Decades on Death Row: South Carolina’s Justice System Faces Harsh Reality as Longest-Serving Inmate Dies Naturally

Fred Singleton, who spent over four decades on South Carolina’s death row, recently died of natural causes at age 81 — a grim reminder of the state's faltering approach to capital punishment. His case is not just an isolated tragedy but a symptom of a broader failure within the justice system that demands scrutiny from every American who values fairness, security, and the rule of law.Sentenced to death in 1983 for brutally raping and strangling a vulnerable widow in Newberry County, Singleton became ensnared in a convoluted legal limbo that kept his execution off hold for nearly thirty years. The...