A South Carolina death row inmate has chosen to die by firing squad, a controversial and rarely used execution method that's legal but is viewed as an inhumane form of justice by many Americans. Brad Sigmon, 67, is scheduled to be executed on March 7. 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 next month will be South Carolina’s first death by firing squad, which was legalized in the state in 2021.
Sigmon didn't choose electrocution because it would "burn and cook him alive," his attorney, Gerald King, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
King says Sigmon acknowledges firing squad execution will be a violent death. "If he chose lethal injection,” King said, “he risked 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."
Since 1976, there have only been three executions by firing squad, and they all occurred in Utah. If carried out, Sigmon’s execution will be the first time in over 15 years that a U.S. inmate will be shot to death as an execution method.
His life may be spared if South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster reduces his sentence to life without parole. In the 49 years since the state reinstated the death penalty, no governor has granted clemency.
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 are 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 U.S., 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%.
The most recent death by firing squad was in 2010, when 49-year-old Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed in Salt Lake County, Utah. 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.
