South Carolina Executes Sixth Inmate in Nine Months

Stephen Stanko, a South Carolina inmate sentenced to death twice for separate 2005 murders and other crimes, was executed by lethal injection at Broad River Correctional Institution, marking South Carolina's sixth execution in nine months. Stanko was convicted of killing his live-in girlfriend, Laura Ling, while raping her teenage daughter, as well as fatally shooting his friend Henry Lee Turner and stealing from his bank account. Despite his attorneys' efforts to delay the execution and concerns over the lethal injection process, Governor Henry McMaster denied clemency, continuing a long-standing record of no reprieves for death row inmates in the state. Stanko had initially considered execution by firing squad but chose lethal injection after autopsy findings from previous firing squad executions raised concerns about efficacy. The execution drew protests from activists opposing capital punishment and a prayer vigil was held, with religious leaders urging reconsideration of the death penalty. Stanko’s case highlights ongoing debates over execution methods and clemency in South Carolina's capital punishment system.