A South Carolina inmate, Stephen Bryant, is scheduled to be executed on November 14 for a heinous crime committed over 20 years ago. The 44-year-old inmate was convicted of killing a man, burning his eyes with cigarettes, and writing a taunting message on the wall with the victim’s blood. The message, “catch me if u can,” was a chilling testament to the brutality of the crime.
Background of the Crime
The crime occurred in October 2004, in Sumter County, South Carolina. Bryant had stopped by the victim’s secluded home, claiming to have car trouble. The victim, Willard “TJ” Tietjen, was shot several times, and candles were lit around his body. The killer then used a potholder made by Tietjen’s daughter to write the taunting message on the wall. Tietjen’s daughter had called him several times, becoming increasingly worried when he didn’t answer. On the sixth call, a strange voice answered, claiming to be the killer.
Terrorizing a Community
Prosecutors said Bryant also killed two other men, one before and one after Tietjen, by giving them rides and shooting them in the back when they got out to urinate on the side of rural roads. The random attacks terrorized the community, with many of the 100,000 people in Sumter County living in fear. Deputies frantically searched for the killer, stopping nearly everyone driving on dirt roads and warning people to be cautious of strangers asking for help.
Bryant’s Troubled Past
Bryant’s lawyers said he was troubled in the months leading up to the killing, seeking help for the emotional pain of being sexually abused by four male relatives as a child. Bryant had tried to cope with the pain by using meth and smoking joints sprayed with bug killer. His aunt, Terry Caulder, testified that Bryant was “very upset” and “looked like he was being tortured” as he recounted the abuse.
Execution Methods
Bryant will have until October 31 to choose his method of execution: lethal injection, firing squad, or the electric chair. Since the state restarted executions in 2024, four inmates have chosen lethal injection, and two have died by firing squad. The use of firing squads has raised concerns about the cruelty and unusualness of the method, with attorneys arguing that the procedure can cause agonizing pain.
Controversy Surrounding Execution Methods
Condemned inmates have also scrutinized the lethal injection procedures, which appear to use two doses of the powerful sedative pentobarbital. They claim that inmates drown in a rush of fluid into their lungs but are paralyzed and cannot react. Witnesses to the four executions, however, have not seen any signs of struggle, and the prisoners appear to have lost consciousness in about a minute.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, South Carolina currently has 29 inmates on death row. No clemencies have ever been granted in the state. The state’s longest-serving death row inmate, Fred Singleton, died of natural causes last week at 81 years old.
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