South Carolina executes triple murderer by firing squad

Stephen Bryant, 44, was executed Friday by firing squad in South Carolina. He had pleaded guilty to three murders in 2004, was sentenced to death for only one of them.

Authorities described Bryant's crimes as "an eight-day crime spree," in which he killed Clifton Gainey, Willard Tietjen and Christopher Burges.

He received the death penalty for the murder of Tietjen, whom they said he shot multiple times, burned in the face with a cigarette and then wrote "catch me if you can" over the wall with his blood. The other two murders earned him two life sentences.

In a last-ditch effort to block the firing squad, the condemned man's defense argued earlier this month that he was born with an intellectual disability. This was due, they claimed, to his mother's abuse of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. They also exposed an alleged history of sexual abuse, according to local media.

Just this Tuesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected the appeal. Four days later he was shot by a three-man firing squad at 6:02 pm. He was pronounced dead at 6:05 pm. Watching were three of Tietjen's family members, among others.

A record year for executions

Just one day before Bryant's execution, a 66 year old former Marine was executed in a Florida state prison. Bryan Jennings' execution was the 16th in that state. On the same day another prisoner on death row received a last-minute reprieve in Oklahoma, ordered by Governor Kevin Stitt "after a thorough review of the facts and prayerful consideration."

"Nationally, the number of executions on Friday matched the 2012 record of 43. That number, however, is expected to be surpassed, as three more executions are scheduled this year."

In terms of methods, 35 executions were by lethal injection. Another three by firing squad and five more by nitrogen hypoxia, which consists of asphyxiating the prisoner by pumping nitrogen gas through a face mask.