South Carolina Inmate Set for Execution After Two Decades on Death Row for Brutal 2004 Killing

Published: October 18, 2025, 22:55 EDT

A South Carolina death row inmate convicted of a brutal 2004 murder is scheduled to be executed next month, marking one of the state’s most disturbing criminal cases in recent history. Stephen Bryant, 44, was sentenced to death for killing a man in rural Sumter County and taunting police by writing “catch me if u can” on the wall with the victim’s blood.

Court Upholds Execution Order After Two Decades

The South Carolina Supreme Court issued Bryant’s death warrant on Friday, rejecting his defense team’s request for a delay. His lawyers had argued that their ability to file appeals was hampered by the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, as they work within the federal court system.

Bryant’s execution is set for November 14. Under state law, he has until October 31 to choose between lethal injection, the firing squad, or the electric chair. Since South Carolina resumed executions in 2024 after a 13-year pause, four inmates have selected lethal injection and two have opted for the firing squad.

Prosecutors said Bryant confessed to killing Willard “TJ” Tietjen after stopping at his home under the pretense of car trouble. Tietjen was shot several times, surrounded by lit candles, and found with a chilling message written in his blood that read, “victem 4 in 2 weeks. catch me if u can.”

A Chilling Crime Scene and Confession

The crime shocked the small community of Sumter County. Investigators discovered the disturbing message at the crime scene and linked it to Bryant, who later confessed.

Tietjen’s daughter, Kimberly Dees, recalled the harrowing moment she realized something was wrong. After repeatedly calling her father with no response, a strange voice finally answered the phone.

“I said, ‘Let me speak to my father,’ and the man said, ‘You can’t, I killed him,’” Dees testified. “I thought it was a cruel joke, but he said, ‘I’m the prowler.’”

According to prosecutors, Bryant was also responsible for two other killings around the same time. Authorities said he fatally shot two men he was giving rides to after they stopped to urinate on rural roads, one before and one after Tietjen’s murder.

Defense Claims Troubled Past and Mental Strain

Bryant’s lawyers presented evidence that he suffered severe psychological trauma from childhood sexual abuse by several relatives. In the months before the killings, they said, Bryant had begged both a probation officer and an aunt for help because he was haunted by memories of the abuse.

“He was very upset. It looked like his soul was laid wide open,” testified his aunt, Terry Caulder. “He was reliving the pain as he talked about it.”

Attorneys said Bryant turned to drugs, including methamphetamine and marijuana laced with bug spray, to numb his emotional distress. They argued that his addiction and mental instability contributed to the violent acts.

South Carolina’s Execution Methods Under Scrutiny

Bryant’s scheduled execution will mark the seventh in South Carolina since the state resumed capital punishment in 2024 after a long hiatus caused by difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical companies had stopped supplying the state, citing ethical and transparency concerns.

To resume executions, the South Carolina legislature passed a “shield law” allowing the state to keep drug suppliers anonymous. The state also reintroduced the firing squad as an alternative method.

The firing squad procedure has faced criticism from human rights advocates and legal experts. Attorneys for previous inmates said executioners nearly missed the heart of Mikal Mahdi, one of the first to die by firing squad since the resumption, prolonging his suffering.

Lethal injection protocols have also come under scrutiny. The state reportedly uses two doses of pentobarbital, a sedative that attorneys say can cause inmates to drown in fluid buildup while paralyzed. Officials have defended the process, calling it “swift and humane.”

A Legacy of Capital Punishment in South Carolina

Since reinstating the death penalty in 1985, South Carolina has executed 49 people. Bryant is expected to become the 50th. The state once carried out executions regularly, but activity slowed sharply after 2011 when its drug supplies expired.

The state’s renewed execution system makes it one of the few in the U.S. to maintain multiple death methods. According to national data, 39 men have been executed across the United States this year, with at least five more scheduled before year-end.

Victims’ Families Seek Closure

For Tietjen’s family, the execution represents the conclusion of a decades-long ordeal. Dees said she still struggles with the loss of her father and the horror of how he was killed. “No one should have to hear that kind of thing over the phone,” she said during court testimony.

While capital punishment remains deeply divisive, officials say Bryant’s case stands as one of the state’s most violent and premeditated crimes. “This was an act of calculated cruelty,” one state prosecutor said following the court’s decision.

As the date approaches, Bryant’s legal team is expected to file additional motions seeking clemency or a stay, though legal experts consider the chances of delay minimal.