Columbia, SC — Brad Keith Sigmon, a 67-year-old South Carolina death row inmate, is scheduled to be executed tonight at 6 PM at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. His execution will mark the state’s first use of a firing squad, an execution method revived after legal battles over lethal injection protocols.
Sigmon was convicted in 2002 for the brutal murders of William David Larke, 62, and Gladys Gwendolyn Larke, 59, the parents of his ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors say Sigmon bludgeoned the couple to death with a baseball bat inside their Greenville County home before kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and leading authorities on a multi-state manhunt. He was captured days later in Tennessee and extradited to South Carolina to face trial, where he was sentenced to death.
A Controversial Execution Method
South Carolina reinstated the firing squad as an execution option in 2021 after pharmaceutical companies stopped supplying lethal injection drugs, making executions nearly impossible. The state’s death penalty law now requires inmates to choose between the electric chair or firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable. Sigmon opted for the firing squad, making him the first person in South Carolina to face this method of execution since its reauthorization. Sigmon’s legal team fought for years to halt his execution, arguing that both the electric chair and firing squad violate the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. However, courts upheld South Carolina’s execution law, clearing the way for tonight’s proceedings.
How the Execution Will Be Carried Out
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Sigmon will be strapped into a metal chair, with a target placed over his heart. Three executioners, whose identities remain anonymous, will fire rifles simultaneously, ensuring a fatal shot. The use of a firing squad is rare in the United States, with the last such execution occurring in Utah in 2010. Prison officials say the method is designed to be swift and effective, but opponents argue it is an outdated and inhumane practice.
Final Hours and Reactions
Sigmon is currently spending his final hours in a holding cell adjacent to the execution chamber. He was offered a last meal earlier today and was given an opportunity to make a final statement before his execution. Victims’ families and death penalty advocates argue that justice is long overdue, as Sigmon’s execution has been delayed multiple times. Opponents, including human rights groups, continue to question the morality of capital punishment, particularly the use of firing squads. As South Carolina carries out its first execution in over a decade, the debate over the death penalty’s role in modern society remains as heated as ever.
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