A man convicted of a triple homicide in South Carolina has become the third person this year to be executed by firing squad in the state. Stephen Bryant, aged 44, was declared dead at 6:05 p.m. on Friday at Columbia’s Broad River Correctional Institution.
In October 2004, Bryant admitted to murdering Willard “TJ” Tietjen, claiming car trouble as a guise to approach Tietjen’s remote Sumter County home. Authorities reported that Bryant also killed two other men that same month, one before and one after Tietjen’s murder.
Opting for a firing squad over other methods such as lethal injection or the electric chair, Bryant made his decision last month. According to The Associated Press, he offered no final words and only briefly looked at the 10 witnesses before a hood covered his head.
His last meal consisted of a spicy mixed seafood stir-fry, fried fish over rice, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and German chocolate cake.
A photograph shows Stephen Bryant appearing in court, though the date of the image is unspecified. (The Item via AP)
As reported by the AP, Bryant remained silent as the firing squad discharged their weapons. The red bullseye target, indicating his heart’s location, detached from his chest upon impact. After a few shallow breaths and a final spasm, a doctor confirmed his death after listening to his heartbeat with a stethoscope for a minute.
Three family members of victims who served as witnesses held hands during the execution.
In the killing of Tietjen, Bryant admitted to fatally shooting him, burning his eyes with cigarettes and painting “catch me if u can” on the wall with Tietjen’s blood.
Tietjen’s daughter called him six times, telling investigators on the final call that a strange voice answered and told her of killing Tietjen.
This photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state’s death chamber in Columbia, S.C., including the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP/File)
In the other two killings, Bryant gave the men rides in a vehicle and when they got out to urinate on the side of the road, he shot them in the back, authorities said.
Bo King, a lawyer who works on death penalty cases in South Carolina, told the AP that Bryant had a genetic disorder, was a victim of sexual and physical abuse by relatives, and his mother’s binge drinking “permanently damaged his body and brain.”
“Mr. Bryant’s impairments left him unable to endure the tormenting memories of his childhood,” King wrote in a statement.
Bryant is the seventh person put to death by South Carolina in 14 months after the state had a 13-year pause in executions when it couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs.
A protester looks on outside of Broad River Correctional Institute prior to the scheduled execution of Stephen Bryant in Columbia, S.C., Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (Matt Kelley/AP)
Mikal Mahdi and Brad Sigmon were executed by firing squad already in South Carolina this year.
