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South Carolina Executes Stephen Bryant by Firing Squad, Third Use of Method in State This Year

The 44-year-old chose the method under a state law that lets condemned prisoners select among firing squad, electric chair or lethal injection.

Overview

  • Bryant was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. ET on Nov. 14 at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, according to officials.
  • He was convicted in the 2004 killings of three men and had written "catch me if u can" with victim Willard “TJ” Tietjen’s blood.
  • He became the third person executed by firing squad in South Carolina in 2025 as executions in the U.S. rise to their highest yearly total since 2012.
  • Gov. Henry McMaster denied clemency and court records show Bryant had no appeals pending before the execution.
  • State protocol placed Bryant hooded and strapped to a chair with a target over his heart as three volunteer corrections employees fired from about 15 feet, while disputed claims from a prior case allege shooters missed the heart.