Condemned inmate chooses death by firing squad — the first execution of its kind in 15 years if carried out

Warning: The report contains details of execution methods. Please proceed with caution.

South Carolina death row inmate Brad Sigmon has chosen death by firing squad for his upcoming execution — a rare choice among condemned inmates.

In 2001, Sigmon brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat before kidnapping her at gunpoint. Fortunately, she escaped and survived the harrowing ordeal. He was convicted of double murder and first-degree burglary and was sentenced to death plus an additional 30 years for the burglary.

Sigmon’s execution date is scheduled for March 7, and according to his lawyer Gerald “Bo” King, the inmate has chosen a firing squad as his method of death, calling it the “least torturous way to die.” In South Carolina, death row inmates could choose between lethal injection, electrocution, or firing squad, with the electric chair serving as the default if no choice is made by a given deadline.

Lethal injection has become increasingly controversial in recent years. Many pharmaceutical companies refuse to supply execution drugs, forcing states to use untested or less reliable alternatives. This raises the risk of botched executions, with reports of inmates suffering prolonged deaths — remaining conscious, gasping for air, or experiencing excruciating pain for minutes — which equates to essentially being tortured. Per King, all three inmates — who chose lethal injection — executed in South Carolina in the past five months suffered for “more than 20 minutes” before they died.

Electric chair executions have also been marred by equipment failures and erratic voltage, and there have been instances when inmates caught fire or suffered severe burns before death. King said Sigmon didn’t want to die on “an ancient electric chair, which would burn and cook him alive.” He added that his client is “choosing as best he can.”

ER doctor, James Williams, has appeared in courtrooms to testify about the effectiveness of a firing squad for executions over the other methods. According to him, the method poses the least suffering and the possibility of botching it is minimal. He pointed out that of the 41 firing squad executions carried out in Utah since the 1850s, only two didn’t go as planned. The first was when the inmate attempted to flee as he wasn’t tied down, and the second was when the squad members didn’t aim for the heart as they were supposed to. “When the written protocol was followed, none were botched, which speaks strongly to the reliability of this method,” Dr. Williams stated.

In South Carolina, an inmate who chooses the firing squad is strapped to a chair with a hood covering their head. Three firing squad members then fire at the inmate’s heart, aiming to cause a rapid drop in blood pressure. This cuts off the blood flow to the brain, leading to unconsciousness within three to five seconds, followed by a quick death.

On Feb. 20, Sigmon’s lawyer filed a motion for a stay of execution, arguing his client “received ineffective assistance from his inexperienced trial counsel.” According to the filing, the jury wasn’t made aware that Sigmon had severe mental illness and organic brain damage that contributed to his actions. A decision is still pending, but if the execution is carried out, Sigmon will be the first person to be put to death by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years. Since 1976, only three inmates in the U.S. have been executed by that method, the last of whom was Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010.