US Executes Inmate by Firing Squad, First Time in 15 Years

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The United States carried out its first execution by firing squad in 15 years Friday, when South Carolina executed Brad Sigmon, 67, for the 2001 murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents. Sigmon chose the firing squad over lethal injection and the electric chair, citing concerns about the other methods. The execution has reignited debate over capital punishment and the methods used to carry it out.

Sigmon's Choice

Sigmon was convicted in 2002 for the beating deaths of David and Gladys Larke. According to police reports, Sigmon planned to kidnap their daughter, his ex-girlfriend, for a romantic weekend before killing her and himself. With lethal injection drugs in short supply and facing scrutiny, South Carolina offered inmates the option of electrocution or firing squad. Sigmon's lawyers stated he chose the firing squad because he feared a prolonged and painful death by lethal injection or being "cooked alive" by the electric chair. He unsuccessfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the execution, arguing that the state's secrecy around its lethal injection protocol violated his due-process rights.

Gerald "Bo" King, Sigmon's attorney, said his client was left with an "impossible choice" between "the firing squad, knowing that the bullets are going to break the bones in his chest and destroy his heart, or risk a 20-minute-long execution strapped to a gurney with your lungs filling with blood and fluid."

The Execution

Sigmon was executed at 6:08 p.m. Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. He wore a black jumpsuit and a hood, with a white target placed over his heart. Three volunteer members of the South Carolina Department of Corrections fired rifles through an opening in a wall from about 15 feet away. Witnesses observed the execution through bulletproof glass.

History of Firing Squads in the US

The firing squad has a long and varied history in the United States. The earliest recorded execution by shooting occurred in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608. It was used as a military punishment during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. In the Old West, it was sometimes used as a form of frontier justice.

From 1860 to 1915, firing squads were primarily used in Utah, where lawmakers in 1851 designated shooting, hanging, or beheading as possible punishments for murder. Nevada also used a firing squad in 1913, employing a contraption that fired three guns by pulling strings due to difficulty finding volunteers.

Since 1608, at least 144 civilian prisoners have been executed by firing squad in America, with nearly all occurring in Utah. Since the resumption of capital punishment in 1977, only three executions by firing squad have taken place prior to Sigmon's, all in Utah: Gary Gilmore in 1977, John Albert Taylor in 1996, and Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010.

Five states currently authorize the use of firing squads in certain circumstances: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.

Is Firing Squad More Humane?

The use of firing squads has sparked debate about the most humane method of execution. Some argue that it is a more humane alternative to lethal injection, which has been plagued by botched executions in recent years.

Deborah Denno, a criminologist at Fordham School of Law, told the Associated Press that "lethal injection has only gotten worse over the decades," and that "the firing squad really stands out as a relatively decent method of execution." Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a 2017 dissent that "in addition to being near instant, death by shooting may also be comparatively painless."

However, others disagree. Ronnie Gardner, who was executed by firing squad in Utah in 2010, had a brother who called the method "gruesome and barbaric."

There have been very few instances of botched firing squad executions in US history. Criminologist Deborah Denno notes two such cases: Wallace Wilkerson in 1877 and Eliseo Mares in 1951, both in Utah. Reports suggest that in Mares' case, the executioners intentionally missed his heart to prolong his suffering.

Alternatives and Legal Challenges

The Death Penalty Information Center reports that lethal injection has been used in 1,428 executions since 1976, compared to 163 by electrocution. Experts now suggest that lethal injection is the most frequently botched method of all. States have struggled to obtain the necessary drugs, leading some to reconsider older methods like firing squads.

In 2022, a South Carolina court ruled that the firing squad violated the state constitution, deeming the method cruel and unusual. The ruling was later overturned.

A Contentious Debate

Sigmon's execution has renewed the debate over capital punishment in the United States. Supporters of the death penalty argue that it is a just punishment for heinous crimes, while opponents argue that it is cruel and unusual and that it is disproportionately applied to people of color and the poor.

"It is unfathomable that, in 2025, South Carolina would execute one of its citizens in this bloody spectacle," said King, Sigmon's attorney, in a statement. "But South Carolina has ended the life of a man who has devoted himself to his faith, and to ministry and service to all around him."

The execution also highlights the challenges that states face in carrying out the death penalty in an era of drug shortages and legal challenges to traditional methods. As states struggle to find alternative methods, the debate over capital punishment is likely to continue.