Brad Sigmon, a 67-year-old South Carolina man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents, was executed by firing squad on Friday, marking the first execution by this method in the U.S. in 15 years.
Sigmon was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. local time (11:08 p.m. GMT) after three state corrections department volunteers fired specially designed bullets into his chest at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.
Sigmon was sentenced to death in 2001 for the brutal beating deaths of David and Gladys Larke, whom he attacked with a baseball bat before kidnapping his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint. Given a choice between the electric chair, lethal injection, or firing squad, he opted for the latter.
Chrysti Shain, spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Corrections, confirmed that three members of the Larke family attended the execution, alongside Sigmon’s spiritual adviser.
Before his execution, Sigmon was strapped into a chair equipped with a drainage basin to collect blood. In his final statement, he urged Christians to oppose the death penalty, reflecting on how “an eye for an eye” had been used to justify his sentence.
“At that time, I was too ignorant to know how wrong that was. Why? Because we no longer live under the Old Testament law but now live under the New Testament,” he said.
A hood was placed over his head before the curtain concealing the executioners was drawn at 6:01 p.m.. At 6:05 p.m., the three shooters fired simultaneously from 15 feet away, without a countdown.
According to Associated Press reporter Jeffrey Collins, Sigmon had a red bullseye target placed over his heart.
“When he was shot, his chest rose and fell several times,” Collins reported. A doctor then examined him for 90 seconds before pronouncing him dead.
WHFF-TV reporter Anna Dobbins described a “splash of blood” as the bullets struck and noted that Sigmon’s arms “flexed” upon impact. The execution was carried out using .308 Winchester Tap Urban bullets, designed to fragment on impact, maximizing damage. Medical experts continue to debate whether this method causes excessive pain.
Prison officials provided earplugs to witnesses to muffle the sound of gunfire, and counseling services were made available to staff who may have been affected by the execution, according to Shain.
Sigmon’s execution reignites debate over capital punishment methods, particularly the use of firing squads, which remain rare in modern U.S. history.
