Freddie Owens executed in South Carolina despite questions over guilt, mother's plea

South Carolina executed Freddie Eugene Owens in the shooting death of a convenience store clerk on Friday as his mother begged state officials to reconsider, saying they were committing a "grave injustice" in light of a new sworn statement from a key witness in the case.

Owens, 46, was executed by lethal injection at the Broad Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, becoming the first inmate to be put to death by the state in more than a decade and the 14th in the nation this year. His execution began at 6:35 p.m. ET and he was pronounced dead 20 minutes later at 6:55 p.m.

A South Carolina jury found Owens guilty of murdering Irene Grainger Graves, 41, a single mother of three whose son described her as a hard-working and fun mom in an interview with USA TODAY this week.

"Freddie Owens did not kill Ms. Graves. His death tonight is a tragedy," his attorney, Gerald "Bo" King, told USA TODAY in a statement. "Mr. Owens’s childhood was marked by suffering on a scale that is hard to comprehend. He spent his adulthood in prison for a crime that he did not commit. The legal errors, hidden deals, and false evidence that made tonight possible should shame us all."

On Wednesday, Owens' co-defendant in the robbery signed a sworn statement saying that Owens didn't shoot Graves and was not even at the scene of the crime, reversing his decades-old story, according to reporting by the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network.

The statement failed to sway the court or Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who denied Owens clemency shortly before the execution. Outside the prison where the execution happened, protesters dubbed him "Henry McMurder."

Irene Graves' son, Arte Graves, told USA TODAY after witnessing the execution that he's glad the process is finally over, and said he believes the last-minute sworn statement came too late.

"If it was true, I feel he should've said something earlier, that's something that person will have to deal with their conscience," Arte Graves said.

Here’s what you need to know about Owens' execution, including whether he had any last words and what his last meal was.

Freddie Graves' execution day

Graves' last meal consisted of two cheeseburgers, a well-done ribeye steak, six chicken wings, French fries, two strawberry sodas and a piece of apple pie, according to a spokesperson with the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Owens did not deliver any last words before his death except to say "Bye" to his attorney.

Irene Granger Graves’ murder

Owens and his co-defendant, Steven Golden, were convicted in Graves' killing, which came during a robbery of the convenience store where she worked in Greenville, South Carolina, according to court documents.

Graves, a single mom who worked three jobs to provide for her children, was shot in the head after she told the men that she couldn't open the store safe. Owens has always maintained that he was at home in bed at the time of the robbery, and now a new sworn statement from Golden backs that up.

Golden said he went along with detectives who told him to say that Owens was with him during the robbery, saying he was afraid of getting the death penalty. In a statement to police, Golden said he "substituted Freddie for the person who was really with me in the Speedway that night."

"I did that because I knew that's what the police wanted me to say, and also because I thought the real shooter or his associates might kill me if I named him to the police," he said. "I am still afraid of that. But Freddie was actually not there."

Golden reached a plea agreement with prosecutors to testify against Owens and avoided the death penalty. His murder charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter and he was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Owens' execution could move forward, saying Golden's new statement doesn't trump alleged confessions they say he made to a girlfriend, his mother and two police officers.

Freddie Owens' mom begs for mercy, attorney 'disappointed'

Owens' mother, Dora Mason, called out all the decision-makers who could have intervened in her son's execution given Golden's new statement, saying they were committing "a grave injustice."

"Today, I bear witness to the State's unwillingness to consider new evidence, its refusal to acknowledge the possibility of error," she said in a statement obtained by the Greenville News. "Freddie is more than his conviction; he is a human being, a son, a brother, and a friend. He deserves compassion, understanding, and a fair chance at justice. Instead, the system has failed him and the victim at every turn."

Mason, whose statement came hours before the execution, urged South Carolinians to consider "the fallibility of our justice system and the irreversible nature of capital punishment ... I implore you to question the morality of taking a life in the name of justice, especially when doubt exists."

One of Owens' attorneys, Gerald Bo King, said he was "disappointed" in the state Supreme Court's ruling "despite compelling evidence of his innocence that emerged" and that South Carolina was "executing a man for a crime he did not commit."

State Sen. Deon Tedder, a Democrat, sent a letter to the governor, saying he had received a number of calls concerned about the new information in the case and that the execution should be stopped because "it is imperative that our state get it right when carrying actions that cannot be undone."

"We do not want the state of South Carolina to carry out its first execution in over a decade on the wrong person," he said.

USA TODAY reached out to the governor's office for comment.

A death row inmate's letters:Read vulnerable, angry thoughts written by Freddie Owens

Graves son attends Owens’ execution

Arte Graves, Irene Graves’ oldest child, told USA TODAY earlier this week that he would be attending Owens’ execution.

“Honestly I just gotta see him go,” he said. “I gotta see him go.”

Arte Graves described his mother as a hard-working woman and someone who made his childhood a fun one full of happy memories.

"She was a good woman, a fun woman ... We were always having fun," he said. "I miss her every day."

"I'm glad it's over and we can move on," Arte Graves said following the execution.

Arte Graves described the moments before the execution of Owens was completed, where a delay of almost an hour occurred as Owens' defense sent a last-minute appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Just get it over with," Arte Graves said. "It looked like he tried to look over in our direction but he could only lift his head up so much. We made full eye contact but I don't know if he's seen me, I could see him but I couldn't get to see his face too much though."

When is the next execution in the United States?

Owens' execution is the first of five scheduled in the U.S. in only a six-day period. On Tuesday, Texas is set to execute Travis James Mullis in the 2008 murder of his baby boy, and Missouri is set to execute Marcellus Williams in the death of 1998 fatal stabbing of a former reporter despite prosecutors and victim family members arguing that he should be spared because he could very well be innocent.

After Tuesday's double execution, Thursday is expected to bring two more back-to-back executions. Alabama is set to use nitrogen gas to execute Alan Eugene Miller in the shooting deaths of three co-workers in 1999 despite evidence of his mental illness and a witness to the state's previous nitrogen gas execution in January who described the method as "horrific."

Also Thursday, Oklahoma is set to execute Emmanuel Littlejohn in the death of a convenience store clerk in 1992 despite his arguments that he wasn't the shooter.

If all five executions proceed, the U.S. will have executed 18 death row inmates this year. Another six are scheduled, and more could be added to the calendar.

Contributing: Terry Benjamin II, Amanda Lee Myers

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.