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Columbia, SC — Brad Sigmon, 67, was executed by firing squad at Broad River Correctional Institution on Friday evening. This marks the first use of this execution method in the United States in 15 years.
Sigmon was convicted of the 2001 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, Gladys and David Larke, whom he bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. He confessed to the killings, stating his motive stemmed from his ex-girlfriend’s refusal to reconcile with him. He admitted his intention was to kill her as well, and then himself.
At approximately 6:08 p.m., three volunteer prison employees, armed with rifles, carried out the execution. Sigmon was blindfolded, strapped to a chair with a target over his heart, and shot by the executioners positioned roughly 15 feet away. Witnesses, separated from the execution chamber by bullet-resistant glass, did not see the executioners.
Sigmon’s execution proceeded despite an emergency motion filed with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt it due to South Carolina’s policies regarding lethal injection procedures.
The motion was denied. Governor Henry McMaster and Attorney General Alan Wilson also declined to intervene, despite pleas from Sigmon’s attorneys to commute his sentence to life in prison.
The defense argued Sigmon was a model prisoner and suffered from severe mental illness at the time of the murders.
Sigmon chose death by firing squad over electrocution or lethal injection. His attorney reported Sigmon’s last meal consisted of three buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken, one of which he intended to share with fellow death row inmates.
The victims’ daughter, Rebecca Armstrong, stated that while she doesn’t support the death penalty, she believes Sigmon should be held accountable for his actions, which devastated her family. Her son, Ricky Sims, attended the execution.
South Carolina resumed executions in September 2024 after a 13-year hiatus. The state is one of five that permit execution by firing squad under certain circumstances.
Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, only three inmates have been executed by firing squad, all in Utah. Ronnie Gardner was the last, executed in 2010.
Nationwide, 25 executions were carried out in 2024, and five have already been carried out this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.