South Carolina is poised to implement its initial execution in over a decade, having procured the essential medication for lethal injection procedures.
Owens, aged 46, is set to meet his end through execution for the assassination of Irene Graves, as per the Department of Corrections in the state. The state's high court declined to halt the execution on Thursday once more.
Owens has petitioned for clemency from Gov. Henry McMaster, as reported by the Associated Press. If McMaster rejects this plea on Friday, Owens' state-dictated death sentence will mark South Carolina's first execution by lethal injection since regaining access to the essential medication necessary for the procedure, following nearly a decade of lethal injection supply woes.
Graves, a 41-year-old mother of three, tragically lost her life during a robbery while working an overnight shift at a Greenville store on November 1, 1997, as per CNN affiliate WHNS.
At the time of Graves' murder, Owens was merely 19 years old, the AP revealed. He was sentenced to death two years later after being found guilty of murder, armed robbery, and criminal conspiracy, according to the corrections department.
Owens also admitted to murdering his cellmate in 1999 while on remand following his conviction, as per WHNS.
McMaster will make his clemency decision in a phone call with the prison moments before Owens' scheduled lethal injection commencement time, the AP reported. Since 1976, no one on South Carolina's death row has been granted clemency by a governor, as per the Death Penalty Information Center.
For the second time this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court declined to halt Owens' execution despite a new affidavit signed on Wednesday by his co-defendant, Steven Golden, who now claims Owens was not present during the robbery and murder, as per court documents.
Owens filed two separate motions on August 30 and September 5, asking the court to postpone the execution. The court denied both motions on September 12 and saw no reason to reconsider its decision on Thursday.
Golden's affidavit also alleges that he himself was not the gunman but knows the gunman's identity, according to a court order.
The court noted that Owens had previously confessed to five individuals, including two law enforcement officers and his girlfriend.
The South Carolina Supreme Court issued an execution order for Owens to the state's corrections department on August 23.
Owens was given the choice between lethal injection, the electric chair, and a firing squad two weeks ago, according to the corrections department, but instead, he granted his lawyer, Emily Paavola, the authority to make the decision, as per court documents.
Paavola opted for lethal injection for her client, as per the documents. The AP and CNN have reached out to Owens' attorneys for comment.
Execution rescheduled from 2021
Owens' execution was initially scheduled for June 25, 2021, but the process was halted that month after the state supreme court halted the executions of Owens and another death row inmate, Brad Sigmon, as reported by CNN previously.
The court ordered a temporary halt on their executions while the procedures for South Carolina's newest method of capital punishment - death by firing squad - were finalized.
In May 2021, a South Carolina law came into effect allowing inmates to choose between lethal injection by electric chair or by firing squad if lethal injection drugs were unavailable, according to the South Carolina Legislature.
Amid the state's lethal injection medication supply issues at the time and with the firing squad method not yet established, death by electrocution was the only method of execution. Owens' and Sigmon's attorneys argued that the state's 109-year-old electrocution method was cruel and unusual, according to the AP.
South Carolina officials announced in September 2023 that they were prepared to resume lethal injections after securing the necessary drugs.
Owens' execution is scheduled to take place around 6 p.m.
CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.
Owens and his legal team have been actively seeking clemency from Governor Henry McMaster, hoping to avoid his execution.
If Owens' plea for clemency is denied by McMaster, it will be the first execution by lethal injection in South Carolina since their access to essential medications was reinstated following a decade-long supply issue.
