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South Carolina moves ahead with ‘cruel’ firing squad execution despite outcry South Carolina conducts first US firing squad execution in 15 years: ‘Barbaric’
(about 2 hours later)
Brad Sigmon, 67, will be first executed by gunfire in US in 15 years as supporters call for clemency Brad Sigmon, 67, was shot dead by prison staff despite outcry over ‘cruel’ method and calls for clemency
The US will conduct its first execution by firing squad in 15 years on Friday in South Carolina, despite widespread concerns about the safety and cruelty of this method and growing calls for clemency. The US has conducted its first execution by firing squad in 15 years, with South Carolina prison officials shooting to death Brad Sigmon, 67, on Friday evening, despite widespread concerns about the safety and cruelty of this method.
Brad Sigmon, 67, is scheduled to be shot to death by three South Carolina prison employees, part of a series of rapid executions the state has pursued in the last six months as it revives capital punishment. After a 13-year-pause in killings, due to limited supplies to carry out executions, the state now directs men on death row to choose their method of death – electric chair, lethal injection or firing squad. Sigmon was the oldest person to be executed in the state’s history and his death was part of a series of rapid killings the state has pursued in the last six months as it revives capital punishment. There had been growing calls for clemency, but minutes before Sigmon was killed, the state’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, announced he would not be intervening.
Sigmon chose to be shot dead out of fear that lethal injection would result in a “prolonged death” following reports that the last three South Carolina men killed by pentobarbital, a sedative, took more than 20 minutes to die and one appeared to suffer a condition akin to drowning and suffocation. They were “three men Brad knew and cared for”, his lawyers said, and he feared a slow injection process or being “burned and cooked alive” by electrocution. Sigmon called for Christians to support an end to the death penalty in his last words.
The South Carolina department of corrections (SCDC) firing squad protocols dictate that staff strap the person with metal restraints on a chair in the “death chamber” and place a hood over his head. An “aim point” is marked over his heart, and three staffers with rifles face him through a wall that has an opening 15ft away, the protocols say. In a 2022 court case challenging this method, officials said if the person’s vital signs were still present 10 minutes after the first round of shots, staff would fire a second time. Witnesses in the room will see the profile of the man, but the rifles and portal will not be visible, SCDC said. After a 13-year-pause in killings in South Carolina, due to limited supplies to carry out executions, the state now directs men on death row to choose their method of death – electric chair, lethal injection or firing squad.
After SCDC recently released a photo of the death chamber where Sigmon will be shot, some firearm experts raised concerns about whether the set-up was safe for witnesses and the shooters, citing the possibility for bullets to ricochet. The prison has said “bullet-resistant glass” is set up between witnesses and the chamber, and a spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Sigmon chose to be shot dead out of fear that lethal injection would result in a “prolonged death” following reports that the last three South Carolina men executed by pentobarbital, a sedative, took more than 20 minutes to die and one appeared to suffer a condition akin to drowning and suffocation. They were “three men Brad knew and cared for”, his lawyers said, and he feared a slow injection process or being “burned and cooked alive” by electrocution.
In recent weeks, there have been escalating calls for Sigmon’s life to be spared. He would be the oldest person ever executed by the state. He was convicted of the 2001 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke. He has long admitted his guilt, with his lawyers arguing that the killings stemmed from a childhood of severe abuse and neglect and undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. The South Carolina department of corrections (SCDC) firing squad protocols dictated that staff strap Sigmon with metal restraints on a chair in the “death chamber”, place a hood over his head and mark his heart with an “aim point”. The protocols further called for three staffers with rifles to shoot him from 15ft away through a wall with an opening in it. In a 2022 court case challenging this method, officials said if the person’s vital signs were still present 10 minutes after the first round of shots, staff would fire a second time.
His lawyers say he suffered organic brain injuries and manic episodes and was experiencing a psychotic break that probably rendered him incompetent to stand trial. His team has filed a clemency petition with the state’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, arguing his trial counsel failed him and the jury “had no idea of how severely compromised his mental health was”. After SCDC recently released a photo of the death chamber, some firearm experts raised concerns about whether the set-up was safe for witnesses and the shooters, citing the possibility for bullets to ricochet. The prison has said “bullet-resistant glass” is set up between witnesses and the chamber. A spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment before the execution.
Sigmon was convicted of the 2001 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke. He had long admitted his guilt, with his lawyers arguing that the killings stemmed from a childhood of severe abuse and neglect and undiagnosed and untreated mental illness.
His lawyers said he suffered organic brain injuries and manic episodes and was experiencing a psychotic break that probably rendered him incompetent to stand trial. His team argued his trial counsel failed him and the jury “had no idea of how severely compromised his mental health was”.
The US supreme court denied his lawyers’ appeal to stop the execution on Friday afternoon.The US supreme court denied his lawyers’ appeal to stop the execution on Friday afternoon.
