South Carolina Executes Double Murderer in Sixth Death Penalty This Year

Stephen Stanko, a South Carolina man sentenced to death twice for separate murders committed in 2005, was executed by lethal injection in the state's sixth execution in nine months. He killed Henry Turner, whose bank account he emptied, and hours later strangled his girlfriend Laura Ling while raping her teenage daughter, whom he also slit the throat but survived. Before his execution, Stanko delivered a three-and-a-half-minute statement apologizing to the victims' families and asking not to be judged solely by his worst day. Stanko had initially considered execution by firing squad but chose lethal injection after concerns about the firing squad's effectiveness emerged. The execution, which lasted about 28 minutes, was witnessed by victims' family members, Stanko's family, his attorney, and media representatives, while death penalty opponents protested outside the prison. South Carolina resumed executions after a 13-year hiatus due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs, passing new laws to allow secrecy for drug suppliers and authorizing the use of the firing squad as an alternative method.