US Sees First Firing Squad Execution in 15 Years

A convicted murderer in South Carolina was executed by firing squad on Friday, marking the first use of this method in the United States since 2010.

Brad Sigmon, 67, was sentenced to death for the brutal 2001 killings of William and Gladys Larke, whom he beat to death with a baseball bat at their home in Taylors, South Carolina.

He was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. following his execution by a state firing squad.

Sigmon opted for this method over the electric chair or lethal injection, citing concerns that those alternatives could result in a prolonged and more painful death.

His legal team had previously petitioned the US Supreme Court to halt the execution, arguing that South Carolina’s refusal to disclose details about its lethal injection protocol violated his rights.

Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976, only four executions by firing squad have taken place in the US, including Sigmon’s. Lethal injection remains the predominant method of execution, initially introduced as a more humane alternative.

However, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, it has also become the most failure-prone execution method in recent years.