US death row inmate executed by firing squad for first time in 15 years

(CLO) Brad Sigmon, 67 years old, convicted murderer, chose execution by firing squad instead of electric chair or lethal injection.

A death row inmate in South Carolina was executed by firing squad on Friday, becoming the first person in the United States to be executed by this method in 15 years. Sigmon was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. after being shot with a loaded rifle by three volunteer prison staff.

Anti-death penalty protesters outside Columbia Prison hold signs depicting Brad Sigmon, who was executed on March 7, 2025. (Photo: SC Daily Gazette)

In 2001, Sigmon killed his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat at their Greenville home. His goal was to kidnap their daughter. Sigmon told police he wanted to take her on a romantic weekend, then kill her and himself.

Reasons for choosing execution by firing squad

Sigmon's lawyers said he chose execution by firing squad because the electric chair could "cook" him, while a lethal injection of pentobarbital could cause him to suffocate from fluid entering his lungs.

Details of South Carolina's lethal injection method are kept secret. Sigmon has unsuccessfully asked the state Supreme Court to halt the execution.

On the day of the execution, Sigmon wore a black, hooded jumpsuit with a white target on his chest with red lines. All the shooters fired simultaneously through holes in the wall. About a dozen witnesses watched through bulletproof glass but did not see the firing squad. A doctor examined him for 90 seconds and pronounced him dead.

History of executions in the US

Firing is an execution method with a long history in the world and in the US, used to punish desertion, mutiny in the army and as a tool of political repression.

Since 1977, only three other death row inmates in the US have been executed by firing squad, all in Utah. The most recent was Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010.

Sigmon's lawyers and supporters asked Republican Governor Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison, arguing that he was a model prisoner. However, the request was denied.

Since the death penalty resumed in the United States in 1976, South Carolina has executed 46 inmates: seven by electric chair and 39 by lethal injection.

In the 2000s, South Carolina had a high execution rate, averaging three per year. However, executions have been suspended for the past 13 years due to a shortage of drugs to inject.

The state Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to be reinstated in July. South Carolina is scheduled to carry out executions every five weeks. The state currently has 28 inmates on death row, two of whom have exhausted their appeals.

Ha Trang (according to SCMP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tu-tu-my-bi-xu-ban-lan-dau-tien-sau-15-nam-post337628.html