A South Carolina inmate convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat was executed by firing squad on Friday, marking the first such execution in the U.S. in over a decade. He chose this method over the electric chair or lethal injection.
Brad Sigmon, 67, was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. after three volunteer prison employees fired rifles at him. Sigmon had killed David and Gladys Larke in 2001 as part of a failed plan to kidnap their daughter. His intention, according to police, was to take her away for a weekend and then kill both her and himself.
Sigmon opted for a firing squad, fearing the electric chair would cause severe suffering and expressing concerns that a lethal injection might lead to drowning in his own fluids. Despite his plea to the state Supreme Court to delay the execution due to secrecy surrounding South Carolina's lethal injection method, his request was denied.
During the execution, Sigmon wore a black jumpsuit with a hood and had a white target with a red bullseye placed over his chest. The armed prison staff stood 15 feet (4.6 meters) away, firing simultaneously through openings in a wall. Witnesses, separated by bullet-resistant glass, saw him take heavy breaths before the shots were fired. The impact caused his arms to tense, and the target was blasted off his chest. He appeared to take a final breath with visible wounds before a doctor confirmed his death.
Among those witnessing the execution were members of the victims' family, Sigmon’s attorney, his spiritual advisor, law enforcement representatives, and three journalists. Before his execution, Sigmon’s lawyer read his final statement, urging Christians to work toward abolishing the death penalty.
Sigmon’s last meal included fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, cheesecake, and sweet tea.
The firing squad has a long history in the U.S., historically used in military punishments, frontier justice, and political executions. Since 1977, only three other prisoners have been executed this way, all in Utah, with the most recent case being Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010. Another Utah inmate, Ralph Menzies, may be next, pending a court decision on his competency for execution.
Ahead of the execution, protesters gathered outside the prison with signs advocating against the death penalty. Sigmon’s supporters and lawyers had appealed to Governor Henry McMaster for clemency, highlighting his model behavior in prison and the role of severe mental illness in his crimes. However, McMaster denied the request, continuing South Carolina’s record of never commuting a death sentence.
Gerald “Bo” King, a public defender specializing in capital cases, said Sigmon used his final words to call for an end to the death penalty and to spare the lives of the remaining 28 death row inmates in South Carolina.
South Carolina was once among the most active states in carrying out executions, averaging three per year in the early 2000s. However, a shortage of lethal injection drugs led to a 13-year pause. The state Supreme Court authorized executions to resume last July, leading to three executions before Sigmon’s. The court has since scheduled an execution every five weeks.
Currently, 28 inmates remain on South Carolina’s death row, including two who have exhausted their appeals and could face execution this spring. Over the past decade, only one person has been added to the state’s death row, while many others have had their sentences reduced or died in prison.