Posted on 11/15/2025 12:25:01 AM PST by Morgana
A South Carolina mass killer was executed by firing squad on Friday after his last-ditch attempt to avoid the death penalty was rejected.
Stephen Bryant, 44, was shot by three volunteers with rifles shortly after 6pm, more than 20 years after he killed three people during a vicious crime spree.
Residents in Sumter County were left terrified by his eight day rampage, which saw him taunt police by writing a message in his victim's blood.
Days before his execution, Bryant petitioned the South Carolina Supreme Court to stay his death penalty as he sought to blame his sickening crimes on brain damage caused by his mother drinking and doing drugs while pregnant with him.
But his fate was sealed as the court ruled that even if Bryant was found to suffer Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, it would not change his death sentence.
He became the third person in South Carolina to die by firing squad this year, a method that he chose due to issues obtaining lethal injection drugs. He also had the option to die by the electric chair.
Bryant chose the firing squad, which saw three volunteers shoot him in the heart from a distance of around 15 feet.
The firing squad method sparked controversy earlier this year after witnesses to the execution of killer Mikal Mahdi, 42, said he suffered excruciating pain when the shooters missed his heart.
Bryant had languished on death row since 2008, when he pleaded guilty to shooting four men, three fatally, in an eight-day crime spree in 2004.
Although Bryant admitted to killing three men, his death sentence was the result of just one carried out during the spree, the murder of Willard 'TJ' Tietjen, 62, who Bryant ambushed and killed in his remote home in Sumter County.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Stephen Bryant, 44, was shot by three volunteers with rifles shortly after 6pm, more than 20 years after he killed three people during a vicious crime spree.
Then why not THIRTY volunteers from a distance of FIVE feet?!
An easy solution occurs to me...
Regards,
Or they could just chop him into little pieces and suck him up with a vacuum cleaner. Liberals think that is good enough for unborn babies.
Excellent. So the one suffered before he died? You mean he got exactly what his innocent victims got?
Karma’s a bitch ain’t it?
I’m sure his victims appealed to him to spare their lives as well.
The optics aren’t good but a long drop hanging probably minimizes pain vs either lethal injection or the chair.
He lived to tell about it. His victims weren't so fortunate.
This bleeding heart nonsense for murderers and making sure they meet a comfortable end sickens and angers me.
Karma’s a bitch ain’t it? ???!
It’s Karma? I thought it was Carmen, she sure effed me over my senior year.
Why so few gun men? Besides hanging works and the victims didn’t get to chose. Just sayin.
Choose? My spelling sux.
My GOD SAVE US FROM ALL THE PERVERSION AND HORROR THAT IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD
Why only 3? I thought it was 10. Don’t know where I got that from but I thought that was the number.
he sought to blame his sickening crimes on brain damage
Too bad so sad...
Now he died from lead poisoning.
Why it takes 20 years to do it, I dunno...
You want saved? Wake-up quit settling for crap. And defend yourself. The only time you have to turn your check is to a fellow Christian. Otherwise, draw your sword and defend the Kingdom of God. IMO
20yrs is 19yrs too long (allowing 1yr for trial & 1 possible appeal)
Volunteers. I guess only 3 stepped up.
No, here in SC they only use 3.
On a side note, I live in the neighboring county to where his crimes occurred. The fact the killer taunted the daughter of one of his victims still haunts a lot of people around here. He did this by answering the victim’s cell phone when his daughter called him and boasting that she couldn’t talk to her dad because he had just killed him. This scumbag definitely fell under the SPJNK category.
I’ve had to put down three horses, two dogs, and two cats. I loved them all. One shot to the point. A piece of my heart left every time. No misses. I won’t miss. SOB desired to die. Trigger pull or gallows lever. It’s out responsibly. IMO you can’t handle it. STFU and get off the third rock from the sun.
The Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment for a reason. Not because of what it does to the convict, but what it does to the executioners, what it does to the society that sanctions it.
The last one to get the bullets was a local cop who was gunned down by a thug.
Official Statement:
https://public.doc.state.sc.us/agency-news-public/homeAction.do?method=view&id=868
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