South Carolina is set on Friday to execute Freddie Owens, who would become the first death row inmate to die at the hands of the state in 13 years, for killing a convenience store clerk during a 1997 robbery.

The mother of Freddie Owens urged Gov. Henry McMaster to spare her son’s life in a statement released hours ahead of his scheduled execution. Owens, 46, is set to die at 6 p.m. Friday, 25 years after he was convicted of killing gas station clerk Irene Graves during a string of robberies on