CHARLOTTE — A man on death row in South Carolina chose a brutal form for his execution, but he’s still fighting to stay alive.
Brad Sigmon was convicted of beating two people to death with a baseball bat, and he’s scheduled to be executed in weeks. But instead of lethal injection, Sigmon chose to be executed by firing squad.
He says it’s because he thinks lethal injection is an inhumane way to die.
Attorney Bo King told Channel 9′s Tina Terry that his client is concerned about the drugs used in lethal injections, and how the past three death row inmates died.
In the last six months, Freddie Owens, Richard Moore and Marion Bowman have all been executed by lethal injection, but their experiences led Sigmon to choose the gun.
“If you administer a single dose of pentobarbital, it will quickly render you unconscious and stop your heart, and if it does that, that’s a Constitutional execution,” King told Terry. “But that’s not what’s happening here.”
King says he’s asked the state for information about the drugs, but they haven’t provided it.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told Channel 9 that experts have disputed the truthfulness of King’s claims. The department said it followed all protocols during recent executions.
Sigmon was sentenced to death for double murder after killing his girlfriend’s parents in 2001 in Taylors, South Carolina. King submitted a petition to Gov. Henry McMaster this week asking him to grant Sigmon clemency.
“Executing him now for the man he was 20 years ago -- mental illness, brain injury and trauma -- shows we don’t believe in the possibility of redemption,” King said.
Wednesday afternoon, King also submitted a motion to the state supreme court asking it to consider a recent autopsy from one of the lethal injections.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office said he will announce a decision regarding clemency minutes before the execution. That’s set for March 7.
We asked the Department of Corrections about how the firing squad is selected. A spokesperson said three corrections employees have volunteered to fire one shot simultaneously at the inmate’s chest.
(VIDEO: Rock Hill man accused of killing his own mother could face death penalty)
©2025 Cox Media Group
