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South Carolina Set to Execute Brad Sigmon by Firing Squad, a Method Not Used in 15 Years

By James Seidel | CC News Network

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Brad Sigmon and the state of South Carolina are on a course together for its first execution by firing squad in the modern era of capital punishment, marking the first use of the method in the United States in nearly 15 years.

Brad Sigmon, convicted in 2001 for the brutal baseball bat killings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, is scheduled to die March 7. He becomes the first South Carolina inmate to select the firing squad over lethal injection or electrocution after the state reinstated the method due to ongoing legal battles over execution protocols.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, states have used five execution methods: lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad, and hanging. Lethal injection has remained the primary method, but states like South Carolina have turned to alternatives due to difficulties in obtaining execution drugs.

The Most Common Execution Method: Lethal Injection

Lethal injection remains the dominant method of execution, with 1,428 executions carried out since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Texas leads the nation with 593 executions, followed by Virginia and Oklahoma. A total of 28 states, along with the U.S. military and federal government, still authorize lethal injection, in which an inmate is strapped to a gurney and administered a fatal drug cocktail.

However, the process has faced serious complications, including clogged IV lines, delays in finding veins, and shortages of lethal drugs. Witnesses have described prisoners gasping, convulsing, or struggling for breath during botched executions.

“A number of states are beginning to experiment with new methods of execution … because of the problems with lethal injection,” said John Banzhaf, professor emeritus of law at George Washington University Law School.

Decline in the Use of the Electric Chair

Once the primary method of execution, electrocution has become rare in the modern era. Nine states — including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee — still authorize the electric chair, but it has been used only 19 times since 2000.

In this method, the condemned is strapped to a chair with electrodes placed on their head and leg. A jolt of 500 to 2,000 volts is delivered, stopping the heart.

The last execution by electrocution occurred in Tennessee in 2020. South Carolina’s electric chair, known as “Old Sparky,” remains in place as an option for death row inmates.

Lethal Gas and the Revival of Nitrogen Executions

Lethal gas is authorized in eight states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

This method, which involves cyanide gas in a sealed chamber, was last used in 1999. However, in **2024, Alabama became the first state to execute an inmate using pure nitrogen gas, pumping it into a mask worn by Kenneth Eugene Smith. Supporters claim it is a more humane alternative to lethal injection, while critics call it experimental and inhumane.

Firing Squad: Rare, but Making a Comeback

Since 1977, only three executions by firing squad have occurred in the U.S., all in Utah. The last was in 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was shot by a team of five executioners.

Five states authorize firing squads as an execution method: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. However, it remains a secondary option, primarily used when lethal injection is unavailable.

Idaho lawmakers are considering making it the default execution method after a failed lethal injection attempt on Thomas Eugene Creech last year. One proposal suggests replacing human executioners with a firing squad machine, which would electronically fire multiple rifles simultaneously.

How Brad Sigmon Will Be Executed

Sigmon, 67, will be strapped to a chair in the execution chamber and have a hood placed over his head. A target will be placed over his heart, and three prison staff members will fire at him from 15 feet away through a small opening.

South Carolina spent $54,000 constructing its firing squad area in 2022. It features bulletproof glass for witnesses, a chair positioned over a drainage basin, and a concrete wall where executioners stand.

Sigmon did not choose electrocution because he believed it would “burn and cook him alive,” according to his attorney, Gerald “Bo” King.

“But the alternative is just as monstrous,” King said in a statement. “If he chose lethal injection, he risked the prolonged deaths suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September.”

Legal Challenges and Last-Ditch Appeals

Sigmon’s attorneys requested a delay to review the autopsy report of Marion Bowman, who was executed in January. They wanted to determine whether Bowman received two doses of pentobarbital, suggesting complications in his execution.

His lawyers also argue that Sigmon’s trial attorneys were inexperienced and failed to properly present mitigating evidence about his mental illness and traumatic childhood.

Sigmon’s final chance at avoiding execution rests with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who could commute his sentence to life without parole. However, no South Carolina governor has granted clemency since the death penalty was reinstated.

South Carolina’s Death Penalty History

Since 1976, 46 inmates have been executed in South Carolina. Sigmon would be the oldest person executed in the state’s modern history.

The state faced a 12-year execution hiatus after pharmaceutical companies stopped providing lethal injection drugs. Lawmakers responded by authorizing the firing squad in 2021, though lethal injection remains the default method.

Despite executions resuming, secrecy surrounds South Carolina’s lethal injection process. Lawyers for condemned prisoners argue the state’s use of a massive dose of pentobarbital causes prolonged and painful deaths, despite witnesses describing a peaceful process.

The only publicly released autopsy from recent executions, that of Richard Moore, showed excess lung fluid, leading some experts to suggest he may have felt like he was drowning.

Conclusion: A Controversial Execution Looms

Sigmon’s execution will be the first by firing squad in South Carolina and the first in the U.S. in over a decade.

As legal battles continue, the case has reignited debates over capital punishment, with supporters arguing justice for victims’ families and opponents citing inhumane treatment and secrecy surrounding lethal injection drugs.

Unless a last-minute intervention occurs, Sigmon’s execution will proceed as planned on March 7.