COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — In South Carolina, a man who used a baseball bat to kill his ex-girlfriend’s parents met his end by firing squad on Friday. This marked the first time in 15 years that such a method was used to carry out an execution in the United States. Brad Sigmon, aged 67, saw this as a preferable option over the electric chair or lethal injection.
Three volunteers from the prison staff used rifles to execute Sigmon, who was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. He had committed the murders of David and Gladys Larke in their Greenville County home back in 2001, as part of a failed scheme to abduct their daughter. His intention was to spend a romantic weekend with her before ending both their lives.
Sigmon’s decision to opt for the firing squad was influenced by his fear that the electric chair would cause unbearable suffering, and that lethal injection might lead to a painful death due to fluid entering his lungs. His request to halt the execution due to secrecy surrounding South Carolina’s lethal injection method was denied by the state Supreme Court the day before.
During the execution, Sigmon wore a black jumpsuit with a hood covering his head, and a target pinned to his chest. The volunteers stood 15 feet away from him in the death chamber, with the state’s unused electric chair visible nearby. Witnessing the execution through bullet-resistant glass were a few individuals, including family members of the victims and Sigmon, his attorney, spiritual advisor, a representative from the prosecuting solicitor’s office, a sheriff’s investigator, and members of the media.
After the shots were fired, there was a loud and startling bang that caused witnesses to flinch. Sigmon’s body showed signs of tension upon impact, followed by visible tissue and a red stain on his chest. A doctor examined him shortly after the execution concluded, pronouncing him dead.
Sigmon’s last meal consisted of fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, biscuits, cheesecake, and sweet tea. The firing squad method, with its history of being used in various contexts around the world, has been employed in only a few instances in the U.S. since 1977.
On Friday, a group of demonstrators holding signs with messages such as “Every life is valuable” and “Promote justice, not death” gathered outside the prison prior to Sigmon’s scheduled execution. Supporters and legal representatives of Sigmon appealed to Republican Governor Henry McMaster to convert his sentence to life imprisonment. They highlighted that Sigmon had gained the trust of prison staff as a model inmate and had diligently worked to make amends for his past actions, attributing his crimes to severe mental illness. However, Governor McMaster rejected the plea for clemency, making South Carolina the only state where no governor has commuted a death sentence since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the U.S. in 1976. Over the years, 46 individuals have been executed in the state, with seven by electric chair and 39 by lethal injection.
Gerald “Bo” King, head of the capital habeas unit at the federal public defender’s office, stated that Sigmon used his final words to urge fellow believers to oppose the death penalty and spare the lives of the 28 men currently on death row in South Carolina. King expressed disbelief that in 2025, the state proceeded with the execution of a man who had dedicated himself to his faith and serving others. Sigmon had accepted responsibility for his crimes during his trial and expressed profound remorse to the jury and those who knew him.
In the early 2000s, South Carolina was one of the most active states in carrying out executions, averaging three per year. However, executions were put on hold for 13 years due to difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. The state Supreme Court authorized the resumption of executions in July, resulting in the execution of Freddie Owens on September 20, followed by Richard Moore on November 1, and Marion Bowman Jr. on January 31. Moving forward, the court has approved an execution every five weeks.
Currently, South Carolina’s death row houses 28 inmates, with two individuals having exhausted their legal options and likely facing execution in the coming months. Only one person has been sentenced to death row in the past decade, compared to over 60 individuals before the hiatus on executions.
