🔴 First Execution by Firing Squad in 15 Years Shocks the U.S.

Brad Sigmon, 67, was executed by firing squad in South Carolina, marking the first use of this execution method in the United States since 2010. Sigmon, who had been convicted of murder, chose the firing squad over the electric chair and lethal injection, expressing a fear of both methods.

The execution took place in the state's death chamber, with armed prison employees positioned 15 feet (4.6 meters) away from Sigmon, the same distance as the free-throw line in basketball. Visible in the chamber was the state’s unused electric chair, and the gurney for lethal injections had been rolled away.

The volunteers who carried out the execution fired simultaneously through openings in a wall. The witnesses, separated by bullet-resistant glass, heard the loud, jarring sound of the shots, which caused them to flinch. Sigmon made several heavy breaths during the two minutes between when the hood was placed over his head and when the shots were fired. After being shot, his arms briefly tensed, and the target on his chest was blown off. He appeared to take a few more breaths with a visible red stain on his chest.

A doctor examined Sigmon a minute later, declaring him dead after a 90-second evaluation.

Among the witnesses were three family members of the victims, Sigmon’s attorney and spiritual advisor, a representative from the prosecuting solicitor’s office, a sheriff’s investigator, and three media representatives.

This execution brings renewed focus to the ongoing debate surrounding the death penalty in the United States, particularly methods such as firing squads.