A man convicted of two murders was executed in South Carolina via lethal injection.
Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. local time on Friday, June 13, according to a statement issued by the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Stanko was sentenced to death for crimes committed in Horry and Georgetown counties in April 2005, according to a statement.
Stanko “bound, beat, and strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, to death while beating and raping her daughter, who was a minor, in their Murrells Inlet home,” according to the statement.
Stanko then drove to the home of a friend, 74-year-old Henry Lee Turner, and shot and killed him before taking his car. Stanko fled and was apprehended several days later in Georgia, according to the SCDC.
Stanko was first convicted in Georgetown County in 2006 of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery. He was also found guilty of “kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and assault and battery with intent to kill” for Ling’s teenage daughter, according to the statement.
In 2009, he was convicted in Horry County of murder and armed robbery in Turner’s death. He was sentenced to death for both murders, according to the SCDC.
Stanko’s final statement was read by his attorney prior to his execution. In a statement released to the public by the SCDC, he apologized to the victims’ families.
“I sincerely apologize for the pain and loss I caused in this horrible situation. Sorry is never enough, but it should still be said. Christina, Laura, and Henry have been in my thoughts and prayers every day, without fail.
If my execution aids in closure and/or the grieving process, may they all move forward with that goal,” the statement read.
Stanko went on to say that he was more than his convictions, claiming that he was once “an honor student and an athlete,” as well as having volunteered at an orphanage and as a coach.
“I am NOT saying this to brag. I say it because I was not who people think I am now — in this moment,” he explained.
“I have lived approximately twenty thousand nine hundred and seventy-three days, but I am judged solely for one,” Stanko said.
Stanko received two doses of the powerful sedative pentobarbital during his execution, according to The Associated Press.
According to an AP journalist who witnessed the execution, Stanko appeared to say something inaudible after being administered the drug.
He then turned to face the victims’ families, who were present, and took several quick breaths before dying. He was pronounced dead about 28 minutes after the execution began, according to the outlet.
Stanko’s execution was the sixth in South Carolina in nine months. Stanko reportedly considered dying by firing squad but chose lethal injection due to concerns that volunteers had missed a prisoner’s heart during a previous firing squad execution, potentially prolonging his suffering, according to the Associated Press.
According to the SCDC, Stanko’s last meal included fried fish, fried shrimp, crab cake, baked potato, carrots, fried okra, cherry pie, banana pudding, and sweet tea.
