychologist in which Bryant detailed the abuse, saying it was never fully investigated at trial.
Prosecutors countered that the crimes were “methodical and cunning,” not the impulsive acts of a damaged mind. The justices agreed.
Bryant may still request clemency from the governor, though no South Carolina governor has granted it in the modern era of capital punishment.
Executions resumed in South Carolina in 2024 after a 13-year pause caused by a shortage of lethal injection drugs. State lawmakers reintroduced the firing squad as an alternative method.
Bryant will face a hooded death before three volunteers fire from 15 feet away.
