Stephen Corey Bryant Chooses Firing Squad Execution

Death row inmate Stephen Corey Bryant exhausted all of his legal options. His execution was set by the South Carolina Supreme Court for November 14, 2025. He was given time until October 31 to decide whether he wanted to be killed by lethal injection, the electric chair or the firing squad. On his last day, Bryant decided to be shot by a firing squad.

The Third Firing Squad Death

The decision to opt for being shot makes him the third inmate in South Carolina to select the firing squad this year, per AP. Imagine choosing your own form of death!

However, if he hadn’t made the choice, he faced electrocution. Apparently, substances for lethal injection are scarce.

A Week of Violence in 2004

Eight shocking days of violent crimes happened in October 2004. The entire community of Sumter County could hardly believe what was happening. Well, Bryant started his journey to death row at the time.

Among his crimes, he broke into remote houses, pretending to be a motorist in distress while at the same time looking for potential victims. In no time, he ramped up his violent acts. By the river, he shot a man who was fishing and later on in the week he would go on to murder Clifton Gainey.

In that case, he set the trailer they found him in on fire. However, the killing of Willard “T.J.” Tietjen, a 52-year-old father and husband, eventually led to Bryant’s execution.

The Killing of T.J. Tietjen

Ransacking the house after shooting Tietjen nine times in the chest at his rural home, Bryant provoked not only locals, but the cops investigating also felt traumatized. Investigators discovered that Stephen Corey Bryant used a cigarette to burn the victim’s face and eyes. Later, he wrote on the walls in blood, “Victim (sic) 4 in 2 weeks. Catch me if u can.”

Making it even worse, Tietjen’s family tried reaching him on the phone. However, it was Bryant who answered. So, he told the caller, his daughter, that her dad was dead, and referred to himself as “The prowler.”

More Deaths & A Confession

After that, on a rural road, Christopher Burgess ended up shot by Bryant. The criminal also turned on the gas and set the house on fire. For a while the murderous crime spree seemed unending. However, the police caught up with him and he was jailed for suspicion of committing three murders.

By 2008, Bryant had confessed his guilt not only for murder, but for burning homes and break-ins. His admission of guilt came with a sense of inevitability that he’d face whatever consequences came along.

Still, the true crime serial killer wasn’t all that repentant, and later, he attempted to maim two correctional officers while he was in prison. Of course, that only strengthened the prosecution’s case as he clearly couldn’t safely be left around other people.

A Troubled Past

His defense team showed through their witness that his upbringing was traumatic and he was sexually abused. Meanwhile other family members said that Bryant kept asking for psychological help long before the murders. Unfortunately, he never received proper treatment. Right up until sentencing, his legal team blamed his violent behavior on deeply-rooted psychological issues.

Nevertheless, the court decided that the aggravating factors, especially the armed robbery and the killing of Tietjen with a high degree of cruelty, overrode any of the excuses. Bryant was sentenced to be executed and since then, he’s been on death row for almost twenty years.

A Violent End

Currently, Bryant faces a violent death but public sympathy isn’t with him. After all, people died by the gun and by torture. On Reddit’s r/TrueCrimeDiscussion, one follower who lived in a rural area and helped random people said, “Rural cases like this one are particularly terrifying to me…it’s horrifying to me that any one of those people we helped could have been like this guy. Nightmare fuel.”

What are your thoughts on Stephen Corey Bryant opting for the violent execution of death by firing squad? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here for all our true crime news and updates.