Southeast
South Carolina death row inmate wants to delay execution, says co-defendant lied about not having plea deal
A South Carolina death row inmate scheduled to be executed later this month is urging the state Supreme Court to delay his execution to allow his lawyers to argue that his co-defendant who testified against him lied about having no plea deal in exchange for his testimony.
Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is set to be executed on Sept. 20 for the 1997 killing of store clerk Irene Graves during a string of robberies in Greenville. Owens also killed his cellmate at the Greenville County Jail after his conviction in 1999, but before his sentencing.
In addition to the argument over the plea agreement, attorneys for Owens said in court papers filed Friday that a juror observed an electronic stun device Owens had to wear in court to assure good behavior and that a judge never addressed why he was required to wear it, according to the Associated Press.
This comes as South Carolina seeks to put Owens to death, which would mark the state’s first execution in 13 years after an involuntary pause over struggles in recent years obtaining lethal injection drugs.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S FIRST EXECUTION IN MORE THAN 13 YEARS SET FOR NEXT MONTH
Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 20 for the 1997 killing of store clerk Irene Graves. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
Lawyers for the state have until Thursday to answer Owens’ request to delay his execution while he presents new evidence to a judge and demands a new trial.
The bar is typically high to grant new trials after death row inmates exhaust all their appeals. Owens’ lawyers said previous attorneys scrutinized his case carefully, but the new evidence only came up in interviews as his potential execution neared.
Co-defendant Steven Golden testified that Owens shot Graves in the head because she was unable to open the safe at the Greenville store 27 years ago.
The store had surveillance video, but it did not show the shooting clearly. Prosecutors never found the weapon used in the shooting and failed to show any scientific evidence linking Owens to the killing.
Golden told jurors at the trial in 1999 that he did not have a plea agreement with prosecutors and could still be sentenced to death or life in prison after testifying.
However, in a sworn statement signed Aug. 22, Golden said he reached a side deal with prosecutors, an admission Owens’ attorneys said might have changed the minds of jurors who believed his testimony.
“My written plea agreement said the death penalty and life without parole were still possible outcomes and there were no specific guarantees about what my sentence would be,” Golden wrote in his statement. “That wasn’t true. We had a verbal agreement that I would not get the death penalty or life without parole.”
This undated photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state’s death chamber in Columbia, South Carolina, including the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP, File)
Golden was sentenced to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, court records show.
Addressing the electronic stun device Owens was wearing during trial, Owens’ lawyers said courts have long required judges to explain to juries why defendants are wearing visible restraints, such as shackles, and that there must be debate by the judge balancing courtroom security versus the impact the device might have on a fair trial.
Owens’ lawyers said the judge failed to do this in his trial.
Once one of the busiest states for executions, South Carolina has not carried out the death penalty since 2011 due to trouble in recent years obtaining lethal injection drugs after its supply expired because of pharmaceutical companies’ concerns that they would have to disclose that they had sold the drugs to state officials. But the state legislature passed a shield law last year allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private.
South Carolina previously used a mixture of three drugs, but will now use one drug, the sedative pentobarbital, for lethal injections in a protocol similar to that of the federal government.
Lethal injection, electrocution and the new option of a firing squad are all expected to be available for Owens’ execution. Owens has until Sept. 6 to choose the method for his execution. He signed his power of attorney over to his lawyer, Emily Paavola, to make that decision for him.
If Owens does not make a decision, he would be sent to the electric chair, and he does not want to die that way, Paavola said. Lawyers for the state asked the South Carolina Supreme Court to rule if Owens’ lawyer can make that decision for him.
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Once one of the busiest states for executions, South Carolina has not carried out the death penalty since 2011. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
“Mr. Owens has a long-standing, deeply held religious conviction that physically signing the election form is taking an active role in bringing about his own death and is thus akin to suicide. Mr. Owens’ Muslim faith teaches that suicide is a sin, and it is forbidden,” Paavola wrote in court papers.
The state Supreme Court also said on Friday it would wait at least five weeks between executions.
