"The South Carolina attorney general's office contended Bryant's brain damage claims were irrelevant, saying Bryant was methodical, cunning, and took pleasure in his crimes, including the gratuitous infliction of horror on Mr Tietjen's family. The character of the defendant and the circumstances of the crimes weigh in favor of the harshest punishment, the state's lawyers wrote. Investigators said Bryant had burned Tietjen's eyes with cigarettes and painted taunting messages with his blood."
"South Carolina has revived executions over the last year, killing six people in rapid succession after a 13-year pause in capital punishment. In March, the state conducted its first firing squad execution, a method human rights advocates have called barbaric and had not been used anywhere in the US in 15 years. Bryant's lawyers claimed he did not receive a full brain scan before his 2008 trial, which could have identified damage, the AP reported."
South Carolina plans to execute Stephen Bryant, 44, by firing squad for the October 2004 killing of Willard TJ Tietjen; Bryant pleaded guilty to two other murders. His attorneys say prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs caused brain damage that was compounded by severe physical and sexual abuse in childhood and that he did not receive a full brain scan before his 2008 trial. The state supreme court denied a halt. The state resumed executions after a 13-year pause, killing six people and carrying out a firing squad execution in March.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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