South Carolina executes first inmate in 13 years
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A doctor in the execution chamber declared the inmate dead ten minutes after he was given the drug
Authorities in South Carolina on Friday executed Freddie Owens , sentenced to death for murdering a woman in 1999, by lethal injection , becoming the first inmate to be executed in the state in 13 years.
Owens, 46 , was strapped onto a gurney, where he was given the injection. He made no final statement, but said goodbye to his lawyer with a “goodbye,” local media reported.
Owens was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of Irene Graves , a gas station worker he had broken into to rob. He has always maintained his innocence in the crime.
While already in prison, but before his sentencing, he murdered his cellmate Christopher Lee because the latter had allegedly made fun of him.
Executions of prisoners in South Carolina have been on hold since lethal injection drugs ran out in 2011 and no company was willing to sell new supplies.
To unblock the situation, the state passed a law that keeps secret the name of the provider and part of the protocol used for the execution.