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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.

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Execution Death Penalty
This Feb. 6, 2014, photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Brad Sigmon. The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, blocked the planned executions of Sigmon and another inmate by electrocution, saying they cannot be put to death until they truly have the choice of a firing squad option set out in the state's newly revised capital punishment law. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
The execution chamber at the Utah State Prison after Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by a firing squad in 2010.

Overview

  • 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.