US set to carry out first execution by firing squad in 15 years; Brad Sigmon' to be executed on March 7 in South Carolina
World News | Discover the details of the first US execution by firing squad in years, scheduled for March in South Carolina, involving inmate Brad Sigmon.
The US may soon see its first execution by a firing squad in 15 years, as the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected what was likely the last appeal of convicted murderer Brad Sigmon, paving the way for his execution on Friday.
Who is Brad Sigmon?
67-year-old Brad Sigmon was sentenced to death for brutally killing his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in 2002. As per reports, he had planned to kidnap his ex-partner, spend a final weekend together, and then kill her before committing suicide. However, she managed to escape as he drove away.
"If I couldn't have her, I wasn't going to let anybody else have her. And I knew it got to the point where I couldn't have her," he confessed after his arrest.
With legal options exhausted, Sigmon will be strapped into a chair in the death chamber at Broad River Correctional Institution at 6 pm on Friday (March 7). A hood will be placed over his head, and a target positioned over his heart. Three shooters, standing 15 feet (4.57 m) away, will fire live rounds.
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If carried out, Sigmon’s execution would be the first by firing squad in the US in 15 years.
Death by bullets or being cooked alive: A terrible choice?
Sigmon's lawyers had sought a delay, arguing the lack of transparency around South Carolina's lethal injection protocol forced their client to choose the firing squad over a potentially torturous death by injection. The state also offers the electric chair, but Sigmon said he feared being cooked alive.
Autopsies of two inmates executed since South Carolina switched to pentobarbital revealed fluid buildup in their lungs, raising concerns of distress and suffocation. Witnesses at those executions, however, reported no visible signs of suffering.
A last-minute plea for clemency
With time running out, Sigmon's legal team, as per AP news agency, also plans to appeal to Republican Governor Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison. They argue he is a model prisoner, trusted by guards, and working daily to atone for his crimes.
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McMaster's decision will likely come moments before the execution begins. No South Carolina governor has granted clemency since the state resumed the death penalty 49 years ago.
(With inputs from agencies)
