Photo: AP Columbia, SCV (WOLO) — The Governor’s Office has just released a letter confirming that Governor McMaster has denied clemency for Freddie Eugene Owens as of 6:46pm Friday evening. In the letter, McMaster acknowledges receiving the letter with the clemency request September 17, 2024. After “carefully” reviewing and “thoughtfully” considering the application, McMaster says the letter should ” memorialize and further confirm that I have declined to grant any form of executive clemency in this matter”. Owens was 19 years old when he and an accomplice robbed a speedway convenient store in greenville county, shooting and killing graves, after she allegedly didn’t open the safe fast enough. His accomplice steven golden, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison, testified against owens after the murder. but this past thursday he signed an affidavit saying owens is not the shooter, nor was he even at the crime scene, and that he lied in his statement and testimony about owens years ago. The South Carolina Supreme Court, however, denied an emergency motion filed by Owens attorneys saying Owens had confessed to his involvement in the murder five times over the years and had also confessed the murder to his mother and girlfriend. Officials also said owens brutally killed christopher bryan lee, a cellmate at the greenville county detention center, during the 24-hour holding period between his murder conviction in 1999 and his sentencing. As we await details, Governor McMaster has released a letter saying he denied clemency for Owens. @abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/flXGE2U14M — Lee Williams (@leewilliams93) September 20, 2024 ABC Columbia’s Lee Williams is at the Broad River Correctional Center and will bring updates as they become available. Categories: Local News, News, Richland