South Carolina Man Faces Execution by Firing Squad After Triple Homicide
Stephen Bryant, a 44-year-old South Carolina man who committed three murders over 20 years ago, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. Bryant will become the third person in South Carolina this year to face this method of execution, which he personally chose over lethal injection and the electric chair. South Carolina resumed executions in September 2023 after a 13-year pause, during which the state struggled to maintain adequate supplies of lethal injection drugs and faced concerns about botched executions. Since resuming capital punishment, the state has executed four individuals by lethal injection, with the electric chair remaining another legal option.
Bryant’s case stands out for its brutality. He admitted to fatally shooting Willard “TJ” Tietjen in his home after burning the victim’s eyes with cigarettes. In a disturbing display, Bryant used the victim’s blood to write “victem 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can” on a wall and arranged candles around Tietjen’s body. The crime was discovered when Tietjen’s daughter called her father repeatedly, and on her final attempt, a strange voice answered telling her they had killed him. Prosecutors also connected Bryant to the murders of two other men in October 2004, both of whom were shot in the back after Bryant had offered them rides—one killing occurring before Tietjen’s murder and one after.
The execution process will involve three prison employees who have volunteered to carry out the sentence from 15 feet away. While Bryant has no pending appeals, he retains the right to request clemency from the governor, though such mercy seems unlikely. South Carolina governors have not granted clemency in capital cases since the United States resumed the death penalty in 1976, and any potential clemency would typically only be announced minutes before the scheduled execution time. Bryant’s decision last month to choose the firing squad over other available methods has brought renewed attention to this form of execution.
Behind the brutal murders lies a troubled personal history. Bryant’s legal team has highlighted his significant psychological distress leading up to the killings, noting that he repeatedly sought help while struggling with childhood trauma. According to his lawyers, Bryant was sexually abused by four male relatives during his childhood, trauma he attempted to manage through substance abuse, including methamphetamine and joints laced with bug spray. This background information, while not excusing his actions, provides context for the mental state that may have contributed to his violent behavior.
The use of firing squads for executions has become controversial in South Carolina. Attorneys representing Mikal Mahdi, the last person executed by firing squad in the state earlier this year, have filed a lawsuit claiming that the bullets missed Mahdi’s heart, potentially leaving him alive and suffering for up to a minute after the shots were fired. Mahdi, 42, had been convicted in the 2004 killings of an off-duty police officer in South Carolina and a convenience store clerk in North Carolina. Such concerns about the potential for suffering during firing squad executions have intensified debate about this method of capital punishment.
Bryant’s impending execution continues South Carolina’s renewed implementation of the death penalty after its lengthy pause. The state’s return to executions, including the revival of the firing squad as a method, represents part of a complex national conversation about capital punishment. While some states have moved toward abolishing the death penalty entirely, others like South Carolina have reaffirmed their commitment to carrying out these sentences through various means. As Bryant’s execution approaches, both supporters and opponents of capital punishment continue to debate the ethics, effectiveness, and humanity of the practice, especially regarding methods like the firing squad that some consider particularly problematic in modern society.
