South Carolina's firing squad chair is pictured behind its electric chair, which is covered, at the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina. Death Row inmates can choose among firing squad, electric chair and lethal injection for their executions. If they don't select one, the default is the electric chair.
Stephen Bryant is pictured.

A South Carolina killer who murdered three people in a week and taunted police with a message written in blood is set to become the third inmate in the state executed by the controversial firing squad method this year.

Stephen Bryant, who once scrawled "catch me if u can" on a wall using the blood of 62-year-old Willard "T.J." Tietjen, is scheduled to be executed on Friday, Nov. 14, for the 2004 murder. If the execution moves forward, Bryant will be the 42nd inmate executed in the U.S. in 2025, the most executions carried out in a single year since 2012.

He'll also be only one of six men executed by the firing squad in modern U.S. history.

Under South Carolina's protocol, Bryant's executioners will place a hood over his head and strap him to a chair. Three volunteer corrections officers are supposed to shoot him in the heart simultaneously.

A defense attorney who witnessed the last such execution in April described it as "barbaric" and "a horrifying act that belongs in the darkest chapters of history." State officials defend the method as constitutional.

Here's what you need to know about Bryant's execution.

When and where is Stephen Bryant's execution?

Stephen Bryant is set to be executed at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.

What was Stephen Bryant convicted of?

In October 2004, Stephen Bryant was on probation for burglary when he went on an eight-day killing spree that left three men dead and one critically wounded.

Bryant pleaded guilty to the crimes. A judge sentenced him to life in prison for two of the murders and the death penalty for the murder of a stranger named Willard "T.J." Tietjen, who was shot nine times in his home just east of Columbia after allowing Bryant to come in. Bryant had told Tietjen that his truck had overheated and the two chatted for hours before Bryant attacked, he later admitted to police, according to court records.

After the murder, he used Tietjen's blood to scrawl a taunting message to cops: "Victem 4 in 2 weeks. Catch me if u can," court records say.

Like Tietjen, the other three men Bryant shot appeared to be targeted at random during the unexplained killing spree. They included his friend, 36-year-old Clifton Gainey and another stranger, 35-year-old Christopher Burgess. A 56-year-old man named Clinton Brown was shot in the back and left for dead but survived.

Why is Stephen Bryant being executed by firing squad?

South Carolina allowed Bryant to choose among three execution methods: firing squad, electric chair or lethal injection. If he hadn't chosen, the default method is electric chair.

The firing squad has been rarely used in the United States, though it appears to be gaining momentum as states say they're struggling to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections.

Before this year, Utah was the only state to use the method, and had only done so three times: in 1977, 1996 and 2010. Utah had planned to use the method on an inmate in August but the Utah Supreme Court stopped it over concerns about his dementia.

South Carolina legalized firing squads in 2021 and began using the method this year, executing two inmates in April and May.

On top of Utah and South Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Idaho have legalized firing squads. Idaho, which approved firing squads in 2023, is set to make them the state's default method next year.

Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers the death penalty for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Catch me if u can': Killer who wrote taunting message in blood faces firing squad

Reporting by Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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