South Carolina to Execute First Inmate by Firing Squad Since 2010

Brad Keith Sigmon, 67, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at 6 p.m. ET Friday at Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina, marking the first use of this method in the state's history and the first in the United States since 2010 [1][2].

Sigmon, convicted of the 2001 murders of David and Gladys Larke, chose firing squad execution over lethal injection and electric chair options. The decision came amid concerns about recent problematic lethal injections in the state [3].

According to South Carolina Department of Corrections protocols, three volunteer corrections staff will fire rifles from 15 feet away at a target placed over Sigmon's heart while he is strapped to a metal chair and hooded. Witnesses will view the execution through bullet-resistant glass [2].

The victims' daughter Rebecca Armstrong told USA TODAY that while she believes Sigmon "should answer for what he's done," she does not support the death penalty and will not attend the execution [2].

Sigmon's attorney Gerald 'Bo' King has argued for clemency, citing undiagnosed mental illness and brain damage at the time of the crimes. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected his final appeal on Friday [1].

South Carolina is one of five states - along with Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and Idaho - that have legalized firing squads as an execution method. The state spent $54,000 in 2022 to construct its firing squad apparatus [1].

The last U.S. execution by firing squad was Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah in 2010. Only two other inmates have been executed by this method since 1977, both also in Utah [2].