A man convicted of murdering his former girlfriend’s parents is set to be the first person executed by firing squad in the United States since 2010. Brad Sigmon is set to be executed at a prison in South Carolina. Gerald “Bo” King, a lawyer who represented Sigmon, said that while officially Sigmon could have chosen between lethal injection, firing squad, or electrocution, only the first two options were viable.
“Unless he elected lethal injection or the firing squad, he would die in South Carolina’s ancient electric chair, which would burn and cook him alive,” King claimed. Sigmon murdered his two victims by beating them in the head with a baseball hat.
The last execution in the United States by firing squad took place in 2010 in Utah, which has seen two other firing squad executions in 1996 and 1977. The most common form of execution in the United States is lethal injection.
Only five states in the U.S. perform firing squad executions: South Carolina, Utah, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Mississippi. Sigmon’s execution will feature a 3-man firing squad, all armed with loaded rifles.
Some legacy media outlets have claimed that President Donald J. Trump has expressed support for executions by firing squad, which is currently banned federally, as well as other methods of execution, such as hanging. The President is on record as supporting the execution of serious criminals, including major drug traffickers.