Activists deliver petition asking Gov. McMaster to grant clemency to Freddie Owens

COLUMBIA — Anti-death penalty activists delivered a petition with more than 10,000 signatures to Gov. Henry McMaster Thursday asking him to grant Freddie Owens clemency.

McMaster has not given any indication he will grant clemency, a decision he says will be announced on the day of the execution. "That decision is one to be made at that time and announced at that time and that’s what I’ll do,” McMaster said last week.

On Wednesday, Owens' attorneys filed an emergency motion for the state's Supreme Court to reconsider its original denial to stay Owens' execution, scheduled for Friday evening. Defense attorneys submitted an affidavit from Owens' co-defendant Steven Golden alleging Owens was not the person to shoot Irene Graves in 1997 ― the crime Owens was convicted of that landed him on death row.

"The detectives told me they knew Freddie was with me when I robbed the Speedway. They told me I might as well make a statement against Freddie because he already told his side to everyone and they were just trying to get my side of the story. I was scared that I would get the death penalty if I didn't make a statement. I signed a waiver of rights form and then signed a statement on November 11, 1997," Golden said in the affidavit.

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If the state's highest court does not grant Owens a stay before his scheduled execution, McMaster's decision on clemency represents his last chance to avoid execution.

A spokesperson for the governor confirmed his original statement on Owens' clemency still stood.

Attorney General Alan Wilson filed a response to the motion for reconsideration, arguing that Golden's affidavit does not provide enough evidence to warrant a new trial, calling Golden's allegation that Owens was not in the store the night Graves was killed "inherently suspect."

"The filing for reconsideration shows only one point very clearly – that Golden has now made a sworn statement that is contrary to his multiple other sworn statements over 20 years, those prior statements being consistent with the other evidence that Owens was the shooter," the attorney general wrote.

More: Freddie Owens will be put to death by the state; here's a timeline of events

South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty have a vigil planned for 7 p.m. at the Washington Street United Methodist Church in Columbia followed by a protest outside the governor's mansion. On Friday, there's a 4:30 p.m. vigil at the Broad River Correctional Institution where the execution is scheduled to take place. In Greenville, a vigil is planned for 5:30 p.m. at Triune Mercy Center.

Savannah Moss covers politics for the Greenville News. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @Savmoss.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Activists deliver petition asking Gov. McMaster to grant clemency to Freddie Owens