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A South Carolina inmate faced execution by firing squad Friday, marking the first instance of this method being used in the United States since 2010.
Brad Sigmon received his death sentence in 2001 for the brutal murders of David and Gladys Larke, whom he killed with a baseball bat. He also attempted to murder his former girlfriend after taking her hostage at gunpoint, though she managed to survive.
The execution took place at 6:05 PM, with the South Carolina Department of Corrections confirming Sigmon’s death minutes afterward. The 67-year-old was strapped to a chair, with executioners placing a target over his heart region. After covering his head with a hood, three corrections officers who volunteered as marksmen discharged special ammunition designed to fragment upon impact.
Death row inmate in South Carolina executed by firing squad.
I’m good with it.
How do y’all feel about it? pic.twitter.com/ph4UrEMwDJ
— sovereignX (@sovereign_x) March 8, 2025
Before his death, Sigmon’s legal team shared their client’s final message, which focused on love and appealed to fellow Christians to oppose capital punishment.
“An eye for an eye was used as justification to the jury for seeking the death penalty,” the statement read. “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.”
The execution was witnessed by three relatives of the victims and Sigmon’s spiritual advisor. Despite attempting to halt the execution through an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court, Sigmon’s efforts proved unsuccessful. Following this denial, he opted for the firing squad from among the state’s three authorized execution methods, which include electrocution and lethal injection.
Today #BradSigmon EXCUTED BY FIERING SQUAD
🛑Warning Detail & Graphic during conferenceSigmon, a convicted double murderer, has been executed by firing squad – the first such execution in the United States since 2010, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.… pic.twitter.com/KVSmjwhgC8
— Ms_Harmony ツ (@Ms_Harmony58) March 8, 2025
His attorney commented on this choice, saying, “He knows what the firing squad is going to do to his body — he knows it’s going to break his bones, he knows it’s gonna pulverize his organs. And it’s a measure of how impossible the choice was here.”
