South Carolina has carried out its first execution in over twelve years, putting to death convicted murderer Stephen Bryant by firing squad in a highly controversial return to a method the state describes as its most humane option.
The Final Hours
Bryant, 57, was pronounced dead at 7:10pm local time on Friday after receiving three rifle shots to the heart from a team of volunteer marksmen at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. The execution proceeded after the US Supreme Court denied his final appeal for a stay.
"The state of South Carolina carried out the lawfully imposed sentence for a brutal murder committed by William Stephen Bryant," declared Governor Henry McMaster's office in a terse statement following the execution.
A Grisly Crime Remembered
Bryant's journey to the execution chamber began with the horrific 1994 murder of 24-year-old Hector Ospina. Court records detail how Bryant forced his way into Ospina's home alongside two accomplices, demanding money and drugs before fatally stabbing the young man multiple times.
The crime went unsolved for years until Bryant's conscience—or perhaps his circumstances—caught up with him. While serving time for an unrelated armed robbery in 2001, he confessed to Ospina's murder, providing details only the killer would know.
Controversial Method Returns
This execution marks South Carolina's first use of the firing squad since 2011 and represents the state's solution to a growing problem: obtaining lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have increasingly refused to supply chemicals for executions, prompting South Carolina lawmakers to revive older methods.
Under the state's protocol, firing squad volunteers remain anonymous and fire from behind a wall with portals, aiming for the heart. Prison officials argue this method causes immediate unconsciousness and death, calling it more humane than problematic lethal injections.
Final Words and Family Reactions
Bryant declined to make a final statement and refused his last meal, according to prison authorities. His execution brought mixed reactions from those affected by his crimes.
Ospina's sister, who witnessed the execution, expressed that while the pain of her brother's murder would never fully heal, "justice was served today." Meanwhile, anti-death penalty protesters gathered outside the prison, holding vigils and condemning what they called barbaric state-sanctioned killing.
The execution places South Carolina among only four US states that currently permit firing squad executions, reigniting national debates about capital punishment methods and their place in modern justice systems.
