A 67-year-old convicted murderer became the first person in the United States to be executed by firing squad in 15 years, using his final words to call for an end to the death penalty.
Brad Sigmon was sentenced to death for the brutal 2001 murders of his ex-girlfriend's parents, whom he bludgeoned to death before kidnapping his former partner at gunpoint, CNN reported.
After two decades on death row, he was given the choice between lethal injection, the electric chair or firing squad under South Carolina's capital punishment laws. Concerns over lethal injection drugs prompted him to opt for the firing squad, making him the fourth person executed by this method in the U.S. since 1976.
Sigmon was executed at 6:08 p.m. ET on Friday at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. Witnesses, including legal representatives and protestors gathered outside the prison, watched as he faced three riflemen who fired live rounds at his heart.
In a final statement shared by his attorney, he urged Christians to help abolish the death penalty, quoting Bible passages about forgiveness.
"I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty," Sigmon said.
His lawyer, Gerald "Bo" King, described the execution as "horrifying and violent," arguing that the firing squad was Sigmon's only viable choice given the state's controversial history with lethal injection.
Protesters gathered outside the prison advocating for an end to the death penalty, while legal experts continue to question the transparency of South Carolina's execution procedures. Gov. Henry McMaster denied Sigmon's request for clemency, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene.
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