Greenville man on death row elects for his attorney to choose how he is executed

Freddie Owens, the Greenville man on South Carolina's death row and the first the state will put to death since 2011, will die by lethal injection.

His attorney, Emily Paavola of the Columbia-based Justice 360, signed documents early Friday declaring the method by which Owens, 46, would be executed.

An order was signed on Sept. 3 authorizing Paavola to make the decision. According to court documents, Owens refused to decide based on his Islamic beliefs.

In South Carolina, death row inmates have the choice of lethal injection, firing squad, or electric chair.

Owens, on Aug. 23, received notice of his execution set for Sept. 20 from the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He had 14 days, until Sept. 6, to decide his option. The electric chair is the default if a death row inmate doesn’t choose.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections declined to comment on the election notice.

More: South Carolina's first execution in over a decade will likely be a Greenville County man

Attorneys for Owens filed at least two appeals seeking to reduce his sentence to life in prison. Both were denied, the last in September 2006.

In 1999, Ownes was convicted of murder, armed robbery, and criminal conspiracy in the 1997 Halloween murder of Irene Graves, 41, at a Speedway convenience store. He was sentenced to death.

Another Greenville man, Jefferey Brian Motts, 36, was the last person the state executed in May 2011. He died by lethal injection.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville man on death row elects for his attorney to choose how he is executed