COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man on death row in South Carolina is once again seeking a delay in his execution, originally scheduled for March 7. This request comes as his legal team has yet to receive the autopsy report from the state’s most recent execution, which took place two weeks ago. Brad Sigmon’s lawyers filed a motion expressing increasing urgency given that he must decide by February 21 whether he will face execution by lethal injection, firing squad, or the electric chair.

Earlier this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court declined to grant Sigmon a similar delay. Sigmon, who was convicted of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001, faces a significant deadline. Reports indicate that he moved between rooms in the home where the murders occurred, attacking each victim separately. Should Sigmon choose not to designate a method of execution, he would automatically be subjected to the electric chair. He has expressed a desire to avoid this method and intends to select between lethal injection and firing squad in the upcoming week.

The hesitation regarding his choice of lethal injection stems from the experiences reported by witnesses during three prior executions. These accounts suggest that while the prisoners seemed to stop breathing and moving shortly after the administration of a pentobarbital dose, they persisted for a notably prolonged period, with some not being declared deceased until 20 minutes had passed.

To date, only one autopsy report has been made available for examination, specifically concerning Richard Moore, who was executed on November 1. According to prison officials, Moore received two substantial doses of pentobarbital just 11 minutes apart during the execution. A defense expert posited that the presence of fluid in Moore’s lungs may have caused him to feel as though he was drowning, enduring those harrowing sensations for 23 minutes until death was officially pronounced.

Contrarily, a state-appointed anesthesiologist contended that fluid accumulation in the lungs is a common characteristic following lethal injections, asserting that evidence showed no indication Moore remained conscious beyond 30 seconds post-medication. Officials have refrained from explaining the necessity of administering the second significant dose to Moore, labeling such details as confidential under state laws designed to protect the identities of those involved in the executions and the execution methods.

In the wake of setting an execution date, Corrections Director Bryan Stirling has affirmed that lethal injection is an option available via a single dose of pentobarbital. However, Sigmon’s legal representatives have yet to gain access to the autopsy report pertaining to Marion Bowman, who was executed by lethal injection on January 31. Additionally, there were no autopsy results released for Freddie Owens, who declined one for religious reasons.

Sigmon’s attorneys are also pursuing further information related to the lethal injection drug’s usage, a request which was denied prior to the last three executions. They are advocating for a postponement of his execution until the autopsy results can be reviewed. After a 13-year hiatus from executions, South Carolina resumed this practice last year, following the approval of a law designed to safeguard the anonymity of execution drug suppliers and methods. The state Supreme Court has scheduled executions to occur at least five weeks apart to accommodate necessary preparations and potential last-minute appeals.

Sigmon, now 67, is the oldest individual awaiting execution among the 46 inmates who have faced the death penalty in South Carolina since it was reinstated in 1976. Historically, the state executed an average of three individuals annually during the early 2000s. Presently, there are 29 inmates on death row, a significant reduction from 63 in early 2011, with approximately 20 individuals removed due to successful appeals or natural causes.

In a disturbing case from 2001, following the double homicide, Sigmon attempted to kidnap his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint. Though she escaped his car during the ordeal, he reportedly fired at her but missed. In a confession, he remarked, “I couldn’t have her; I wasn’t going to let anybody else have her.” During the sentencing phase of his trial in 2002, Sigmon addressed the jury, questioning, “Do I deserve to die? I probably do. I don’t want to die. It would kill my mom and my brothers and my sisters and my children.”