Fri Mar 07 23:43:53 UTC 2025: ## South Carolina Executes Inmate by Firing Squad, First in 15 Years
**Columbia, SC (March 8, 2025)** – Brad Sigmon, 67, was executed by firing squad on Friday, March 7th, marking the first time this method has been used in the U.S. in 15 years. Sigmon was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001. He opted for the firing squad over lethal injection due to concerns about the process.
The execution took place at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. Three prison employees, positioned 4.6 meters from Sigmon, fired simultaneously through openings in a wall. The unused electric chair was visible in the death chamber.
Sigmon’s lawyers and supporters appealed to Governor Henry McMaster for clemency, citing his model behavior in prison and arguing that mental illness contributed to the crime. However, McMaster denied the request, as no death sentence has ever been commuted in South Carolina.
Protests took place outside the prison prior to the execution, with demonstrators expressing opposition to the death penalty.
The firing squad method, with a long and controversial history, has been used sparingly in the U.S. since 1977. South Carolina’s resumption of executions in July 2024, after a 13-year hiatus due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs, has resulted in four executions since then. The state is scheduled to conduct an execution approximately every five weeks, with 28 inmates currently on death row.
First Piper 