South Carolina’s Third Firing Squad Execution This Year: Stephen Bryant’s Story
In a somber development from South Carolina, Stephen Bryant became the state’s third inmate this year to be executed by firing squad. Bryant, 44, died at 6:05 p.m. last Friday at Columbia’s Broad River Correctional Institution after choosing this method of execution over lethal injection or the electric chair. His execution marks the seventh carried out by South Carolina in just 14 months, following a 13-year hiatus when the state couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs. Bryant was convicted of three murders, including the particularly brutal killing of Willard “TJ” Tietjen in October 2004, a crime to which he confessed. In his final moments, Bryant remained silent, briefly glancing toward the witnesses before the hood was placed over his head. His last meal consisted of spicy mixed seafood stir-fry, fried fish over rice, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and German chocolate cake – a final indulgence before facing his punishment.
The execution proceeded with clinical precision. As the shots rang out, the red bullseye target marking Bryant’s heart flew forward from his chest. Witnesses reported that he made no noise, took a few shallow breaths, and experienced a final spasm slightly over a minute later. A doctor checked him with a stethoscope for a full minute before pronouncing him dead. Three family members of Bryant’s victims held hands during the execution, a poignant gesture of solidarity in the face of tragedy. The clinical details of Bryant’s death stand in stark contrast to the brutality of his crimes, particularly the murder of Tietjen, where Bryant admitted to not only fatally shooting him but also burning his eyes with cigarettes and writing “catch me if u can” on the wall with the victim’s blood – a chilling display of callousness.
The circumstances of Bryant’s other two murders followed a disturbing pattern. In both cases, Bryant offered the men rides in his vehicle and, when they stopped to urinate on the side of the road, shot them in the back. These calculated killings paint a picture of a predator who lured unsuspecting victims into vulnerable positions before executing them. In the Tietjen case, the horror extended beyond the murder itself. Tietjen’s daughter called her father six times, and on the final call, a strange voice answered and told her about killing her father – an additional layer of cruelty inflicted on the victim’s family that hints at Bryant’s desire not just to kill but to create terror.
Behind Bryant’s heinous crimes lies a complex personal history that, while not excusing his actions, provides context for understanding how such violence can emerge. Bo King, an attorney who works on death penalty cases in South Carolina, revealed that Bryant suffered from a genetic disorder and was a victim of severe sexual and physical abuse by relatives during his childhood. Additionally, his mother’s binge drinking reportedly caused permanent damage to his body and brain. “Mr. Bryant’s impairments left him unable to endure the tormenting memories of his childhood,” King stated. This tragic background illustrates the cyclical nature of trauma and violence, where childhood victims sometimes grow up to perpetrate similar harm, trapping both themselves and others in ongoing patterns of suffering.
The execution of Bryant continues South Carolina’s renewed use of the death penalty after a lengthy hiatus. Prior to the recent series of executions, the state had gone 13 years without carrying out a death sentence due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs, a challenge that has affected many states with capital punishment. The return to using firing squads represents an adaptation to these pharmaceutical obstacles, with South Carolina choosing to revert to older methods rather than abandon capital punishment altogether. Bryant joins Mikal Mahdi and Brad Sigmon as the third person executed by firing squad in South Carolina this year alone, signaling the state’s commitment to carrying out death sentences despite the controversies and challenges surrounding execution methods.
The story of Stephen Bryant encapsulates many of the complex issues surrounding capital punishment in America: the tension between punishment and redemption, the role of childhood trauma in shaping adult behavior, the rights of victims’ families to see justice served, and the ongoing debate about humane execution methods. As witnesses watched Bryant’s final moments, three families held hands, united by the shared experience of having lost loved ones to senseless violence. Meanwhile, Bryant himself, a product of abuse and neglect who went on to commit terrible crimes, ended his life with no final statement – perhaps the most telling commentary on a life marked by violence both received and perpetrated. His execution represents both the culmination of the justice system’s process and a sobering reminder of the cyclical nature of trauma that continues to affect communities across the nation.
