In a grim turn of events, a death row inmate in South Carolina, notorious for a particularly heinous crime, has opted for execution by firing squad. The individual in question, Stephen Bryant, aged 44, was reported by Atlanta’s 11 Alive News on Friday to have made this choice.
Bryant’s death sentence is the result of a gruesome murder committed over two decades ago, where he left behind a chilling message for investigators. The crime involved the killing of Willard “TJ” Tietjen, whom Bryant fatally shot before committing further atrocities.
After the murder at Tietjen’s residence, Bryant confessed to burning the victim’s eyes with cigarettes. He then used the victim’s blood to create a macabre message, writing, “victim 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can,” with a blood-soaked potholder, implying a series of murders over a two-week span. The scene was further dramatized by candles placed around Tietjen’s body.
During the trial, Bryant’s daughter, Kimberly Dees, recounted her growing anxiety after repeatedly trying to contact her father. Her concern escalated as she made numerous calls without any response.
On her sixth attempt, the phone was finally answered, but it was not her father on the other end—it was a stranger.
On her sixth call, a stranger answered.
When she insisted on speaking with her father, the caller told her, “You can’t, I killed him,” then identified himself as “the prowler,” Dees told the judge who imposed Bryant’s sentence, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Prosecutors also accused Bryant of fatally shooting two other men in October 2004 in Sumter County — one before Tietjen’s death and one shortly after.
They say Bryant offered the men rides and shot them in the back as they stopped to urinate on the side of rural roads.
Bryant’s defense argued that extreme distress and a history of trauma, including childhood sexual abuse by four male relatives, preceded his actions.
They said Bryant repeatedly sought help but could not obtain it and turned to drugs, including methamphetamine and laced joints, according to Fox 26.
Despite Bryant’s past traumas, the court found that the severity and calculated nature of the crimes, including the message written in blood, warranted a death sentence.
Bryant is scheduled to face a firing squad of three volunteers firing from 15 feet away on November 14. According to CBS News, he will be the third person executed by firing squad in South Carolina this year; only three people in the United States have been executed by firing squad since 1977, all in Utah.
[Feature Photo via South Department of Corrections]
