NC man no longer on death row for brutal killings of Conway bank tellers. Here’s why
A North Carolina man convicted in the brutal deaths of two Conway bank tellers is among 37 death row inmates whose sentences were commuted by President Biden - two days before Christmas.
Brandon Council’s sentence was reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to an announcement from the White House on Dec. 22, 2024.
The White House said that Biden believes the death penalty at the federal level “must stop,” except for people found guilty of terrorism and mass murder motivated by hate.
A federal jury sentenced Brandon Council to death for shooting and killing two employees during a robbery at the Conway, South Carolina, CresCom bank in 2017.
Council was the first person sentenced to death since federal officials announced they resumed carrying out executions. He was on death row in Indiana.
On Aug. 21, 2017, Council went into the 16th Avenue branch and approached Donna Major at the teller counter. He waited about 45 seconds before pulling out a gun and shooting Major twice.
Katie Skeen screamed in her nearby office, and Council ran to her. Council shot Skeen from point-blank range and killed her.
Council then ran back to Major, who was on the floor behind the counter, and shot her in the head. He then robbed the bank.
Brandon Council was on the run for other robberies in North Carolina and staying at a motel near the bank.
