Brace yourself for a grim tale from the Palmetto State, where justice was served with the crack of rifle fire on Friday, November 14, 2025, as Stephen Bryant met his end by firing squad.
On that day, Bryant, a 44-year-old convicted of murdering three people in 2004, was executed at Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, becoming the seventh person put to death in South Carolina in the last 14 months, the New York Post reports.
Convicted for a brutal spree in rural South Carolina, Bryant admitted to killing three men over five days, including Willard “TJ” Tietjen, whom he shot after feigning car trouble, even taunting the victim’s family over the phone.
His other two victims met similarly chilling fates, shot in the back after accepting rides and stopping by the roadside, painting a picture of calculated cruelty that shocked rural communities east of Columbia.
Back in 2004, law enforcement scoured dirt roads, stopping nearly every driver and urging caution against strangers, a stark reminder of the fear Bryant instilled in those quiet towns.
Fast forward to 2025, and Bryant’s fate was sealed as the 43rd execution in the U.S. this year, with South Carolina marking its 50th since resuming the death penalty four decades ago.
Bryant opted for the firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair, a method revived in recent years amid struggles to secure drugs for injections, which halted executions for 13 years until September 2024.
Strapped to a chair with a red bullseye over his heart, a hood over his head, and facing high-powered rifles from 15 feet away, Bryant made no final statement, only glancing at the 10 witnesses before the end.
Just 55 seconds after the hood was placed, shots rang out, a pool of wetness appeared on his chest, and after a few shallow breaths and a final spasm, a doctor confirmed his death at 6:05 p.m.
Three volunteer prison employees carried out the task with live ammunition, while three family members of the victims held hands among the witnesses, a poignant image of closure amid the stark violence of the moment.
Yet, not everyone sees this as justice done right, with critics of the firing squad method pointing to past cases like Mikal Mahdi’s, where lawyers claimed shooters nearly missed the heart, prolonging suffering far beyond what’s humane.
“None has made South Carolina safer or more just,” argued Bo King, a lawyer working on death penalty cases, casting doubt on the spate of seven recent executions in the state.
Let’s not pretend this solves everything—King’s words may irk those of us who believe in an eye for an eye, but they nudge us to question if this truly deters the next monster lurking on a lonely road.
“We will remember his unlikely friendships, his fierce protectiveness, and his love for nature, the water, and the world,” added King, a sentiment that feels like a stretch when weighed against Bryant’s cold-blooded acts.
Before the end, Bryant savored a last meal of spicy seafood stir-fry, fried fish over rice, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and German chocolate cake—a feast that contrasts sharply with the grim fate he chose, while Governor Henry McMaster denied clemency, holding firm to a no-mercy stance unbroken since 1976.
