On November 14, 2025, the State of South Carolina executed Stephen Corey Bryant, a convicted triple murderer whose violent crime spree terrorized Sumter County more than two decades ago.
Bryant, 44, was put to death by firing squad at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, becoming the third inmate executed by firing squad in South Carolina during 2025. He was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m., just minutes after three prison employees fired simultaneously at his chest.
The execution marked the end of a legal battle that had lasted more than 20 years and followed the rejection of Bryant’s final appeals, including claims that brain damage linked to prenatal alcohol exposure and a history of severe childhood abuse should have been considered more fully during sentencing.
A Deadly Crime Spree in 2004
Bryant’s death sentence stemmed from a series of murders committed over several days in October 2004 in rural Sumter County.
Authorities said Bryant killed Clifton Dale Gainey, Willard “TJ” Tietjen Jr., and Christopher Earl Burgess during a violent spree that left three men dead and another victim seriously wounded. Investigators later described the crimes as calculated, ruthless, and seemingly random acts of violence.
The most notorious of the murders involved 62-year-old Willard “TJ” Tietjen Jr.
According to prosecutors, Bryant gained access to Tietjen’s home by claiming he was having car trouble. After shooting the victim, Bryant carried out a series of disturbing acts that would later become central to the case. Authorities said he used the victim’s blood to write the message “catch me if u can” on a wall, creating one of the most chilling crime scenes in South Carolina history.
The taunting message quickly became a symbol of the case and drew widespread media attention during the investigation.
Guilty Plea and Death Sentence
In 2008, Bryant pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to death.
Over the following years, his attorneys pursued numerous appeals in both state and federal courts. Defense lawyers argued that Bryant suffered from significant neurological impairment linked to his mother’s alcohol and drug use during pregnancy and that his childhood was marked by severe physical and sexual abuse.
Prosecutors countered that the brutality of the murders and the overwhelming evidence against Bryant justified the death sentence.
Court after court ultimately rejected his appeals.
In October 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene, clearing the way for South Carolina to proceed with the execution.
Final Meal
Before his execution, Bryant requested an elaborate final meal that reflected his preference for Asian-style cuisine.
According to prison records, the meal included spicy mixed seafood stir-fry, fried fish served over rice, duck in sauce, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, German chocolate cake, two Zero candy bars, and Pepsi.
It would be his final meal before entering the execution chamber.
No Final Statement
Witnesses reported that Bryant declined to make a final statement.
Shortly before the execution began, he briefly looked toward the witnesses gathered behind protective glass, including relatives of victims and members of the media. He then remained silent as prison officials placed a hood over his head.
Unlike many condemned inmates who offer apologies, expressions of remorse, or declarations of innocence, Bryant chose not to speak.
The Firing Squad Execution
At approximately 6:02 p.m., Bryant was secured to a metal chair inside the execution chamber.
A white target with a red bullseye was positioned over his heart. Three volunteer prison employees, armed with rifles and standing approximately 15 feet away, fired simultaneously when given the command.
Witnesses reported that the impact caused the target to fly forward from Bryant’s chest. He appeared to take several shallow breaths and experienced a brief final spasm before medical personnel examined him. A physician pronounced him dead at 6:05 p.m.
Bryant became the seventh person executed in South Carolina since the state resumed executions in 2024 after a 13-year hiatus caused largely by difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.
The End of a Long Legal Fight
Governor Henry McMaster denied Bryant’s clemency request before the execution, and South Carolina’s courts refused to halt the sentence.
For the families of Bryant’s victims, the execution brought a legal process that had stretched across more than two decades to a close.
For South Carolina, it marked yet another chapter in the state’s renewed use of capital punishment and its increasingly controversial reliance on firing squads as an execution method.
More than twenty years after three men lost their lives during a brutal killing spree, the case of Stephen Corey Bryant remains one of the most disturbing murder cases in modern South Carolina history—remembered for its violence, its chilling message written in blood, and the firing squad execution that ultimately ended the killer’s life.
