Brad Sigmon convicted of a brutal double murder nearly 25 years ago executed by firing squad in South Carolina on Friday evening.
This marks first firing squad execution in United States in 15 years sparking protests and heated debates over capital punishment, CNN report.
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Sigmon, 67, strapped to a chair inside Columbia’s execution chamber. His eyes were covered, and a red target marked over his heart. Below him sat a basin to collect blood.
At exactly 6 PM local time three shooters—positioned 15 feet away behind a curtain—fired three bullets simultaneously. Witnesses reported that Sigmon died within three minutes, with doctors officially pronouncing him dead at 6:08 PM.
Sigmon sentenced to death for murdering David and Gladys Larke with a baseball bat in 2001 in Taylors, South Carolina. He also planned to kill his girlfriend after kidnapping her. But she managed to escape. Despite admitting guilt he filed multiple appeals against the death sentence, all of which were denied.
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Given a choice between electrocution, lethal injection, or firing squad Sigmon chose the latter believing it to be quicker and less painful death. Before his execution, he expressed remorse in court, admitting regret for his crimes.
His defense argued that he had a troubled past working from a young age to support his siblings and struggling with mental illness. But these pleas failed to overturn his sentence.
Following the execution human rights activists staged protests across the country. Opponents of capital punishment argue that no government should have power to take a life.
“There are alternatives like life imprisonment without parole,” one activist stated. “We have exonerated over 200 death row inmates, some after 30 years. Wrongful executions cannot be undone.”
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Since 1977 U.S. has carried out only three executions by firing squad with Sigmon’s being the latest. Utah remains the only other state to have used this method in modern history.
