Stephen Bryant faces a chilling fate Friday evening: execution by firing squad in South Carolina. He is the third person this year to meet this end within the state, a grim milestone in a practice steeped in a brutal history.
Bryant, 44, was convicted of a terrifying spree in 2004, claiming the lives of three men in just five days. His crimes unfolded in the quiet, rural landscapes of Sumter County, leaving a community gripped by fear and demanding justice.
The execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Broad River Correctional Institution. While Bryant has exhausted his formal appeals, a last-minute plea for clemency to the governor remains a possibility – though historically, such requests have been denied in South Carolina since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.
The firing squad, a method once relegated to military courts and the harsh realities of the American Old West, has seen a disturbing resurgence. Once used to punish desertion and quell mutinies, it now stands as an alternative in a nation grappling with the complexities of capital punishment.
This revival stems from growing concerns over lethal injection, plagued by botched executions and a dwindling supply of necessary drugs. South Carolina paused executions for thirteen years, a direct consequence of these difficulties, before resuming them in September 2024.
Bryant’s case began with Willard “TJ” Tietjen, a man he encountered under the guise of needing help with a broken-down car. The encounter quickly turned deadly, Tietjen shot multiple times. Bryant then chillingly confessed to the crime, even contacting Tietjen’s family to claim responsibility.
Before and after Tietjen’s murder, Bryant offered rides to two other men, then callously shot them in the back as they stopped on the roadside. The ensuing manhunt paralyzed the area, with law enforcement stopping nearly every vehicle on dirt roads, urging residents to be wary of strangers.
Defense attorneys paint a portrait of a deeply troubled man, haunted by childhood sexual abuse at the hands of relatives. They argue Bryant desperately sought help, pleading with a probation officer and his aunt for intervention, self-medicating with meth and a disturbing concoction of marijuana sprayed with insecticide.
Bryant will become the 43rd person executed in the United States this year, with at least fourteen more scheduled to follow. He represents the 50th execution in South Carolina since the state resumed capital punishment four decades ago.
The execution chamber will hold a small group of witnesses, separated from the event by bulletproof glass. Bryant will be secured to a chair, a target placed over his heart. A final statement, if offered, will be his last words.
A hood will be placed over his head, and a prison employee will draw back a shade, revealing the firing squad waiting with high-powered rifles. There will be no warning, no signal – only the sudden, brutal volley of gunfire from fifteen feet away.
A doctor will swiftly assess Bryant, pronouncing him dead within minutes. However, the last firing squad execution in South Carolina raised disturbing questions, with lawyers alleging the shots barely grazed the heart, potentially prolonging the condemned man’s suffering.
