Owens is set to be executed by lethal injection in the state's first execution in 13 years. This despite a key witness who testified against Owens now proclaiming his innocence.

A South Carolina inmate scheduled to be executed Friday is asking Gov. Henry McMaster to spare his life, something no governor in the state has done since the death penalty was restarted nearly 50 years ago.

South Carolina inmate Freddie Owens is set to die by lethal injection on Friday - the state’s first execution in over a decade

At times, Freddie Eugene Owens' letters are incredibly vulnerable as he says he's "also human." At others they threaten violence and say "betrayers will be slayed"

Attorneys for Owens had filed an emergency motion with South Carolina's high court to reconsider stopping his death based on an affidavit filed by Owens' co-defendant, Steven Golden, stating that Owens did not shoot Graves during the robbery at the Speedway convenience store.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections could potentially execute one death row inmate every 35 days — or every five weeks — as the state resumes executions on Sept. 20 after a 13-year pause in carrying out the death penalty.

If it moves forward, it will be the state's first execution in 13 years and the 14th execution in the nation this year. It's also the first of five executions the United States is carrying out in a six-day period between Sept.