SC inmate questions execution method, requests delay

In Columbia, South Carolina, a man awaiting execution by a firing squad is urgently requesting a delay in his execution set for next week. He is also asking prison authorities to disclose more details regarding the lethal injection drugs and procedure adopted by the state.

The attorneys representing Brad Sigmon argue that without sufficient information about the lethal injection process, their client feels coerced into selecting the more violent firing squad method to avoid potential suffering. Sigmon’s representatives emphasized concerns after reviewing autopsy results from Marion Bowman’s execution on January 31, which revealed that twice the regular dose of a lethal injection drug was necessary. This dosage deviates from those typically used in other states and by the federal government.

Additionally, Richard Moore’s autopsy, conducted for his execution on November 1, showed that he received similar double doses of pentobarbital, administered at 11-minute intervals. Currently, South Carolina’s legislation mandates maintaining secrecy surrounding drug doses, administration procedures, and execution personnel. Consequently, clarity about whether the newer protocols involve dual doses remains elusive.

While South Carolina maintains its methods align with other states employing a single pentobarbital dose, findings from Bowman and Moore’s autopsies reveal their systems contained up to 10 grams of the drug. In comparison, Georgia and Tennessee traditionally use an initial 5-gram dosage.

Sigmon, 67, faces execution on March 7 following his conviction for the 2001 murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents in Greenville County. Initially aiming to kidnap his ex-girlfriend, Sigmon admitted intentions of potentially killing her before considering suicide. His attempt was thwarted as his ex-girlfriend managed to escape from the moving vehicle.

Sigmon’s attorneys are urging the state to disclose information regarding lethal injection substances, particularly regarding their storage, expiration, and testing processes to ensure potency and purity.

The legal team argues that Sigmon felt compelled to select the grisly death by firing squad—the first such execution in the United States since 2010—due to apprehensions about the lethal injection procedure. If improperly administered, he feared experiencing a painful death due to fluid accumulation in his lungs.

According to the attorneys, Sigmon faces execution in nine days, compelled to choose under duress and lacking crucial details necessary to evaluate his options effectively. Previous legal disputes presented before the South Carolina Supreme Court about withholding information on lethal injection drugs have been dismissed, with the state asserting fluid accumulation in prisoners’ lungs is common in such cases.

The state cites witness testimonies indicating the three most recent inmates, executed by lethal injection over the past six months, were unconscious and not breathing within a minute of the procedure, despite being declared dead over 20 minutes later.

Of the executed inmates, Freddie Owens declined an autopsy for religious reasons, leaving fewer data points for analysis. Should the execution proceed as planned, Sigmon will be secured to a chair in the death chamber, with a hood and target placed over his heart. Three volunteers will then fire live rounds from a distance of approximately 15 feet.

Under state law, inmates may choose between execution by firing squad, lethal injection, or the electric chair. However, Sigmon declined the electric chair, citing fears of being “cooked alive.”

Sigmon’s legal counsel reiterates his repeated requests for essential information to evaluate the status of South Carolina’s drugs, questioning if they are expired or compromised in quality. Thus far, these requests have been denied, and Sigmon opted for the firing squad, fearing the protracted, agonizing death associated with his friends’ experiences. The autopsy of Bowman confirms these fears were not unfounded, lawyer Gerald “Bo” King expressed in a recent statement.