South Carolina is set to execute Brad Sigmon on Friday evening using a firing squad. This is a rare method, last used in the U.S. in 2010.
Sigmon, 67, was convicted for brutally killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke, with a baseball bat in 2001. After being sentenced, he was given the option to choose his method of execution: lethal injection, electrocution, or firing squad. His lawyer, Gerald King, said Sigmon opted for the firing squad due to worries about problems with lethal injections.
If the execution proceeds, Sigmon will become the first person executed by firing squad in South Carolina’s history. Public opinion on the death penalty varies. While many Americans support it, there is a perception that firing squads are outdated. As it has become more difficult for states to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections, some have chosen to reintroduce firing squads as a backup option.
Utah is currently the only state to have used a firing squad in modern executions, with instances happening in 2010, 1996, and 1977. Sigmon’s execution will take place at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, S.C., around 6 p.m.
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