A convicted triple murderer from South Carolina has become the third person in the state this year to be executed by firing squad.

Stephen Bryant, aged 44, was declared dead at 6:05 p.m. on Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. In 2004, Bryant confessed to the murder of Willard “TJ” Tietjen, whom he approached under the guise of car trouble at Tietjen’s remote residence in Sumter County. Authorities reported that Bryant also killed two other men during the same month, one before and one after Tietjen’s death.

Last month, Bryant opted for execution by firing squad, rejecting the alternatives of lethal injection and the electric chair. He did not provide a final statement and offered a fleeting glance at the 10 witnesses present before a hood was placed over his head, as reported by The Associated Press.

For his final meal, Bryant chose a menu that included spicy mixed seafood stir-fry, fried fish over rice, egg rolls, stuffed shrimp, two candy bars, and a piece of German chocolate cake.

A court appearance image of Stephen Bryant, taken on an unspecified date, was provided by The Item via AP.

Bryant made no noise as the shots rang out, the AP reported. The red bullseye target that marked the location of his heart flew forward off his chest. He had a few shallow breaths and then a final spasm a little over a minute later. A doctor checked him with a stethoscope for a minute before he pronounced Bryant dead. 

Three family members of victims who served as witnesses held hands during the execution. 

In the killing of Tietjen, Bryant admitted to fatally shooting him, burning his eyes with cigarettes and painting “catch me if u can” on the wall with Tietjen’s blood.

Tietjen’s daughter called him six times, telling investigators on the final call that a strange voice answered and told her of killing Tietjen. 

This photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state’s death chamber in Columbia, S.C., including the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left.   (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP/File)

In the other two killings, Bryant gave the men rides in a vehicle and when they got out to urinate on the side of the road, he shot them in the back, authorities said. 

Bo King, a lawyer who works on death penalty cases in South Carolina, told the AP that Bryant had a genetic disorder, was a victim of sexual and physical abuse by relatives, and his mother’s binge drinking “permanently damaged his body and brain.” 

“Mr. Bryant’s impairments left him unable to endure the tormenting memories of his childhood,” King wrote in a statement.

Bryant is the seventh person put to death by South Carolina in 14 months after the state had a 13-year pause in executions when it couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs. 

A protester looks on outside of Broad River Correctional Institute prior to the scheduled execution of Stephen Bryant in Columbia, S.C., Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (Matt Kelley/AP)

Mikal Mahdi and Brad Sigmon were executed by firing squad already in South Carolina this year.