Killer of two SC cops who called judges ‘satanic’ found competent to be executed
A South Carolina man involved in the ambush killings of two law enforcement officers has been found competent to be executed. Steven Bixby was sentenced to death for the murders of Abbeville County sheriff’s Sgt. Danny Wilson and state constable Donnie Ouzts.
The killings were the violent result of a feud between government officials and the Bixby family, who subscribed to anti-government views. Bixby, who has been diagnosed with a personality disorder, rejects the authority of courts and believes that his lawyers and judges are “satanic.”
As a result of his narcissistic and paranoid personality disorders, Bixby’s attorneys argued that he is entirely fixed in his views and is unable to communicate rationally with them.
But a decision released today by a circuit court judge found that Bixby is not incompetent.
“To the extent the Applicant has ever refused to cooperate or communicate with his attorneys, the Court is convinced that it was a conscious choice by the Applicant, and not the absence of capacity,” wrote Circuit Court Judge R. Scott Sprouse.
Sprouse found that Bixby was not delusional and both understood his crime and was capable of rationally communicating with his attorneys.
Bixby was sentenced to death in 2007.
“The families of Danny Wilson and Donnie Ouzts have been waiting far too long for this sentence to be carried out — this ruling clears the path to that day very soon,” said 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo.
Bixby’s has been described as holding “strict constitutionalist” or sovereign citizen beliefs, which he shared with his mother, Rita, and father, Arthur. The whole Bixby family was charged in the shooting. Rita and Arthur died in prison.
One of Bixby’s lawyers, Josh Kendrick, said that his legal team were still reviewing the order and determining their next step. They still have the opportunity to challenge the judge’s order.
An execution notice setting the date that the death penalty should be carried out has not yet been issued. Barring a successful last-minute appeal or some other delay, executions take place 30 days after courts issue the notice.
Expert says Bixby willing to “die as a martyr”
In order to be found competent to be executed in South Carolina, a defendant must meet the standard set by a two-part test. They not only need to be able to understand that they are being punished for a crime that they committed, but they must also be able to rationally communicate with their attorneys.
Experts were in agreement that Bixby was not psychotic. Bixby has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as well as narcissistic and paranoid personality disorders. But experts have disagreed over whether this meant that he was unable to communicate with his attorneys.
At a hearing in August, two pyschological experts called by the attorney general’s office along with an expert called by the court testified that they believed Bixby was competent to be executed. A fourth expert called by the defense disagreed. Both Bixby and his court appointed guardian also testified.
Experts put forward by the state Attorney General’s Office argued that while Bixby was argumentative, he was aware that his beliefs were not widely shared.
A psychiatrist for South Carolina’s death row testified that Bixby told him, “I’m not a mental case. I may be an asshole, but I’m not crazy.”
Among his beliefs are the convictions that treason is the only crime that can earn the death penalty, all statutory law is null and void and all of the proceedings against him have been unconstitutional. Bixby also assigns enormous importance to certain numbers connected to the case. He has submitted long handwritten petitions to the court and has stated he was saved by an angel during the shootout and that the blood of Jesus Christ could be found at his crime scene.
“If he is executed he would keep his beliefs intact to the end and die as a martyr representing his beliefs,” testified psychiatrist Dr. Richard Frierson for the prosecution.
Bixby’s beliefs were not unique to him, Frierson testified. Rather, many of them fit within a broader national patter of “constitutionalists” or “sovereign citizens” who largely reject the U.S. government’s authority.
Death row inmates in South Carolina are required to select their method of execution from firing squad, lethal injection or electric chair.
Six men have been executed since South Carolina resumed carrying out the death penalty in the fall of 2024. Four have chosen to die by lethal injection while two have opted for the firing squad.
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM.