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Stephen Corey Bryant
American convicted spree killer (born 1981) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Stephen Corey Bryant (born April 12, 1981) is an American spree killer convicted of the 2004 fatal shootings of three people in Sumter County, South Carolina. Throughout an eight-day period in October 2004, Bryant shot each of his victims in four separate incidents, killing three of them and leaving a fourth seriously injured. The first deceased victim, Bryant's acquaintance Clifton Dale Gainey (February 26, 1968 – October 9, 2004), was shot and killed before being abandoned on the road; the second deceased victim, Willard Irving Tietjen Jr. (June 13, 1942 – October 11, 2004), was fatally shot inside his home during a robbery; and the final deceased victim, Christopher Earl Burgess (May 12, 1969 – October 13, 2004), was shot dead and left on a rural road after encountering Bryant at a convenience store. Bryant was found guilty of three counts of murder and sentenced to death on September 11, 2008. Bryant is presently scheduled to be executed by firing squad on November 14, 2025.[2]
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2004 Sumter County killings
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Between October 5 and October 13, 2004, in Sumter County, South Carolina, 23-year-old Stephen Corey Bryant perpetuated a series of shootings that led to the deaths of three people and a fourth person wounded.
On October 5, 2004, Bryant conducted two burglaries in two separate homes, and in one of them, Bryant stole a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun. On that same day, Bryant shot a man fishing near a local river, but the man, 56-year-old Clinton Brown, survived his injuries.[3][4] Brown was reportedly able to drive himself to a hospital to seek treatment.[5]
On October 9, 2004, Bryant went out with his friend and colleague, 36-year-old Clifton Gainey, to buy beer. According to sources, Bryant shared a close friendship with Gainey, and they often went out for fishing trips together and spent time with each other's families. On that day itself, Bryant used the gun to shoot Gainey in the head, killing him and therefore left his body behind on a rural road. After the shooting, Bryant headed to Gainey's rented trailer and stole electronics and an aquarium from the trailer, also set fire to the trailer.[3][4] At the time of his death, Gainey was survived by his two sons, mother and brother.[6]
On October 11, 2004, Bryant entered the home of 62-year-old Willard Tietjen, who was shot nine times by Bryant. After Tietjen died from the shooting, Bryant stole a ring by taking it off the finger of Tietjen, and also used a cigarette to burn the victim's face and eyes. Bryant additionally burglarized the house, stealing valuables and power tools. While Bryant was ransacking the house, Tietjen's wife and daughter called the victim, and Bryant picked up the phone to inform them separately that Tietjen was dead. Before he fled the house, Bryant used the victim's blood to write a message, "Victem 4 in 2 weeks. Catch me if u can".[3][7] At the time of his death, Tietjen, a retired U.S. Air Force sergeant, left behind his wife, daughter, brother, sister and five grandchildren.[6] Tietjen's body was found on the same day he was killed.[8]
On October 13, 2004, four days after murdering Tietjen, 35-year-old Christopher Burgess encountered Bryant outside a local convenience store. After the pair left the store, Bryant shot Burgess twice, once in the head and another in the chest. Less than two hours after the murder, a hunter discovered Burgess's corpse lying on a road bed in a rural area.[3][4]
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Arrest and charges
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On October 13, 2004, Stephen Bryant was arrested at his girlfriend's home for the murders.[9][10]
On October 14, 2004, Bryant was charged with three counts of murder, two counts of burglary, two counts of weapons possession, and one count each of armed robbery and arson. Further investigations raised the possibility of more charges for Bryant.[11][12]
In the aftermath of the murders, the bereaved families of the victims petitioned to the state to provide financial aid to cover the funeral expenses.[13][14] The spree murders committed by Bryant shocked the whole community, and according to Bryant's landlord and workplace supervisor, they described him as a nice person and were shocked to hear he was arrested for the murders.[15][16] Experts believed that based on observations, Bryant himself displayed anti-social behaviour and was also impulsive with poor problem-solving ability, which could have explained the motive behind the murders.[17]
While he was awaiting trial, in October 2005, Bryant assaulted a correctional officer at Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center. As a result, Bryant was charged with the assault and he was arranged to be transferred to another prison.[18][19] Earlier the same month, Bryant allegedly threw urine on the door of a fellow inmate's prison cell, causing the said inmate to get splashed with urine on his hands and shirt.[20]
In April 2007, Sumter County prosecutor Kelly Jackson announced that he would seek the death penalty for Bryant.[21][22]
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Murder trial
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On August 8, 2008, Bryant pled guilty to all three counts of murder and nine other lesser charges. Sumter County Prosecutor Kelly Jackson stated that there was no plea deal reached with the defense, and he would seek the death penalty for Bryant pertaining to the robbery-murder of Willard Tietjen. A sentencing trial was set to begin on September 2, 2008.[23]
During the sentencing phase, the defence submitted that Bryant should not face the death penalty, given that he himself was a victim of sexual abuse in his childhood, and that he struggled with drug addiction, which contributed to brain damage in his case. The lawyers also stated that in the months before the killings, Bryant turned to drugs to forget about the lingering trauma he suffered from his past childhood sexual assaults. However, the prosecution argued that the killings were premeditated and Bryant had mercilessly killed the victims, which were factors they relied on in seeking the death sentence for Bryant.[24][25]
On September 11, 2008, Circuit Judge Thomas Russo sentenced 27-year-old Stephen Bryant to death for the murder of Willard Tietjen, in addition to two life sentences for the murders of Clifton Gainey and Christopher Burgess.[26][27][28]
Appeals and death row
On January 7, 2011, the South Carolina Supreme Court dismissed Bryant's direct appeal against his death sentence.[3]
As of September 2024, when Freddie Eugene Owens was scheduled to be the first convict executed in South Carolina after the state's 13-year moratorium on executions, Bryant was one of 32 inmates remaining on death row in South Carolina.[29]
On January 28, 2025, Bryant lost his appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court rejected Bryant's claim of intellectual disabilities and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which the defence claimed to be caused by the alcohol abuse of Bryant's mother while pregnant with him.[30][31]
On October 14, 2025, Bryant's final appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, thus officiating his eligibility to receive an execution date. The South Carolina Attorney-General filed a motion to schedule Bryant's execution date shortly after he exhausted all avenues of appeal.[32][33]
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Scheduled execution
On October 17, 2025, the South Carolina Supreme Court signed a death warrant for Stephen Bryant, setting his execution date as November 14, 2025. Under South Carolina state law, prisoners facing execution were allowed to choose their preferred execution method: execution by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. Should the prisoner in question fail to choose a method by their given deadline, he or she by default would be executed in the electric chair. Bryant was issued a deadline of October 31, 2025.[34][35]
Before the death warrant was finalized, Bryant's lawyers reportedly sought to delay the death warrant due to the US federal government shutdown, given that they worked for the federal court system. The request, however, was not accepted by the South Carolina Supreme Court.[36]
On October 31, 2025, Bryant chose to be put to death by firing squad. He became the third inmate in South Carolina to choose this method since the state resumed executions in 2024, following the executions of convicted murderers Brad Sigmon and Mikal Mahdi.[37][38]
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See also
References
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