COLUMBIA:
South Carolina carried out its first execution by firing squad in 15 years on Friday, marking a rare use of the method in the United States. Brad Sigmon, 67, a convicted murderer, chose the firing squad over alternatives like the electric chair or lethal injection, fearing the latter options might result in a slower and more agonizing death.
Sigmon was pronounced dead at 6:08 PM ET, according to Chrysti Shain, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He was convicted of brutally beating his ex-girlfriend’s parents, William and Gladys Larke, to death with a baseball bat at their home in Taylors in 2001.
**The Execution Process**
Sigmon was strapped into a chair in a steel basin at the execution chamber in Columbia, with a hood placed over his head and a target positioned over his heart. Three executioners, positioned 15 feet (4.5 meters) away, fired live ammunition simultaneously.
Shain stated that Sigmon’s attorney, Bo King, read the inmate’s final statement to witnesses before the execution. In his statement, Sigmon urged his fellow Christians to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
Media witnesses described the scene, noting that Sigmon wore a black jumpsuit with a bullseye attached to his chest. The executioners fired without warning, causing witnesses to flinch, though there was little reaction beyond that. After being shot, Sigmon appeared to take two short breaths, and a bloodstain became visible on his chest. He was pronounced dead approximately three minutes after the shots were fired.
**Legal Challenges**
Hours before the execution, the US Supreme Court rejected Sigmon’s final appeal to halt the process. His petition argued that South Carolina’s refusal to disclose details about its lethal injection protocol violated his due-process rights. The court issued a brief, unsigned order with no noted dissents.
Sigmon’s attorney, King, highlighted the grim choice his client faced: “He was left to decide whether to die by the firing squad, knowing that the bullets are going to break the bones in his chest and destroy his heart, or risk a 20-minute-long execution strapped to a gurney with your lungs filling with blood and fluid. This is an impossible choice.”
**Historical Context**
Firing squad executions are exceedingly rare in the United States. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, only three executions by firing squad have taken place, all in Utah. South Carolina is one of just five states that still permit this method, which was more common during the 19th century, particularly in the Civil War era.
Lethal injection, introduced in the 1970s as a less visibly violent method, has become the most commonly used form of execution in the US. However, it has also been the most frequently botched, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Challenges in obtaining the necessary drugs, due to an EU ban on their sale for capital punishment, and difficulties in locating suitable veins on prisoners have compounded issues with this method.
Autopsies of individuals executed by lethal injection have sometimes revealed frothy, bloody fluid in their lungs, suggesting they may have experienced the sensation of drowning before death.
Sigmon’s execution underscores the ongoing debate over the ethics and methods of capital punishment in the United States, as well as the personal dilemmas faced by those on death row.
