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SC Inmate Executed by Lethal Injection for 2 Separate Murders
- Stephen Stanko, a 57-year-old South Carolina man sentenced to death for two murders in 2005, was executed by lethal injection on June 13 at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia.
- Stanko killed his live-in girlfriend by strangulation, raped her teenage daughter, slit the teen's throat, and then fatally shot his 74-year-old friend Henry Turner the next day during a 2005 crime spree.
- Following the denial of his last-minute appeals by the courts and the decision by South Carolina's governor not to grant clemency just minutes before the execution, Stanko chose lethal injection over the firing squad amidst ongoing concerns about the state's execution methods.
- The execution began at 6 p.m. with pentobarbital, Stanko gave a 3 1/2-minute final statement apologizing and asking not to be judged by his worst day, and he was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m., marking the state's sixth execution in nine months and nationwide number 1,629.
- Stanko's case highlights ongoing debates about the death penalty's fairness, with critics noting disproportionate application to minorities and vulnerable groups while about 30 protesters gathered outside the prison before the execution.
16 Articles
16 Articles
After about 20 years on death row, the convicted Stephen Stanko is executed in South Carolina. In 2005, the judges found him guilty of double murder. He is said to have killed his girlfriend and another person and raped the victim's daughter.
Steven Stanko was convicted of the 2005 murders of his friend and his partner, as well as the rape and attempted murder of the second victim's teenage daughter.
South Carolina executes Stephen Stanko
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man sent to death row twice for separate murders was put to death Friday by lethal injection in the state’s sixth execution in nine months. Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. He was executed for shooting a friend and then cleaning out his bank account in Horry County in 2005. The execution began After a 3 1/2 minute final statement where Stanko apologized to his victims and asked not to be…
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