South Carolina Supreme Court Delays Executions Until January
The South Carolina Supreme Court has announced a temporary halt on executions, postponing any further death warrants until at least January 3rd. This decision effectively pauses the state’s execution schedule over the holiday season.
Earlier this year, South Carolina resumed capital punishment after a 13-year hiatus primarily caused by difficulties in procuring lethal injection drugs. A recently enacted privacy law now conceals the identities of drug suppliers, enabling the state to secure the necessary substances.
Without providing a detailed explanation, the justices avoided issuing a death warrant for Marion Bowman Jr. on November 8, which would have led to his execution on December 6. Bowman, convicted for the 2001 murder of Kandee Martin, has been on death row for over two decades.
Attorneys representing four inmates, whose executions were scheduled at five-week intervals, requested the court to consider a holiday reprieve. “Six consecutive executions with virtually no respite will take a substantial toll on all involved, particularly during a time of year that is so important to families,” the lawyers argued.
State officials countered, asserting that the prison system was prepared to adhere to the original execution timeline. They also noted that South Carolina has historically conducted executions during the holiday season, referencing five instances between December 1998 and January 1999.
Under state law, executions must occur on the “fourth Friday after the receipt of such notice.” Should a death warrant be issued for Bowman on January 3, his execution would be slated for January 31.
Since the resumption of executions, two inmates, Freddie Owens and Richard Moore, have been put to death in September and November, respectively. Bowman would be the third to face execution since the state secured the requisite lethal injection drugs.
South Carolina’s execution practices were interrupted in 2011 due to pharmaceutical companies’ reluctance to supply drugs without confidentiality guarantees. The state legislature addressed this with a law safeguarding drug suppliers’ identities, thus allowing the Supreme Court to authorize the resumption of executions earlier this year.
