South Carolina Murderer, Who Strangled Girlfriend in Front of Her Daughter, Dies by Lethal Injection: ‘Sorry Is Never Enough’

A man convicted of two murders was executed in South Carolina by lethal injection.

Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. local time on Friday, June 13, according to a statement released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). Stanko had been sentenced to death for crimes he committed in April 2005 in Horry and Georgetown counties, per the statement.

On April 8, 2005, 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,” the statement continued.

Stanko then drove to the home of a friend, 74-year-old Henry Lee Turner, where he shot and killed the man before stealing his car. Stanko fled and was arrested several days later in Georgia, per the SCDC.

Stanko was initially convicted in Georgetown County in 2006 of first-degree murder for the death of Ling, as well as kidnapping and armed robbery. He was also convicted of “kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery with intent to kill” for Ling’s teenage daughter, per the statement.

He was later convicted in Horry County in 2009 for the murder and armed robbery in Turner’s death. He was sentenced to death for both murders, per the SCDC.

Stanko’s final statement was read by his attorney before his execution. In his statement, which was provided to the public by the SCDC, he apologized to the families of the victims.

“I am truly sorry for the pain and loss that I caused in this horrible situation. Sorry is NEVER enough, but that does not mean it should not be said. Not a single day — NOT ONE SINGLE DAY — has gone by that Christina, Laura and Henry have not been in my thoughts and prayers. If my execution helps with closure and/or the grieving process, may they all move forward with that being completed,” the statement read.

Stanko went on to say that he was more than his convictions, stating that he was once an “an honor student and an athlete,” and that he also volunteered at an orphanage and as a coach.

“I do NOT say this to brag. I say it because I was not what people see me as now — in this moment,” he said.

“I have lived approximately twenty thousand nine hundred and seventy-three days, but I am judged solely for one,” Stanko concluded his statement.

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At the time of his execution, Stanko was administered two doses of the powerful sedative pentobarbital, according to The Associated Press.

An AP journalist who was in attendance during the execution said that Stanko appeared to say something inaudible after he was administered the drug. He then turned toward family members of the victims who were in attendance and let out several quick breaths before dying. He was pronounced dead about 28 minutes after the execution began, per the outlet.

Stanko’s execution marked the sixth execution in South Carolina in nine months. Stanko reportedly was considering dying by firing squad, but chose lethal injection after concerns that volunteers had missed the heart of a prisoner during a previous execution by firing squad, potentially prolonging his suffering, per the AP.

For his last meal, Stanko requested fried fish, fried shrimp, crab cake, baked potato, carrots, fried okra, cherry pie, banana pudding and sweet tea, per the SCDC.