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In a first for the state, South Carolina executes man by firing squad
A South Carolina death row inmate was executed by a firing squad Friday night, the Associated Press reported. It’s a controversial and rarely used execution method that’s legal but viewed by many Americans as an inhumane form of justice.
Brad Sigmon, 67, chose last month to be executed by firing squad. He was convicted in 2001 of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents at their home. Prosecutors said Sigmon also held his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint and attempted to kidnap her, but she escaped. He shot at her as she ran but missed.
Sigmon’s execution took place at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, March 7, and he was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. It was South Carolina’s first death by firing squad, which was legalized in the state in 2021.
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South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster denied Sigmon’s clemency plea to reduce his sentence to life without parole. In the 49 years since the state reinstated the death penalty, no governor has granted clemency.
On Tuesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court also rejected an appeal from Sigmon to delay the execution because he said he didn’t know enough about the lethal injection option.
Convict Brad Sigmon has chosen to die by firing squad. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
Since 1976, there have been only three executions by firing squad in the United States, and they all occurred in Utah. Sigmon’s execution is the first time in over 15 years that a U.S. inmate was shot to death as an execution method.
According to the Associated Press, Sigmon’s attorney, Gerald King, said in a statement that his client acknowledged a firing squad execution would be a violent death, but he considered it to be the best option available.
Electrocution, King said, would “burn and cook” Sgimon alive, while lethal injection would mean risking “the prolonged death suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September — three men Brad knew and cared about — who remained alive, strapped to a gurney, for more than 20 minutes.”
How death by firing squad generally works
An execution by firing squad, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, usually involves the prisoner bound in a chair in front of a wall.
The prisoner can speak any last and final words before a firing squad stands in an enclosure about 20 feet away from the prisoner. Sandbags are placed near the chair to keep bullets from ricocheting around the room.
In accordance with South Carolina’s rules, three volunteer employees from the Department of Corrections were all armed with weapons loaded with live ammunition.
The prisoner typically dies as a result of blood loss caused by a rupture of the heart or a large blood vessel, the DPIC website states.
How many firing squad executions have there been?
In the nation’s history, 34 people have been executed by firing squad, according to data from the DPIC. It’s the only method of execution that has a 0% botched rate. Comparatively, death by lethal injection has the most botched execution rate at 7.12%.
Prior to Sigmon’s execution, the most recent death by firing squad was in 2010, when 49-year-old Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed in Salt Lake County. He was declared dead two minutes after he was shot.
What states currently use the method?
The following five states have authorized execution by firing squad in certain cases:
Idaho: Lethal injection is the primary method of execution under state law, but if the director of the Idaho Department of Corrections determines it’s unavailable, then a firing squad will be used.
Mississippi: A 2022 state law allows corrections officials to choose their preferred execution method — either lethal injection, electrocution, firing squad or nitrogen hypoxia.
Oklahoma: If other methods like lethal injection, nitrogen hypoxia or electrocution are determined to be unconstitutional or otherwise unavailable, then death by firing squad is an authorized execution method under state law.
South Carolina: State law says a prisoner can choose their method of execution: electrocution, firing squad or lethal injection.
Utah: If lethal injection drugs are unavailable, or if a court finds the use to be unconstitutional, then death by firing squad will be the method of execution, according to state law.