In a case that has stirred emotions and debates about capital punishment, a South Carolina inmate has opted for execution by firing squad, marking an end to his two-decade-long saga of crime and incarceration. Stephen Bryant, now 44, is scheduled to face his death on November 14, when three volunteers will take aim from 15 feet away, as reported by the Associated Press.

Bryant’s execution is the culmination of a 17-year stint on death row following his conviction for the cold-blooded murder of Willard ‘TJ’ Tietjen. This brutal crime took place in 2004 when Bryant, in a chilling act, targeted the 62-year-old father and husband in his own secluded home.

Displaying a callous disregard for human life, Bryant not only shot Tietjen but also used the victim’s blood to scrawl a menacing message that warned of his intent to kill again, taunting the authorities with “Catch me if u can.”

The murder was shockingly random; Bryant approached Tietjen under the guise of needing help with car troubles, only to fatally shoot him. Following the murder, Bryant invaded Tietjen’s personal space by ransacking his home, using his computer, and even answering a heartbreaking phone call from Tietjen’s wife and daughter, informing them of the tragedy.

Investigators said Bryant targeted Tietjen at random and pretended he was having car troubles before shooting the innocent father. 

After killing Tietjen, Bryant ransacked his home, used his computer, and even answered a call from his wife and daughter delivering the grim news that Tietjen was dead. 

The victim’s daughter, Kimberly Dees, testified that when Bryant answered the phone, she demanded to speak to her father, and he responded, ‘You can’t, I killed him.’ 

When she replied, ‘This isn’t funny, who are you?’ he identified himself as a ‘prowler.’ 

Stephen Bryant, 44, will be put to death on November 14 by a firing squad in South Carolina (Pictured: Bryant in 2021 in prison) 

Bryant was sentenced to death for the murder of Willard ‘TJ’ Tietjen, 62, in 2008 (Pictured: Bryant after receiving his sentence in 2008) 

Tietjen’s body was found surrounded by lit candles, and the chilling message written in blood was written with a potholder his daughter had made for him when she was a child. 

He had been shot nine times, and his face and eyes were burned with a cigarette. 

Bryant was later arrested for the murder at his girlfriend’s home. Authorities said at the time he had a rap sheet with several burglary charges. 

The sheriff during Bryant’s arrest, Tommy Mims, announced they caught the killer in a press conference, according to archival news footage. 

In response to Bryant’s bloody challenge, Mims informed the public: ‘I’m happy to say that law enforcement has responded to that challenge and we have caught him.’ 

Prosecutors later convicted Bryant of two other murders: Clifton Gainey, 36, and Christopher Burgess, 35. 

Bryant killed the two men in the same way, offering to give them rides until they had to urinate on the side of the road, and then shot them in the back. 

Investigators also found that Bryant shot a man named Clinton Brown in the same gruesome way, but he survived the attack. 

Bryant (pictured aged 23 in a 2004 mugshot) killed Tietjen in 2004 in his secluded South Carolina home. He left the father’s body surrounded by lit candles and wrote a message with his blood that read ‘victim 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can’

Bryant also pleaded guilty to the murders of Clifton Gainey, 36, and Christopher Burgess, 35 

Bryant pleaded guilty in 2008 to three charges of murder. He was given life sentences for Gainey and Burgess’ deaths. 

The defense argued that Bryant had been traumatized due to sexual abuse as a child at the hands of four male relatives. 

His aunt, Terry Caulder, testified: ‘He was very upset. He looked like he was being tortured. It’s like his soul was just laid wide open. 

‘In his eyes you could see he was hurting and suffering and he was living the abuse over again as it was coming out.’ 

The defense also pointed to Bryant’s addiction to drugs, including meth and joints sprayed with bug spray. 

Bryant’s lawyers attempted to delay his death earlier this month, asking the Supreme Court for more time due to the government shutdown. 

The request was denied, and Bryant was given until the end of the month to decide on an execution method. 

The firing squad is an unorthodox choice and was only legal in Utah up until this year. There have been three inmates who have chosen to die in this manner since 1977 in the state. 

A prisoner is killed by a firing squad while they’re strapped to a metal chair 15 feet away 

The method has only been authorized in South Carolina, Utah, Idaho, Mississippi, and Oklahoma 

However, South Carolina has already matched Utah’s record, as Bryant will be the third this year to die by firing squad. 

Idaho, Mississippi, and Oklahoma also have authorized firing squad executions, but it’s never been done. 

The method has generated backlash for being inhumane. The second man killed in South Carolina this year, Mikal Mahdi’s legal team argued that the shots nearly missed his heart. 

Department officials with the state’s corrections office maintained that the bullets struck Mahdi’s heart in accordance with protocol.  

During the execution, the prisoner is tied to the execution chair with their head shielded as three corrections department volunteers fire from a wall opening not visible to witnesses. 

The firing squad is instructed to shoot the inmate’s heart. A target is placed over the prisoner’s uniform, directly over their heart.