The court rejected a request from lawyers for the condemned inmates to set three months between executions to relieve pressure on prison staff that could result in mistakes and give lawyers time to dedicate time exclusively to each prisoner’s case.
Instead, the court promised five weeks between executions. Under state law and a timeline first issued when the justices ruled executions could restart last month, the court could issue execution orders every week on Friday if it wants. Prison officials told the state that four weeks would be acceptable.
South Carolina currently has 32 inmates on death row.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
MAHA eyes SNAP, school lunch restrictions for junk food
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the Trump administration’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative, detailing new efforts to restrict ultra-processed foods in school lunches and limiting SNAP benefit purchases.
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An Atlanta-area police department issued a blunt notice to parents after officers claimed a child brought a vodka-based beverage to school — tucked beside Doritos in a packed lunch.
The City of South Fulton Police Department sounded off about the incident in a now-viral Facebook post, warning parents to “CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX.”
“Say Twin… Before you send them babies off to school… CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to… Cutwater margaritas??” the department wrote.
Officials also shared a photo of the alleged lunchbox, containing what appears to be a child’s lunch, Doritos and a Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini.
The police department shared a photo of a Cutwater canned cocktail in a lunchbox. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack,” the department wrote. “Now little Johnny done pulled up to 3rd period talking about: ‘Who want fruit snacks?’ knowing good and well he got a Lemon Drop Martini in the zipper pocket.”
Cutwater Lemon Drop Martinis, as found in the lunchbox, are 11% ABV ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and natural flavors.
They come in 12-ounce cans, similar in appearance to a soda can.
The City of South Fulton Police Department issued a statement after the apparent mishap. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
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The department said it understands mornings can be hectic, but issued a stern notice to parents to “TIGHTEN UP.”
“Your child shouldn’t be the only one in the cafeteria with a beverage that requires an ID,” authorities wrote. “If it says 12% ABV… it does NOT belong next to a PB&J.”
Officials also provided a “quick parent checklist,” with items including: “Homework,” “Lunch packed,” and “Alcoholic beverages.”
Boxes of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Strawberry Margarita canned cocktails. (Gado/Getty Images)
“Check the lunchbox before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess,” the department added.
It is unclear if any parents or students were disciplined in relation to the mix-up.
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Fulton County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The City of South Fulton, Georgia, is a rapidly growing municipality located about 20 minutes from Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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Southeast
Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges
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A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human smuggling case as legally justified.
Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S.
After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are accompanied by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse, Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical abuse in protective order filings. She later withdrew the protective order request and has defended her husband publicly.
The Department of Homeland Security has also said he was living in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His attorneys have denied the gang allegations.
Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from when Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. While officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves — noting there were nine passengers in the vehicle — Abrego Garcia was issued only a warning.
TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES
A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images )
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, testified Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on the evidence.
“I had previously prosecuted several human smuggling cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing video of the traffic stop, “I was immediately struck by how similar what was being depicted in the body cam was to those investigations.”
McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a human smuggling background” and added that the route was “suspicious.”
“It was a large number of individuals traveling in one SUV with a driver who spoke for the group. No one had luggage… the car had Texas plates… the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse, Thursday, for a hearing on whether the charges against him should be dismissed. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
During cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, coming so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”
He said he had not previously been aware of the traffic stop but reiterated that nobody in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Department of Justice, pressured him to seek the indictment.
When asked about whether he might have felt pressure to prosecute the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something that is wrong to keep my job.”
DHS OFFICIAL RIPS KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA FOR ‘MAKING TIKTOKS’ WHILE AGENCY FACES GAG ORDER
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
McGuire also said timing factored into charging Abrego Garcia since he was being held in El Salvador, and he did not want the indictment to go public before all senior officials were briefed on the matter.
“I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a controversial matter,” McGuire said.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not make a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.
Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution “may be vindictive” and that prior statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”
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Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody on Feb. 17.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.
“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.
The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted.
“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.
The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.
“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.
Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021.
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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
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