Execution in chaos after key witness makes bombshell confession just hours before man's scheduled lethal injection

A man has testified that an inmate set to die by lethal injection is 'innocent' just hours before his execution.

In 1997, convenience store clerk Irene Graves was fatally shot during a robbery in Greenville, South Carolina.

Freddie Owens - aged 19 at the time - was convicted of murder, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy two years later and sentenced to death.

However, on Wednesday (September 18), Owens' friend and co-defendent Steven Golden said he's 'not the person who shot Irene'.

In a sworn statement filed to the South Carolina Supreme Court, Golden - who was sentenced to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter - stated: "Freddie Owens is not the person who shot Irene Graves at the Speedway on November 1, 1997. Freddie was not present when I robbed the Speedway that day.

"The detectives told me they knew Freddie was with me when I robbed the Speedway. They told me I might as well make a statement against Freddie because he already told his side to everyone and they were just trying to get my side of the story. I was scared that I would get the death penalty if I didn't make a statement. I signed a waiver of rights form and then signed a statement on November 11, 1997."

Golden says he 'substituted Freddie for the person who was really with [him] in the Speedway that night' because he 'knew that's what the police wanted [him] to say'. He was also afraid 'the real shooter or his associates' may come after him and kill him if he named them.

"I am still afraid of that. But Freddie was actually not there," he added.

Golden resolved: "[...] I'm coming forward now because I know Freddie's execution date is September 20 and I don't want Freddie to be executed for something he didn't do. This has weighed heavily on my mind and I want to have a clear conscience."

However, South Carolina's Supreme Court said it would still be going ahead with Owens' execution.

Freddie Owens was sentenced to death (South Carolina Department of Corrections)

Prosecutors argued it wasn't just Golden's testimony which had ultimately led to Owens receiving the death sentence, such as Owens' friends saying he'd revealed plans to rob the store and his ex-girlfriend alleging he'd confessed to the killing to her.

They also said Golden's new statement couldn't be trusted as it showed he lied under oath.

Owens' lawyers have argued a weapon was never recovered from the crime scene of the 1997 killing of the store clerk and CCTV footage from the store was unclear.

Yesterday, a petition to get Owens' sentence reduced from the death penalty to life in prison - signed by over 10,000 people - was presented to Governor Henry McMaster by a group called South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Irene Graves was fatally shot in 1997 (FOX Carolina News)

One of the comments reads: "Justice works for restoration. You cannot restore someone who you kill."

McMaster has said he will announce his response to the petition and whether or not the execution will go ahead minutes before the lethal injection is set to begin.

At the time of writing, the execution is still set to go ahead at 6.00pm on Friday (September 20).

If it goes ahead, it will be the first execution carried out by the state of South Carolina in 13 years.