Does not trust the injection US inmate wants to be executed by firing squad

For the first time in 15 years, an execution by firing squad is planned in the USA. The inmate has decided to do it himself.

Keystone-SDA

07.03.2025, 00:00

SDA

For the first time in 15 years, the execution of an inmate by firing squad is planned in the USA. Brad Sigmon from Greenville in the state of South Carolina is to be shot by three volunteers from a few meters away on Friday evening (local time).

Beforehand, he will be tied to a chair in the prison in Columbia, the state capital, a black hood will be placed over his head and his heart will be marked as the target, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Sigmon chose the firing squad himself because he did not trust the lethal injection and feared it would make him suffer too long, his lawyer said, according to the Greenville News newspaper. The state Supreme Court rejected a request by the lawyers for a stay of execution on Tuesday.

Convicted of brutal murders

Sigmon was found guilty in 2001 of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents in their home with a baseball bat. The two were in different rooms and he kept running back and forth to beat them to death, reported CBS. He had also kidnapped his ex-girlfriend with the intention of murdering her as well. However, she was able to escape.

According to information from the Death Penalty Information Center, South Carolina reintroduced the possibility of execution by firing squad in 2021, but has not yet executed anyone in this way. This was partly because the state was unable to obtain drugs for lethal injections. In addition to these two methods of execution, South Carolina also has the electric chair.

According to the non-profit organization, in addition to South Carolina, the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah also allow executions by firing squad. The last such execution took place in Utah in 2010.