A man in South Carolina, convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat, has become the first death row inmate in the United States to be executed by firing squad in 15 years.
Brad Sigmon, 67, was executed just after 6:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. GMT) on Friday. Three volunteers from the state corrections department fired rifles at his chest using specially designed bullets.
In 2001, Sigmon was found guilty of murdering David and Gladys Larke before kidnapping his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint. She escaped, even as he fired at her. Sigmon chose the firing squad over the other two state-approved methods of execution: the electric chair and lethal injection.
Chrysti Shain, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Corrections, confirmed that Sigmon was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. Family members of the Larkes attended the execution, along with Sigmon’s spiritual adviser.
Witnesses described Sigmon’s execution as taking place in a chair equipped with a basin to catch blood. Before the execution, he gave a final statement, speaking about love and urging others to oppose the death penalty.
Eye for an Eye
He referenced the biblical principle of “an eye for an eye,” which had been used during his trial to justify the death penalty. Sigmon said he had been too ignorant at the time to understand why it was wrong, explaining that such principles come from the Old Testament, not the New Testament.
After his statement, a hood was placed over his head. At 6:01 p.m., a curtain was drawn open, revealing the three volunteers. At 6:05 p.m., they fired simultaneously from 15 feet (4.6 metres) away, with no countdown.
Witnesses said Sigmon had a red target placed over his heart, and his chest moved several times after the shots were fired.
An Associated Press reporter, Jeffrey Collins, noted that a doctor examined Sigmon for about 90 seconds before pronouncing him dead. The bullets used, .308 Winchester Tap Urban rounds, are designed to break apart on impact to cause significant damage.
Experts have debated how much pain this method might cause.
Anna Dobbins, a reporter for WHFF-TV, observed that Sigmon wore a black jumpsuit during the execution. She noted that his bare arms flexed as the shots were fired. The guns remained concealed from view, and prison guards offered earplugs to witnesses to protect them from the noise.
According to Shain, counselling services are provided to any prison staff affected by the event. Sigmon’s lawyer, Bo King, had unsuccessfully sought a last-minute stay of execution, accusing the state of withholding details about the lethal injection process.
Final Meal Before Firing Squad
King argued his client wanted assurances that any execution drugs were not expired, diluted, or defective—something anyone would want with medication or food, let alone a method of execution.
King also mentioned Sigmon struggled with mental illness but had shown signs of rehabilitation, forming close bonds with fellow inmates.
Sigmon had requested three buckets of fried chicken for his last meal as an act of generosity, hoping to share it with other death row inmates. However, this request was denied.
Instead, on Wednesday night, he was served four pieces of fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, cheesecake, and sweet tea.
This marks the first firing squad execution in the U.S. since 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed in Utah. Since 1977, only three people have been executed by firing squad, all in Utah.
Before Sigmon’s execution, anti-death penalty demonstrators gathered outside the Columbia jail, holding signs with messages like “all life is precious” and “thou shalt not kill.”
In South Carolina, witnesses observe executions from behind bulletproof glass, while the identities of the executioners are kept confidential under state law passed in 2023.
