NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n\n- A man convicted of two murders was put to death in South Carolina by lethal injection<\/li>\n
- Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. local time on June 13<\/li>\n
- Stanko was convicted of strangling his girlfriend in front of her daughter before shooting and killing a friend in April 2005<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A man convicted of two murders was executed in South Carolina by lethal injection.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. local time on Friday, June 13, according to a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). Stanko had been sentenced to death for crimes he committed in April 2005 in\u00a0Horry and Georgetown counties, per the statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nOn April 8, 2005, Stanko \u201cbound, beat and strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, to death while beating and raping her daughter, who was a minor, in their Murrells Inlet home,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStanko 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.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nStanko 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 \u201ckidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery with intent to kill\u201d for Ling\u2019s teenage daughter, per the statement.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Gl8MKJhaiQne6MioVYyV7q_3Q0k=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/stephen-stanko-mugshot-061425-2-44684e82af4c4811ae796f04a33d5a27.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Stephen Stanko.<\/span>HANDOUT\/South Carolina Department of Corrections\/AFP via Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe was later convicted in Horry County in 2009 for the murder and armed robbery in Turner\u2019s death. He was sentenced to death for both murders, per the SCDC.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStanko\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cI 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 \u2014 NOT ONE SINGLE DAY \u2014 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,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStanko went on to say that he was more than his convictions, stating that he was once an \u201can honor student and an athlete,\u201d and that he also volunteered at an orphanage and as a coach.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cI do NOT say this to brag. I say it because I was not what people see me as now \u2014 in this moment,” he said.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cI have lived approximately twenty thousand nine hundred and seventy-three days, but I am judged solely for one,\u201d Stanko concluded his statement.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nWant to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nAt the time of his execution, Stanko was administered two doses of the powerful sedative pentobarbital, according to\u00a0The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAn 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.<\/p>\n
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- A man convicted of two murders was put to death in South Carolina by lethal injection<\/li>\n
- Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. local time on June 13<\/li>\n
- Stanko was convicted of strangling his girlfriend in front of her daughter before shooting and killing a friend in April 2005<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A man convicted of two murders was executed in South Carolina by lethal injection.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. local time on Friday, June 13, according to a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). Stanko had been sentenced to death for crimes he committed in April 2005 in\u00a0Horry and Georgetown counties, per the statement.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nOn April 8, 2005, Stanko \u201cbound, beat and strangled his girlfriend, Laura Ling, to death while beating and raping her daughter, who was a minor, in their Murrells Inlet home,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStanko 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.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nStanko 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 \u201ckidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery with intent to kill\u201d for Ling\u2019s teenage daughter, per the statement.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>Stephen Stanko.<\/span>HANDOUT\/South Carolina Department of Corrections\/AFP via Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n He was later convicted in Horry County in 2009 for the murder and armed robbery in Turner\u2019s death. He was sentenced to death for both murders, per the SCDC.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStanko\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cI 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 \u2014 NOT ONE SINGLE DAY \u2014 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,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nStanko went on to say that he was more than his convictions, stating that he was once an \u201can honor student and an athlete,\u201d and that he also volunteered at an orphanage and as a coach.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cI do NOT say this to brag. I say it because I was not what people see me as now \u2014 in this moment,” he said.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cI have lived approximately twenty thousand nine hundred and seventy-three days, but I am judged solely for one,\u201d Stanko concluded his statement.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nWant to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAt the time of his execution, Stanko was administered two doses of the powerful sedative pentobarbital, according to\u00a0The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAn 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.<\/p>\n