Stephen Bryant is scheduled to become the third person to be executed by firing squad in the United States this year. He is on death row for the murder of Willard “TJ” Tietjen and is considered a serial killer.
History of execution by firing squad in the United States
Punishment by firing squad has a long history, and has recently attracted new attention as prisoners have chosen it as their method of execution.
A South Carolina killer who murdered three people in one week and provoked police with messages written in blood will become the state’s third inmate to be executed using the controversial firing squad this year.
Stephen Bryant, who once used 62-year-old Willard “TJ” Tietjen’s blood to scrawl “Get me if you can” on a wall, is scheduled to be executed on Friday, Nov. 14, for the 2004 murder. If the execution goes ahead, Bryant will become the 42nd inmate to be executed in the United States in 2025, the most in a single year since 2012.
He is also only one of six people to be executed by firing squad in modern U.S. history.
According to South Carolina protocol, Bryant’s executioner will place a hood over his head and tie him to a chair. Three volunteer correctional officers are to shoot him in the heart at the same time.
A defense lawyer who last witnessed an execution of this kind in April described it as “barbaric” and “a horrific act that belongs to the darkest chapter of history.” State officials defend the method as constitutional.
Here’s what you need to know about Bryant’s execution.
When and where will Stephen Bryant be executed?
Stephen Bryant is scheduled to be executed on Friday, November 14th at 6pm ET at the Broad River Correctional Facility in Columbia, South Carolina.
What was Stephen Bryant convicted of?
In October 2004, Steven Bryant was on probation for robbery when he went on an eight-day killing spree that left three people dead and one seriously injured.
Bryant pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced him to life in prison for two of the murders and the death penalty for the murder of an unknown man named Willard “TJ” Tietjen. Tietjen was shot nine times at his home just east of Columbia after allowing Bryant to enter. Bryant later admitted to police that he told Tietjen that his truck was overheating and that the two had been chatting for hours before Bryant attacked him.
After the murder, he used Tietjen’s blood to scribble a provocative message on police officers that read, “Four victims in two weeks. Catch me if you can,” according to court records.
Like Tietjen, the other three people shot and killed by Bryant appear to have been targeted at random during a series of unexplained murders. Among them were his friend, 36-year-old Clifton Gainey, and another unknown man, 35-year-old Christopher Burgess. A 56-year-old man named Clinton Brown was shot in the back and left for dead, but he survived.
Why would Stephen Bryant be executed by firing squad?
South Carolina allowed Bryant to choose from three execution methods: firing squad, electric chair, or lethal injection. If he doesn’t choose, the default method is the electric chair.
Firing squads are rarely introduced in the United States, but they appear to be gaining momentum as states say they are struggling to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections.
Before this year, Utah was the only state to use this method, doing so only three times: in 1977, 1996 and 2010. Utah had planned to use the method on inmates in August, but the Utah Supreme Court blocked it over concerns about dementia.
South Carolina legalized firing squads in 2021 and began using the method this year, executing two inmates in April and May.
In addition to Utah and South Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Idaho have also legalized firing squads. Idaho, which approved firing squads in 2023, plans to make them the state’s default method next year.
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter covering the death penalty for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.
