South Carolina Double Murderer On Death Row Executed By Firing Squad

A South Carolina man who had been on death row for 20 years for the murder of two people was executed by firing squad Friday.

Brad Sigmon decided against lethal injection, noting concerns about the suffering he might face from it, according to FoxCarolina. The 67-year-old was the first person to die by firing squad in the U.S. since 2010 and the fourth overall since the death penalty resumed in the country, according to the Associated Press (AP). He is also the first person executed this way in South Carolina, FoxCarolina reported.

A hood was placed over Sigmon’s head as three volunteer Department of Corrections employees fired rifles upon a target on his chest at 6:05 p.m. He was pronounced dead three minutes later, FoxCarolina reported. The employees’ guns were loaded with .308 caliber Winchester 110-grain TAP Urban rounds which are meant to break upon impact. (RELATED: Executions Globally Rise To Highest Level In Almost 10 Years).

South Carolina double murderer Brad Sigmon becomes first US death row inmate to die by firing squad in 15 years https://t.co/XXEo6ifEw5 pic.twitter.com/Sy4Lfjwlyc

— New York Post (@nypost) March 7, 2025

Sigmon was given the death sentence in 2002 for beating his ex-girlfriend’s parents to death inside their home, the outlet noted. David and Gladys Larke were beaten to death with a baseball bat after their daughter had broken up with Sigmon.

Sigmon abducted his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint and shot her as she jumped from a car to escape, the outlet noted. She survived her injuries.

Sigmon then stole an RV and was on the run for 10 days before he was eventually caught at a Gatlinburg, Tennessee campground.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to delay Sigmon’s execution and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster denied clemency for him shortly after 6:00 p.m. Friday, the outlet reported.

Protesters gathered outside the corrections facility to oppose the death penalty, including the brother of the last man executed by firing squad in the U.S., FoxCarolina reported.

Sigmon’s attorney shared his final statement saying he wanted the statement to “be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty.”

“An eye for an eye was used as justification to the jury for seeking the death penalty. 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,” he said.