NC man escaped death row for brutal Conway murders. Why he now faces SC charges
A North Carolina man who was convicted by a federal jury of shooting and killing two employees during a Conway bank robbery in 2017 is expected to appear in court Monday on state charges.
Brandon Council was initially sentenced to death row by a federal jury in 2017. But his sentence was reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after his and dozens of other death row inmates’ sentences were commuted by former President Joe Biden in 2024.
The state decided to reopen Council’s case last September after prosecutors dropped the case in 2019 when federal charges were filed. State prosecution said during Council’s hearing last year that they would seek the death penalty for him, The Sun News previously reported.
Council was transferred to the J Reuben Detention Center on Tuesday, where he will be held until his court appearance, Horry County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Brennan Cavanagh wrote in an email to The Sun News.
Council is scheduled to appear in court on Monday at 11 a.m.
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 bank branch in Conway 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. Council was on the run for other robberies in North Carolina and staying at a motel near the bank.
