Another inmate is eligible for execution in SC on the 2nd of his 2 death sentences
The above shows the execution chamber in the Department of Corrections' Columbia prisons complex, as seen from the witness room. The firing squad chair (left) was added following a 2021 state law that made death by firing squad an option. The electric chair is under the cover. (Provided by the S.C. Department of Corrections)
COLUMBIA — A sixth death row inmate who was twice sentenced to death by separate juries has run out of appeals for one of his killings and could be scheduled for execution in the coming weeks, according to the state Attorney General's Office.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied inmate Stephen Stanko's appeal of his 2009 conviction for shooting his friend four years prior. Stanko was also sentenced to death in 2006 for killing his girlfriend and raping her then-15-year-old daughter and leaving her for dead. The appeals process continues on that conviction.
But Monday's decision by the nation's high court clears the way for the state Supreme Court to issue a death warrant for the 57-year-old, an attorney for the Attorney General's Office wrote in a letter to state justices.
The court usually issues death warrants on Fridays, giving inmates exactly four weeks before their execution dates under state law. The court will be closed this coming Friday in observance of Confederate Memorial Day, a state holiday. Whether the court might still issue a death notice for Stanko that day is unclear.
Stanko would be the sixth inmate put to death in the state since executions resumed in September 2024, following an unintended 13-year hiatus.
Legislators added firing squad as an option for executions in 2021, and two inmates chose that as their method of execution earlier this year. The other three died by lethal injection, which again became an option with the help of an expanded law keeping most information about executions, including the source of the drugs, secret.
Stanko was tried for crimes in two different counties — Georgetown and Horry — and sentenced to death in both cases.
On April 7, 2005, Stanko strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, to death while beating and raping her daughter at their home in Murrell's Inlet. Stanko slit the daughter's throat and left her for dead, stealing jewelry and a credit card from her and her mother. He withdrew money from Ling's bank account at a nearby ATM, then drove to Conway, according to court records.
There, Stanko committed the crime for which he has exhausted his appeals.
The next morning, April 8, 2005, Stanko brought his friend Henry Turner breakfast from McDonald's. As the 74-year-old shaved in front of his bathroom mirror, Stanko shot him in the back, using a pillow as a silencer for his gun. He then hit Turner in the head and shot him again in the chest, this time fatally, according to court records.
Stanko stole Turner's truck and fled, driving from Conway to Columbia, then to Augusta, Georgia, the next day. There, he convinced a woman he was a businessman in town for the Masters golf tournament. Stanko spent several days staying in the woman's apartment and attending church with her.
After Stanko left April 12, the woman recognized Stanko's picture in the newspaper alongside a headline about Turner's death. She called the police, who captured Stanko while he was still in Augusta.
He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2006 for killing Ling and raping her daughter, then given another death sentence in 2009 for killing Turner. In both cases, Stanko's attorneys unsuccessfully claimed he was insane during the time of the killings, according to court records.
SC executes second death row inmate by firing squad
Stanko had been out of prison for nine months after serving over eight years for kidnapping and assaulting another woman, according to court records.
He was also under investigation for running several scams in and around Myrtle Beach, including representing himself as a lawyer and investigator. At the time of the crimes, people who had paid him had begun to demand their money back and were threatening to report him to the police, prosecutors wrote in court filings.
