Stephen Bryant, 44, met his end by firing squad on Friday evening at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. The execution, carried out shortly after 6 pm, marked the culmination of a two-decade legal battle following a terrifying spree of violence that gripped Sumter County in 2004. He offered no final words as he faced his fate.
The eight-day reign of terror began with the calculated ambush of 62-year-old Willard ‘TJ’ Tietjen. Bryant feigned car trouble to lure the man from his home, then brutally shot him. What followed was a chilling display of callousness: a ransacked house, casually smoked cigarettes, and the victim’s computer used as if nothing had happened.
But the horror didn’t end there. In a macabre taunt to investigators, Bryant scrawled a message in the victim’s blood: “victem 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can.” He even answered the phone while still inside the house, coldly informing Tietjen’s wife and daughter of their husband and father’s death. The scene, investigators later said, was among the most disturbing they had ever encountered.
Bryant’s rampage continued on rural roads, where he preyed on unsuspecting travelers. He shot and killed Cliff Gainey and Christopher Burgess after picking them up, leaving them lifeless on the roadside. A third man, Clinton Brown, narrowly survived a similar attack, forever marked by the encounter. Fear spread throughout the region as authorities struggled to anticipate his next move.
In 2008, Bryant pleaded guilty to the murders and received a death sentence for the killing of Tietjen. His defense team later argued for clemency, presenting a harrowing portrait of a deeply troubled individual. They detailed a childhood marred by trauma, including a mother’s substance abuse during pregnancy and horrific sexual abuse at the hands of multiple relatives.
Family members testified that Bryant was spiraling out of control, desperately seeking help in the months leading up to the murders. His aunt described him as “tortured,” his eyes reflecting a profound suffering and a reliving of past abuse. He turned to drugs, including meth and dangerous concoctions, in a futile attempt to numb the pain.
A final plea to the South Carolina Supreme Court, filed just days before his scheduled execution, sought testing for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The court rejected the request, stating that even if the condition was present, it wouldn’t alter his sentence. This decision irrevocably sealed his fate, and preparations for the firing squad moved forward.
Bryant’s final meal was a surprisingly extensive affair: a spicy seafood stir-fry, fried fish with rice and egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and a large slice of German chocolate cake. It was a last indulgence before facing the ultimate consequence.
On the night of the execution, Bryant was secured in a metal chair, a target placed over his heart. He offered no final statement, briefly acknowledging the ten witnesses before a hood was placed over his head. Three family members of the victims held hands, seeking solace in each other’s presence. The three shooters, positioned fifteen feet away, fired simultaneously.
He was the third inmate this year to be executed by firing squad in South Carolina, and the seventh since the state resumed executions last September. Concerns over the method resurfaced, fueled by reports of a previous execution where the shots failed to immediately kill the inmate, prolonging his suffering. Bryant, however, took a few shallow breaths and experienced a final spasm before being pronounced dead a little over a minute later.
South Carolina’s return to the firing squad followed a thirteen-year pause in executions, brought on by difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Some lawmakers argued that the firing squad was the quickest and most humane option. However, lawyers representing other inmates subjected to this method contend that it can result in agonizing pain and a prolonged death.
