For the First Time in 15 Years… U.S. Inmate Executed by Firing Squad

09 March 2025, 8:21 AM

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U.S. Marines assigned to Mobile Strike Force Team, II Marine Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, conduct live-fire training on Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 2, 2013. Marines arriving in country undergo this training to ensure weapon handling proficiency and operational readiness. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alejandro Pena)

On Friday, U.S. authorities in South Carolina carried out an execution by firing squad, marking the first time in 15 years that an American prisoner has been executed using this method.

In a press conference, officials announced that three volunteer prison staff members fired at the inmate from close range on Friday evening.

Brad Sigmon, 67, had been incarcerated in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, since 2001 for murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in their home. Authorities confirmed that Sigmon chose this method of execution himself, requesting it instead of lethal injection.

Sigmon’s attorney told Greenville News that his client did not trust the lethal injection process, fearing it would cause prolonged suffering. This concern led him to opt for what he considered a faster method—execution by firings quad.