South Carolina Executes First Inmate in 13 Years Despite Claims of Innocence

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Facts

  • The state of South Carolina executed death row inmate Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, previously known as Freddie Eugene Owens, on Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia by lethal injection.[1][2]
  • He was the first inmate put to death by the state since the start of an unintended 13-year pause, and the 44th in South Carolina since capital punishment was reinstated nationwide in 1976.[3][4]
  • Death row prisoners in South Carolina have the right to choose the method of execution, but Allah — who was still referred to as Owens in court and prison records — left that choice to his lawyer, citing religious beliefs.[5][6]
  • He was sentenced to death after confessing to killing his cellmate while awaiting the sentencing in the murder of Greenville convenience store clerk Irene Graves in 1997, for which he maintained his innocence.[5][3][7]
  • On Thursday, South Carolina Supreme Court dismissed a stay of execution based on a recanted testimony of his co-defendant, Steven Golden, claiming that Allah wasn't at the scene of the crime and that he lied due to an alleged secret plea deal.[6][7][8]
  • Five other death row inmates in South Carolina have exhausted their appeals and can be executed at five-week intervals, according to the state Supreme Court. At least one of them — 44-year-old Marion Bowman — is scheduled to be executed later this year.[6][9]

Sources: [1]FOX News, [2]Guardian, [3]The Greenville News, [4]BBC News, [5]NBC, [6]Death Penalty Information Center, [7]New York Post, [8]USA Today and [9]Charleston City Paper.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Los Angeles Times and SC Daily Gazette. This is not criminal justice, but rather savagery and the unnecessary loss of human life. Aside from the usual criticism of capital punishment, the execution of Allah — or Owens — is all the more shocking because the key witness admitted that his initial testimony was false. It's about time to abolish the death penalty to avoid such miscarriages of justices.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Western Journal and The State. It's only natural that the recanted testimony of Golden caused uproar and shock just days before the execution of Owens. However, a closer look reveals this last-minute affidavit was unreliable, as it contradicts sworn statements he has made over the past decades, as well as those of other witnesses. Owens was a dangerous man and his execution was justified.

Predictions