In the United States, an execution by firing squad was carried out for the first time in 15 years. The subject was a man in his 60s who was convicted of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend's parents with a blunt weapon.
American citizens protesting against the death penalty outside the prison ahead of the execution of a death row inmate by firing squad. Photo by Yonhap News.
According to American media such as the Associated Press and CBS on the 7th (local time), the execution of death row inmate Brad Sigman (67) took place at 6:05 PM at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina.
Sigman was shot by three correctional officers simultaneously firing rifles while he was strapped to a chair with a target placed over his left chest where his heart is, and a hood covering his head.
In his will, he expressed a hope that his testament would serve as a plea to fellow Christians to help end the death penalty and be a testament of love.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Sigman’s request to delay the execution on the same day, and the sentence was carried out immediately.
Sigman was sentenced to death after being charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a blunt weapon in 2001 and then threatening his ex-girlfriend with a gun to kidnap her. The methods of execution used in South Carolina include the electric chair, lethal injection, and firing squad. He chose the firing squad because it appeared to be less painful than the other two methods.
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