He is one of 26 inmates listed on death row in South Carolina, though one of them is held in California on a separate conviction.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Florence County health worker charged with Medicaid fraud
FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A Florence County health worker has been charged with Medicaid fraud, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office said Tuesday. Jacqueline Burgess, 59, of Scranton, was charged with medical assistance provider fraud. She was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on Tuesday. An investigation revealed that between Dec. 4, 2023, and June 21, 2024, Burgess allegedly knowingly and wilfully caused false claims for payments to the state Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that administers South Carolina's Medicaid program. Burgess, a care attendant with Tender Care Home Health Care, allegedly submitted false timesheets indicating she had rendered care services for a Medicaid beneficiary when she had not, according to the attorney general's office. Burgess may face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000. * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Convicted double murderer Stephen Stanko asks federal court to block execution days ahead of scheduled death
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WBTW) — Convicted double murderer Stephen Stanko wants a federal judge to pause his scheduled Friday execution over perceived civil rights violations. Stanko's legal team will appear before U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel at 11 a.m. on Wednesday in Charleston. Stanko, 57, has been sentenced to death twice in the state for two separate murders — the killing of a friend and the killing of his girlfriend as he raped her daughter. He's being executed for killing his 74-year-old friend Henry Turner in Conway. Stanko went to Turner's home in April 2006 after lying about his father dying, and shot Turner twice while using a pillow as a silencer, authorities said. Stanko stole Turner's truck, cleaned out his bank account and spent the next few days in Augusta, Georgia, where he told people in town for the Masters golf tournament that he owned several Hooters restaurants. He stayed with a woman who took him to church. She called police once after seeing his photo and learning that he was wanted, police said. Hours before killing Turner, Stanko beat and strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, in her home in Murrells Inlet and raped her daughter before slashing the teen's throat. The daughter survived and testified against him at one of his trials. South Carolina restarted executions in September after obtaining pentobarbital used in lethal injections thanks to a new secrecy law. The state didn't execute a prisoner from 2011 to 2024 after its supply of lethal injection drugs expired and pharmacies refused to sell them more unless their identities could be kept secret. Stanko, who set to die June 13, had a choice among firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. His lawyers said in previous court filings he didn't want to suffer what he thought was cooking from thousands of volts of electricity. They said he was leaning toward the firing squad before questions surfaced about whether Mikal Mahdi suffered agonizing pain for about 45 seconds — three times longer than expected — at his April 11 execution after the firing squad nearly missed his heart. State law sets the electric chair as a default execution method but lets inmates choose between firing squad or lethal injection if either option is available. Stanko's attorney Charles Grose Jr. said that clause leaves his client in an impossible position. 'The scheme's provision of ostensible choice creates a constitutional Catch 22: One either submits to electrocution with the prayer to the courts to intercede with a stay to permit a constitutional challenge in order to avoid a tortuous killing by atavistic means, or one chooses between the lesser of two inhumane and, in the hands of the defendants, unconstitutional methods that, in the very election of one of the methods, precludes its constitutional challenges,' Grose said in his filing. The Associated Press contributed to this story. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
After two-year investigation, Madison County tax preparer arrested for Ponzi scheme allegations, charged with 49 crimes
HAMILTON, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Madison County tax preparer and insurance agent under state and federal investigation for allegations he operated a Ponzi scheme has been arrested and indicted on 49 criminal counts. The New York State Attorney General announced the unsealing of the indictment, which accuses Miles Burton Marshall of stealing more than $50 million from 988 investors over 30 years. Marshall is accused of taking money from clients under the guise of an investment, promising a generous 8% return, but instead using funds to pay returns to prior investors, pay personal expenses, and expenses of his other businesses. In March of 2023, Marshall's attorney told NewsChannel 9 his client is 'not running a Ponzi scheme… as is evident by the fact that he has a number of successful businesses, including over 100 investment properties in and around the Hamilton area.' The Attorney General's Office has been investigating Marshall's business practices since March of 2023 after he failed to pay debts to clients, as NewsChannel 9 was first to report. In April of 2023, Marshall declared bankruptcy, saying he only has around $20 million in assets but owes $90 million to hundreds of people who loaned him money, believing it was an investment opportunity. Many of the debtors have lost their life savings and are hoping some money is returned through the bankruptcy process. In June of 2023, the U.S. government accused Marshall of running a 'Ponzi' scheme, indicating he used proceeds from new investors to pay off old investors. In October of 2023, NewsChannel 9 reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the possible Ponzi scheme. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.