South Carolina to Carry Out First Firing Squad Execution in 15 Years

In a highly anticipated event, Brad Sigmon, 67, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Friday, marking the first such execution in the United States in 15 years. Sigmon was convicted of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in 2001. The execution is set to take place at approximately 6 p.m. at the South Carolina State Penitentiary.

The firing squad will consist of three volunteers armed with .308-caliber rifles, positioned about 15 feet away from Sigmon, who will be strapped to a chair. The bullets used are designed to shatter upon impact, sending fragments that aim to destroy the heart and cause immediate death.

Sigmon's Choice and Legal Proceedings

Sigmon opted for the firing squad over the electric chair, which he described as "cooking him alive," or lethal injection, the details of which remain undisclosed in South Carolina. His lawyers argued that the lack of transparency surrounding lethal injections led to his decision to choose a method he acknowledges will be violent.

On Thursday, Sigmon's legal team appealed to the Supreme Court to delay the execution, citing insufficient information provided by the state regarding the lethal injection drug. Despite these efforts, Gov. Henry McMaster and Attorney General Alan Wilson have approved the execution.

Background of the Crimes

Sigmon confessed to the killings, stating that he was enraged because the victims had been evicted from a trailer they owned. He attacked them in separate rooms of their Greenville County home, repeatedly striking them with a baseball bat until they were deceased. When his ex-girlfriend attempted to flee, Sigmon fired at her but missed.

Sigmon expressed remorse in a typed confession, stating, "My intention was to kill her and then myself. If I couldn’t have her, I wasn't going to let anybody else have her."

Firing Squads in the US

Currently, five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — authorize the use of firing squads in specific circumstances. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, only three inmates in the United States have faced execution by firing squad: two in Utah in 1977 and 1996 and one in 2010.

Resumption of Executions in South Carolina

Executions in South Carolina resumed in September after a 13-year pause. The hiatus was partly attributed to difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs due to pharmaceutical companies' concerns about disclosure of their sales to state officials. Subsequently, the state legislature passed a shield law protecting the identities of lethal injection drug suppliers.

The United States carried out 25 executions in 2022, and five have already been conducted in 2023, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.