Freddie Eugene Owens, a demise row inmate in South Carolina, is scheduled to be executed by deadly injection at 6 pm on Friday, marking the state’s first execution in over a decade and the 14th within the US this 12 months.
Owens is scheduled to be executed on the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina.
Owens, 46, was convicted of the 1997 homicide of Irene Grainger Graves, a 41-year-old single mom of three.She was shot within the head throughout a Halloween night time theft on the comfort retailer the place she labored in Greenville, South Carolina.
Nevertheless, Owens’ case has taken a stunning flip. His co-defendant within the theft, Steven Golden, not too long ago got here ahead to proclaim Owens’ innocence.
In a sworn assertion, Golden stated Owens was not current in the course of the crime and didn’t shoot Graves. “Freddie Owens will not be the one who shot Irene Graves on the Speedway on November 1, 1997,” Golden said. “Freddie was not current once I robbed the Speedway that day.”
He admitted that he falsely accused Owens as a result of he feared receiving the demise penalty.
As a part of a plea deal, Steven Golden testified in opposition to Owens and prevented a demise sentence, receiving a diminished cost of voluntary manslaughter and a 28-year jail sentence.
Regardless of Golden’s new assertion, the South Carolina Supreme Court docket declined to halt Owens’ execution, citing prior confessions made by Owens.
Owens’ authorized group, led by legal professional Gerald Bo King, expressed disappointment, arguing that the brand new testimony exhibits compelling proof of Owens’ innocence. They’ve urged Governor Henry McMaster to intervene and grant clemency.
Owens has maintained his innocence, claiming he was house in mattress on the time of the crime.
His life has been formed by extreme childhood trauma. Court docket paperwork reveal that Owens grew up in an abusive family, the place his father often beat him and his siblings with bats, extension cords, and beer cans.
Owens’ mom recounted a very violent incident when he was only a child, the place his father shook and hit him so onerous that he wouldn’t cease crying.
Whereas on demise row, Owens transformed to Islam and now goes by the title Khalil-Divine Black Solar-Allah. Nevertheless, courtroom data nonetheless check with him by his start title.
Irene Graves’ household continues to mourn her loss. Her son, Arte Graves, remembers her as a hardworking, enjoyable, and loving mom who juggled three jobs to assist her kids. He was away at school when his mom was killed, forcing him to return house to take care of his youthful siblings. “I miss her day-after-day,” he stated.
Owens is scheduled to be executed on the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina.
Owens, 46, was convicted of the 1997 homicide of Irene Grainger Graves, a 41-year-old single mom of three.She was shot within the head throughout a Halloween night time theft on the comfort retailer the place she labored in Greenville, South Carolina.
Nevertheless, Owens’ case has taken a stunning flip. His co-defendant within the theft, Steven Golden, not too long ago got here ahead to proclaim Owens’ innocence.
In a sworn assertion, Golden stated Owens was not current in the course of the crime and didn’t shoot Graves. “Freddie Owens will not be the one who shot Irene Graves on the Speedway on November 1, 1997,” Golden said. “Freddie was not current once I robbed the Speedway that day.”
He admitted that he falsely accused Owens as a result of he feared receiving the demise penalty.
As a part of a plea deal, Steven Golden testified in opposition to Owens and prevented a demise sentence, receiving a diminished cost of voluntary manslaughter and a 28-year jail sentence.
Regardless of Golden’s new assertion, the South Carolina Supreme Court docket declined to halt Owens’ execution, citing prior confessions made by Owens.
Owens’ authorized group, led by legal professional Gerald Bo King, expressed disappointment, arguing that the brand new testimony exhibits compelling proof of Owens’ innocence. They’ve urged Governor Henry McMaster to intervene and grant clemency.
Owens has maintained his innocence, claiming he was house in mattress on the time of the crime.
His life has been formed by extreme childhood trauma. Court docket paperwork reveal that Owens grew up in an abusive family, the place his father often beat him and his siblings with bats, extension cords, and beer cans.
Owens’ mom recounted a very violent incident when he was only a child, the place his father shook and hit him so onerous that he wouldn’t cease crying.
Whereas on demise row, Owens transformed to Islam and now goes by the title Khalil-Divine Black Solar-Allah. Nevertheless, courtroom data nonetheless check with him by his start title.
Irene Graves’ household continues to mourn her loss. Her son, Arte Graves, remembers her as a hardworking, enjoyable, and loving mom who juggled three jobs to assist her kids. He was away at school when his mom was killed, forcing him to return house to take care of his youthful siblings. “I miss her day-after-day,” he stated.
