South Carolina’s Firing Squad Revival: A Death Penalty Milestone

South Carolina executed Brad Sigmon by firing squad, marking the first U.S. use of this method in 15 years. Explore the story behind this historic event. 

A Historic Moment in South Carolina

On a quiet Friday evening, March 7, 2025, South Carolina etched its name into the annals of American criminal justice history. At 6:08 p.m. ET, Brad Sigmon, a 67-year-old convicted murderer, was pronounced dead in the execution chamber of the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. What set this moment apart wasn’t just the end of Sigmon’s life but the method of his demise: a firing squad. It was the first time in 15 years that the United States had employed this rare and controversial means of capital punishment, thrusting South Carolina into the national spotlight and reigniting debates over the death penalty’s place in modern society.

Sigmon’s death marked a stark departure from the norm. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, only three executions by firing squad have occurred—all in Utah, with the most recent in 2010. For a nation accustomed to the clinical veneer of lethal injection, this revival of a 19th-century practice felt both archaic and jarring. Yet, for Sigmon, it was a choice born of fear and necessity, a decision that underscored the complexities and contradictions of America’s death penalty system.

The Man Behind the Sentence

Brad Sigmon’s story begins not in the execution chamber but in the small town of Taylors, South Carolina, more than two decades ago. In April 2001, consumed by obsession and rage, Sigmon bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend’s parents, William and Gladys Larke, to death with a baseball bat in their home. The brutal killings were the culmination of an unraveling relationship with Rebecca Barbare, whom Sigmon kidnapped at gunpoint after the murders. Barbare escaped, but the Larkes’ lives were extinguished in a crime that shocked their tight-knit community.

Convicted and sentenced to death in 2002, Sigmon spent the next 23 years on death row, a period marked by what his attorney, Gerald “Bo” King, described as a profound transformation. “Brad was a devout Christian who spent every day in prayer and repentance,” King told reporters before the execution. “He became a source of strength for fellow inmates and guards alike.” Yet, despite pleas for clemency citing his undiagnosed mental illness at the time of the crime and his rehabilitation, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declined to intervene—a decision consistent with the state’s 49-year record of denying clemency in modern death penalty cases.

An “Impossible Choice”

When the time came to face his fate, Sigmon was given three options under South Carolina law: the electric chair, lethal injection, or the firing squad. For many, the choice might seem straightforward—lethal injection has long been marketed as the most humane method. But Sigmon saw it differently. “He feared a slow, torturous death,” King explained in an interview days before the execution. “The electric chair would burn and cook him alive, and lethal injection risked a 20-minute ordeal with his lungs drowning in fluid. The firing squad, for all its violence, seemed the lesser evil.”

This wasn’t mere speculation. South Carolina’s recent lethal injection executions had raised red flags. Since resuming executions in September 2024 after a 13-year hiatus, the state has executed three men—Freddie Owens, Richard Moore, and Marion Bowman—using a massive dose of pentobarbital. Each took roughly 20 minutes to die, far longer than the swift end promised by advocates of the method. Autopsies revealed troubling details: Moore’s lungs were swollen with fluid, a condition known as pulmonary edema that experts say mimics the agony of drowning. Sigmon, who knew these men personally, refused to gamble on a similar fate.

Instead, he chose the firing squad, a method legalized in South Carolina in 2021 amid a nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs. The state spent $54,000 in 2022 to retrofit its death chamber, installing a steel chair over a basin to catch blood and bulletproof glass to shield witnesses. On March 7, executioners strapped Sigmon into that chair, placed a hood over his head, and affixed a bullseye to his chest. Three volunteer prison staffers, standing 15 feet away behind a wall, fired rifles loaded with live rounds designed to shatter on impact. Witnesses reported two short breaths, a spreading bloodstain, and then silence. Three minutes later, a physician confirmed his death.

A Glimpse Inside the Chamber

For those in the witness room—reporters, victim family members, and Sigmon’s attorney—the scene unfolded with chilling precision. “There was no warning,” one media witness recounted at a press conference afterward. “The shots rang out simultaneously, and we flinched. Then it was over.” Sigmon, dressed in a black jumpsuit, showed little reaction beyond those final breaths. His attorney, Bo King, read his last statement moments before: a poignant appeal to “my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty,” a plea that hung heavy in the air as the rifles fired.

The efficiency of the firing squad stood in stark contrast to the botched executions that have plagued lethal injection nationwide. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, lethal injection—adopted in the 1970s as a “humane” alternative—accounts for 84% of executions since 1976 but is also the most frequently mishandled. Struggles to secure drugs, compounded by a European Union ban on their sale for capital punishment, have led to improvised protocols and gruesome outcomes. A 2020 NPR analysis of 200 autopsies found evidence of pulmonary edema in 84% of lethal injection cases, a statistic that fuels arguments for alternative methods like the firing squad.

The Debate Rekindled

Sigmon’s execution has reignited a national conversation about how—or whether—the U.S. should carry out the death penalty. Critics, including faith leaders and anti-death penalty advocates, gathered outside the prison hours before his death, wielding signs that read “All Life is Precious” and “No More Killing.” They pointed to Sigmon’s remorse and mental health struggles as evidence that execution fails to deliver justice. “This isn’t about denying punishment,” said Rev. Hillary Taylor of South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. “It’s about recognizing redemption and questioning why we’re still killing in 2025.”

On the other side, supporters argue that the firing squad offers a quicker, less error-prone option. Dr. Jonathan Groner, an emeritus professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, told CNN that the method “causes near-instant unconsciousness and death from hemorrhage.” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor echoed this in a 2017 dissent, calling it “comparatively painless” next to lethal injection’s failures. Yet, the visceral nature of gunfire—bones breaking, blood pooling—unsettles many Americans. A 2014 Gallup poll found just 9% viewed it as the “most humane” form of execution, reflecting a cultural discomfort with its brutality.

A System in Flux

South Carolina’s return to the firing squad is part of a broader shift. Five states—Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina—now permit the method, with Idaho considering it as a primary option in 2023. The move comes as lethal injection’s reliability wanes, a problem exacerbated by secrecy laws like South Carolina’s 2023 shield law, which hides drug sources and execution details. Sigmon’s legal team fought unsuccessfully to delay his death, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court that this opacity violated his due process rights. The court’s rejection, issued hours before the execution, did not explain—a reminder of the steep odds death row inmates face in challenging their fates.

For Sigmon, the end came swiftly, but his story leaves lingering questions. Was this justice served or a relic of a bygone era dusted off for a modern stage? As the U.S. grapples with a death penalty system in flux, experts predict more states may follow South Carolina’s lead. “Lethal injection’s flaws are undeniable,” said Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor, in a recent interview. “The firing squad might just be the least bad option we’ve got left.”

Looking Ahead

Brad Sigmon’s execution wasn’t just a single event—it was a mirror held up to America’s evolving relationship with capital punishment. At a time when public support for the death penalty hovers near a 50-year low (54% in 2021, per Gallup), his death by firing squad challenges us to confront the mechanics of state-sanctioned killing. It’s a debate that transcends legal briefs and prison walls, touching on morality, redemption, and the very definition of justice.

For readers, the takeaway is clear: stay informed. Dig into the data, listen to the voices on both sides and ask what kind of society we want to build. The firing squad may have silenced Sigmon, but its echo promises to resonate for years to come.

Source:  (Reuters)

(Disclaimer:  This article is based on available reports and public information. Details may evolve as new data emerges, and opinions expressed reflect a range of perspectives, not a singular endorsement. Always consult primary sources for the latest updates on this topic.)

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