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South Carolina Prepares for First Firing Squad Execution in 15 Years

Brad Sigmon, convicted of a 2001 double murder, is set to be executed at 6 p.m. after exhausting appeals and choosing firing squad over other methods.

  • Brad Sigmon, 67, will be the first person executed by firing squad in the U.S. since 2010 and the first in South Carolina's modern history.
  • Sigmon was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend's parents in 2001 and received two death sentences for the brutal crime.
  • South Carolina reinstated firing squads in 2021 after lethal injection drug shortages halted executions for 13 years.
  • Sigmon's legal team argued mental illness and secrecy around execution protocols but failed to secure clemency or a delay from the courts or governor.
  • The execution will involve three riflemen firing at a target on Sigmon's chest, with death expected to occur within minutes.
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