South Carolina has witnessed its first execution in over a decade, marking a grim milestone in the state's history.
Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, previously known as Freddie Owens, was put to death by lethal injection for the 1997 murder of a convenience store clerk.
The execution took place on Friday evening, following the refusal of the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the proceedings and the denial of clemency by the state's governor, Henry McMaster.
According to The Independent, the execution was carried out at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, with three media witnesses present. The lethal injection was administered around 6:35pm, with Allah pronounced dead 20 minutes later. The execution was initially scheduled for 6pm but was delayed as the state awaited the Supreme Court's decision.
Jeffery Collins of the Associated Press, one of the media witnesses, noted that Allah showed "no sign of any discomfort" during the process. He added, "Freddie Owens the whole way through, had maybe, like a small smile or certainly not a grimace or anything like that during the time that he appeared to still have consciousness when this was going on.
Allah was convicted for the armed robbery and murder of Irene Graves, a cashier at the convenience store, in 1997. At the time of the crime, Allah was only 19 years old. Graves, 41, was shot in the head during the robbery. Graves's son and son-in-law, as well as family members of Christopher Bryan Lee, a former cellmate whom Allah killed in 1999, were present for the execution.
Despite his conviction, Allah maintained his innocence in the murder of Graves. In the weeks leading up to the execution, co-defendant Steven Golden revealed that he had testified against Allah under a secret deal with prosecutors. Just two days before the execution, Golden retracted his testimony.
Golden, who served 28 years in prison for his role in the crime, stated in a sworn affidavit that he had lied to a South Carolina jury during the 1999 trial when he claimed Owens had fired the fatal shot. He further admitted that he was under the influence of cocaine and marijuana when he was initially arrested and interrogated by the police.
In the statement, Golden clarified, Freddie Owens is not the person who shot Irene Graves at the Speedway on November 1, 1997. Freddie was not present when I robbed the Speedway that day.
The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of North Carolina also issued a statement to Fox Carolina, asserting, Freddie Owens did not kill Ms. Graves. His death tonight is a tragedy. Mr. Owenss childhood was marked by suffering on a scale that is hard to comprehend. He spent his adulthood in prison for a crime that he did not commit. The legal errors, hidden deals, and false evidence that made tonight possible should shame us all.
Before his execution, Allah's last meal consisted of two cheeseburgers, fries, a well-done ribeye steak, six chicken wings, two strawberry sodas, and a slice of apple pie, as reported by WYFF.
South Carolina had halted executions in 2011 due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs. In the following years, the state introduced the use of the electric chair and death by firing squad, and passed a shield law to conceal all information about the procurement of drugs and procedures used in lethal injections.
The Independent, in collaboration with the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ), has initiated a campaign to end the death penalty in the U.S. The RBIJ has garnered support from over 150 prominent signatories for their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty, with The Independent being the latest addition. High-profile executives such as Ariana Huffington, Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson are among those who have pledged to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in their coverage.
Login