In response to South Carolina’s execution of Mr. Stephen Bryant, Bo King, Chief of the Capital Habeas Unit for the Fourth Circuit, issued the following statement:
“Tonight, South Carolina gave Mr. Bryant his final wounds in a lifetime of suffering. Even before his birth, a genetic disorder and his mother’s binge-drinking permanently damaged his body and brain. Rather than nurture him through these challenges, his mother and other family members abused him physically and sexually.
Mr. Bryant's impairments left him unable to endure the tormenting memories of his childhood. When these traumas pushed him to mental collapse, he pleaded for professional help. He was refused care by our broken mental health system because he could not afford the fee of $75.
Mr. Bryant’s final wish was that no other person in need of aid face that rejection. That is consistent with the man we knew, who showed grace and courage in forgiving his family and great love for those in and outside of his prison. We will remember his unlikely friendships, his fierce protectiveness, and his love for nature, the water, and the world. We will miss him.
Mr. Bryant is the seventh man South Carolina has executed in fourteen months. Each was forced to make the barbaric and unconscionable “choice” between bloody, burning, or protracted deaths. Each execution has been brutal and shameful. None has made South Carolina safer or more just.”