A South Carolina man who was convicted of killing his former girlfriend’s parents and abducting her at gunpoint was executed by firing squad, marking the first such execution in the state in over 15 years.
Brad Sigmon, aged 67, was fatally shot by three state corrections department volunteers with special bullets at approximately 6pm local time on March 7.
According to South Carolina regulations, Sigmon had the option to choose his method of execution. On February 21, he selected death by firing squad over other choices like lethal injection or electrocution, with electrocution being the default if no decision was made.
His legal team had requested a delay in his execution to obtain more details about the lethal injection substances and procedures. However, a state law enacted in 2023 shields this information from disclosure.
South Carolina had paused executions due to difficulties in acquiring the necessary drugs for lethal injections. Since 1976, the state has carried out 47 executions with no death sentences commuted.
During the execution, Sigmon, dressed in a black jumpsuit with a hood covering his head, sat in a chair with a basin to collect blood underneath. A target was placed over his chest as three armed prison staff members stood nearby.
Without warning or countdown, the firing squad fired simultaneously through openings in a wall, causing Sigmon’s arms to tense briefly. He was pronounced dead at 6:08pm after a brief examination by a doctor.
Witnesses to the execution included family members, Sigmon’s attorney, a spiritual advisor, officials from the prosecuting solicitor’s office, a sheriff’s investigator, and members of the media. Sigmon’s final meal included fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, biscuits, cheesecake, and sweet tea.
Sigmon had confessed to the 2001 murders of David and Gladys Larke in a failed attempt to abduct their daughter for a supposed romantic getaway ending in murder-suicide. His attorney expressed disbelief at the 2025 execution, highlighting Sigmon’s remorse and religious devotion.
Only three other individuals in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad since 1977, all in Utah. The most recent was in 2010, and another man in Utah is awaiting a decision on his execution due to dementia concerns.
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