A South Carolina convicted killer was executed for double murders. He was put to death this Friday at 6:34 pm on June 13th. Lethal injections with pentobarbital were given to Stephen Stanko. This is the sixth execution in the past 9 months. He has committed two gruesome murders.
The first one was the murder of his friend and stealing all his money in 2005. Then he murdered his girlfriend who he used to live with in Georgetown County. He also stabbed her teen daughter and tried to kill her by slitting her throat. Luckily, she survived the murder attempt. Right before his execution, Stephen apologized to the victims for his crimes.
In his final moments, he also looked at the victim’s family, trying to say something more amidst quick breaths. After a minute of lethal injection administration, his breath stopped for one minute.
After 28 minutes, he was pronounced dead. The families of the victims were present throughout his execution and chose to witness it all instead of looking away. Stanko’s brother and his lawyer were also there. His lawyer Lindsey Vann had rosary beads in her hands to pray.
Stanko also talked a bit about himself, how he was into sports and was an honor student. He emphasized on not wanting to be judged over his true crime-level murders. He was disappointed that he was being judged for one day despite living for 20,973 days. He apologized again and again to the victims’ families, hoping the execution would let them heal and forgive him.
From conman to killer: Stephen Stanko’s murderous path brings him to death chamber https://t.co/kRSWNLibJq
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 13, 2025
At first, Stephen Stanko wanted execution via firing squad; however, that has been a controversial method. The last two inmates who were given death sentences by them did not die immediately. So Stanko was left with a lethal injection choice for his execution.
Stanko’s efforts to avoid a death sentence were tanked by the federal court as he wanted them to spare his life. The attorney discussed how lethal injections were not administered properly. They were filling the lungs with fluid.
South Carolina carried out the execution of convicted killer Stephen Stanko this evening, marking the sixth inmate put to death since the state resumed executions months ago.
Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, according to… pic.twitter.com/DJVCB1lHbo
— CC News Network of SC (@crimeandcask) June 13, 2025
In South Carolina, no death row inmate has life spare, considering the last 48 executions. The state reinstated the death penalty after 50 years, and Stanko is the 6th among the inmates who have been put to death in the last few months. This has been a first in 13 years, as earlier, they could not procure lethal injections. This was due to choosing the firing squad and shield bill for the drug suppliers.
Many people were petitioning for Stephen Stanko to get him exempted from the death sentence. However, he was executed twenty years after committing the murders. Several protestors were outside the correctional institute days before his execution.
