COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina has set a Sept. 20 date to put inmate Freddie Eugene Owens to death in what would be the state’s first execution in more than 13 years.

South Carolina was once one of the busiest states for executions, but for years had had trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs due to pharmaceutical companies’ concerns that they would have to disclose that they had sold the drugs to officials.

The state Legislature has since passed a law allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers secret and, in July, the state Supreme Court cleared the way to restart executions.

Owens, who killed a store clerk in Greenville in 1997, will likely have the choice to die by lethal injection, electrocution or by the newly added option of a firing squad. A Utah inmate in 2010 was the last person to have been executed by a firing squad in the U.S., according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

The prisons director has five days to confirm that all three execution methods will be available. He must also give Owens’s lawyers proof that the lethal injection drug is stable and correctly mixed, according to the high court’s 2023 interpretation of the state’s secrecy law on executions that helped reopen the door to South Carolina’s death chamber.

Owens, 46, will then have about a week to let the state know how he wishes to be killed. If he makes no choice, the state will send him to the electric chair by default.

The justices didn’t specify how much information has to be released but they have promised a swift ruling if an inmate challenged the details in the disclosure.

South Carolina used to use a mix of three drugs, but now will use one drug, the sedative pentobarbital, for lethal injections in a protocol similar to executions carried out by the federal government.

Copyright 2024 WHNS. All rights reserved.

Attorney general’s office arrests WACH-TV reporter on three sexual exploitation charges…

A South Carolina sports reporter has been arrested and charged with three counts of sexually exploiting a minor, according to a news release from the office of the Palmetto State’s top prosecutor.

According to S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson, 28-year-old Matthew Turner Vereen – who covers sports for WACH TV-57 (FOX – Columbia, S.C.) – was arrested this week by agents of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force with support from the Columbia, S.C. police department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) special investigations unit (HSI).

“Investigators state Vereen distributed and possessed files of child sexual abuse material,” Wilson’s office noted in its release.

Child sex abuse materials (or “CSAM”) is another term for child pornography. According to ICAC, the term is “a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes.”

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Per Wilson’s release, Vereen was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree (§16-15-405) – a felony offense punishable by up to ten years imprisonment on each count – and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.

As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Vereen is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.

Vereen’s WACH Fox bio indicates he grew up in Greenville, S.C., where he played soccer throughout high school prior to attending the University of Missouri journalism school. A former ESPN intern, Vereen previously reported at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri and anchored at KOLR-TV in Springfield, Missouri.

Vereen’s bio also described him as a “supporter of local charities that help impoverished kids into sports.”

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Vereen’s case will be prosecuted by the attorney general’s office.

This is a developing story…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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Gamecock wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce has officially left the South Carolina football program, as confirmed by head coach Shane Beamer. The talented receiver he was “ rumored” to have been recently placed on the scout team, leading to his decision to depart from the team.

Huggins-Bruce transferred to South Carolina from Louisville this past January, but will never see game action for the Gamecocks. Rumors suggest that Huggins-Bruce may be returning to Louisville, where he spent the first three years of his college career.

During his time at Louisville, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound speedster was a key part of the Cardinals’ passing game, although some believed he was underutilized. In 39 games, including 12 starts, Huggins-Bruce recorded 80 receptions for 1,121 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also contributed on the ground with 11 rushes for 67 yards and an additional score.

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