Rebecca Armstrong, Sigmon’s ex-girlfriend and the daughter of the victims, told USA Today she does not believe in the death penalty, but he “should answer for what he’s done”. Sigmon’s last words, shared by his attorneys, read: “I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty. An eye for an eye was used as justification to the jury for seeking the death penalty. At that time, I was too ignorant to know how wrong that was.”
Sigmon has transformed behind bars and consistently expressed remorse, said Gerald “Bo” King, one of Sigmon’s lawyers, in a statement: “When Brad went to prison, he rededicated himself to his Christian faith. He has devoted every day since to prayer, repentance, and the work of redemption. Brad is a peaceful, trusted presence on death row. Guards describe him as respectful and helpful. He serves as an informal chaplain to his fellow prisoners. He is a source of strength to his siblings and children. He is also in declining health and poses a danger to no one.” He said: “We ... now live under the New Testament,” and quoted a Bible verse that says: “You have heard that it has been said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ but I say unto you that you do not resist an evil person. Whosoever shall smite me on the right cheek, turn to him the other one as well.”
The state has argued in court that some arguments raised by his attorneys about his trial counsel and mental health have already been litigated and that it was too late to raise new issues. “Nowhere does God in the New Testament give man the authority to kill another man,” he continued, quoting the verse, “Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keep with the law.” His statement concluded: “We are now under God’s grace and mercy.”
Rebecca Armstrong, Sigmon’s ex-girlfriend and the daughter of the victims, told USA Today in an interview before the execution that she did not believe in the death penalty, but he “should answer for what he’s done”.
Sigmon had transformed behind bars and consistently expressed remorse, said Gerald “Bo” King, one of Sigmon’s lawyers, in a statement this week: “When Brad went to prison, he rededicated himself to his Christian faith. He has devoted every day since to prayer, repentance, and the work of redemption. Brad is a peaceful, trusted presence on death row. Guards describe him as respectful and helpful. He serves as an informal chaplain to his fellow prisoners. He is a source of strength to his siblings and children. He is also in declining health and poses a danger to no one.”
The state argued in court that some arguments raised by his attorneys about his trial counsel and mental health had already been litigated and that it was too late to raise new issues.
King, the chief of the capital habeas unit for the fourth circuit, which is part of the federal public defender’s office, has also been raising concerns around the secrecy of South Carolina’s execution methods. Lawmakers in 2023 passed a shield law to keep the identity of lethal injection drug suppliers secret, which allowed officials to restock pentobarbital and resume executions.King, the chief of the capital habeas unit for the fourth circuit, which is part of the federal public defender’s office, has also been raising concerns around the secrecy of South Carolina’s execution methods. Lawmakers in 2023 passed a shield law to keep the identity of lethal injection drug suppliers secret, which allowed officials to restock pentobarbital and resume executions.
Sigmon’s lawyers have argued the state was obliged to “disclose some basic facts about the drug’s creation, quality and reliability” and criticized prison officials for failing to provide information about the “potency, purity and stability” of the drugs, their expiration dates and how they are being tested and stored.Sigmon’s lawyers have argued the state was obliged to “disclose some basic facts about the drug’s creation, quality and reliability” and criticized prison officials for failing to provide information about the “potency, purity and stability” of the drugs, their expiration dates and how they are being tested and stored.
In the execution of Richard Moore in November, autopsy records suggested he required two pentobarbital doses and that his lungs were swollen with fluid, “an excruciating condition known as pulmonary edema”.In the execution of Richard Moore in November, autopsy records suggested he required two pentobarbital doses and that his lungs were swollen with fluid, “an excruciating condition known as pulmonary edema”.
“Brad has no illusions about what being shot will do to his body. He does not wish to inflict that pain on his family, the witnesses, or the execution team. But, given South Carolina’s unnecessary and unconscionable secrecy, Brad is choosing as best he can,” King said. “There is no justice here. Everything about this barbaric, state-sanctioned atrocity – from the choice to the method itself – is abjectly cruel.” “Brad has no illusions about what being shot will do to his body. He does not wish to inflict that pain on his family, the witnesses, or the execution team. But, given South Carolina’s unnecessary and unconscionable secrecy, Brad is choosing as best he can,” King said when announcing Sigmon’s selection of firing squad. “There is no justice here. Everything about this barbaric, state-sanctioned atrocity – from the choice to the method itself – is abjectly cruel.”
A South Carolina judge previously said the firing squad method “constitutes torture” and the person was “likely to be conscious for a minimum of 10 seconds after impact”.A South Carolina judge previously said the firing squad method “constitutes torture” and the person was “likely to be conscious for a minimum of 10 seconds after impact”.
Faith leaders in the state have protested against Sigmon’s execution and supporters have collected thousands of signatures calling for clemency. No South Carolina governor has granted clemency to a defendant facing execution in the modern death penalty era. Faith leaders in the state had protested against Sigmon’s execution and supporters have collected thousands of signatures calling for clemency. No South Carolina governor has granted clemency to a defendant facing execution in the modern death penalty era.