COLUMBIA, S.C.—A South Carolina inmate scheduled to be executed Friday is asking Gov. Henry McMaster to spare his life, something no governor in the state has done since the death penalty was restarted nearly 50 years ago.
Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is set to be the first person to be executed in South Carolina in 13 years. His lawyer chose lethal injection over the firing squad or electric chair after Owens turned the decision over to her.
McMaster has said he will stick to the historic practice of announcing his decision on the phone with the prison minutes before Owens’ lethal injection is set to start….