Owens is to be executed by lethal injection. It would be the first execution in this state in 13 years. And this despite the fact that a key witness who testified against Owens now claims his innocence.
The execution of a death row inmate for killing a single mother of three in South Carolina could be the first in the state in more than a decade and the 14th in the United States this year, even though a key witness who testified against him has since proclaimed his innocence.
Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Friday. He was convicted of murdering 41-year-old Irene Grainger Graves, who was shot in the head during a Halloween night robbery at the supermarket where she worked in 1997.
On Wednesday, Steven Golden, Owens’ co-defendant in the robbery, signed an affidavit stating that Owens did not shoot Graves and was not even there that night, the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
“Freddie Owens is not the person who shot Irene Graves at the Speedway on November 1, 1997,” Golden told the South Carolina Supreme Court. “Freddie was not present when I robbed the Speedway that day.”
On Thursday, the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected a stay of execution, saying the affidavit did not disprove Owens’ previous alleged confessions. Owens’ last hope now is Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who can grant clemency in the case.
Here’s what you need to know about the implementation.
Why was Freddie Eugene Owens convicted?
Owens and Golden were convicted in the death of Graves. The death occurred during a robbery at the convenience store where she worked in Greenville, South Carolina. Graves was shot in the head after telling the men she couldn’t open the store’s safe.
Owens has always claimed that he was at home in bed at the time of the robbery. Golden’s testimony now supports this statement.
Golden said he went along with detectives who told him to say Owens was with him during the robbery because he was afraid of the death penalty. In a statement to police, Golden said he “mistook Freddie as the person who was really with me at the Speedway that night.”
“I did it because I knew the police wanted me to, and also because I thought the real shooter or his accomplices would kill me if I told the police,” he said. “I’m still afraid of that. But Freddie wasn’t actually there.”
Golden made a plea deal with prosecutors to testify against Owens and avoid the death penalty. His murder charge was reduced to manslaughter and he was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
Reacting to the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow the execution, one of Owens’ lawyers, Gerald Bo King, said he was “disappointed” with the verdict, “even though compelling evidence of his innocence has emerged.”
“South Carolina is on the verge of executing a man for a crime he did not commit,” he said.
Who is Freddie Eugene Owens?
Owens’ childhood was marked by neglect, abuse, trauma and mental health issues. His older sister described their father as extremely violent and abusive. He beat the children “all the time” with baseball bats, beer cans, extension cords and belts “until we bled,” according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Owens’ mother, Dora Diane Mason, recounted how Owens’ father abused him as a child.
“I remember one time when Freddie was about a year old – he was very small – his father got mad at him and beat him and shook him so hard,” Mason said. “After he stopped and I was able to rescue Freddie, I couldn’t get Freddie to stop crying no matter how hard I tried.”
Today, Owens goes by a different name: Khalil-Divine Black Sun-Allah, after he converted to Islam in prison. He is still referred to as Owens in court records.
After his imprisonment, he wrote lengthy letters to a woman he loved. In some letters he expressed his anger and jealousy, in others he showed his deeply vulnerable side. He wrote: “I am as fragile as a child.”
Letters from a man sentenced to death: Read vulnerable, angry thoughts from Freddie Owens
Who was Irene Grainger Graves?
Arte Graves, who was 18 when his mother was killed, said he remembers how hardworking and funny she was.
Irene Graves, a single mother, worked three jobs at Speedway Supermarket, Kmart and a supermarket called Bi-Lo to support her children.
“She always reminded us to look out for each other and always reminded us that we are a family and we need to look out for each other,” Arte Graves, now 45, said in an interview with USA TODAY. “We always had fun. I liked wrestling growing up, so she took me to the wrestling shows when they were at the old auditorium.”
He said his mother was also strong, determined and loving.
Arte Graves said he had just moved to Delaware for college when his mother was murdered, and he immediately returned to South Carolina to be with his younger siblings, who were just 10 and 11 at the time. He still lives in the state and owns a small transportation business.
He said of his mother: “I miss her every day.”
When and where will Freddie Eugene Owens be executed?
Owens is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina.
What will be Freddie Eugene Owens’ last meal?
Details of his last meal will be released Friday, according to Chrysti Shain, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Owens will get the chance to say his final words before he is killed. Check back with USA TODAY to find out what they are.
Who will attend the execution of Freddie Eugene Owens?
Arte Graves told USA TODAY he will be among those witnessing the executions, but it is unclear whether other family members will be there.
Representatives of the media will be present at the execution, including:
- The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network
- The Associated Press
- Fox Carolina
- The Charleston Post and Courier
When will the next execution take place in the country?
Owens’ execution is the first of five scheduled in the United States within just six days. On Tuesday, Texas is scheduled to execute Travis James Mullis for the 2008 murder of his young son, and Missouri is scheduled to execute Marcellus Williams for the death of a former reporter killed in 1998 by stabbings, although prosecutors and victims’ relatives argue he should be spared because he may well be innocent.
Following the double execution on Tuesday, two more executions are expected to take place in a row on Thursday. In Alabama, Alan Eugene Miller, who shot three of his colleagues in 1999, is to be executed with nitrogen gas, despite evidence of his mental illness and a witness to the previous execution by nitrogen gas in January calling the method “gruesome.”
Also on Thursday, Emmanuel Littlejohn is scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma for the 1992 death of a supermarket clerk, although Littlejohn claims he was not the shooter.
If all five executions are carried out, the United States will have executed 18 death row inmates this year, with six more planned and more likely to follow.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
