An eyewitness to South Carolina's recent execution by firing squad described the event as "more violent"and much "faster" than lethal injection.
On Friday, Brad Sigmon, 67, was executed by firing squad. Sigmon could have selected lethal injection or the electric chair but instead opted for the firing squad. Sigmon became the first U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad since 2010 when Utah executed Ronnie Lee Gardner.
Journalist Jeffrey Collins witnessed Sigmon's death for the Associated Press. Collins had previously seen nine executions by lethal injection and one inmate put to death by electric chair.
"The firing squad is certainly faster — and more violent — than lethal injection. It's a lot more tense, too. My heart started pounding a little after Sigmon's lawyer read his final statement. The hood was put over Sigmon's head, and an employee opened the black pull shade that shielded where the three prison system volunteer shooters were," Collins wrote.
"About two minutes later, they fired. There was no warning or countdown. The abrupt crack of the rifles startled me. And the white target with the red bullseye that had been on his chest, standing out against his black prison jumpsuit, disappeared instantly as Sigmon's whole body flinched," Collins stated.
Sigmon was sentenced to die in 2002 after beating his ex-girlfriend's parents to death with a baseball bat. He also kidnapped the woman and planned to kill her, too, but she was able to escape. In Gardner's execution in 2010, Utah used five shooters. For Sigmon, South Carolina used three.
Sigmon selected firing squad because he had concerns about the effectiveness of lethal injection, his attorneys told the Greenville News. Autopsies of the last two men executed in South Carolina by lethal injection showed their lungs had swollen due to blood and fluid.
Collins wrote that outside of the sound of the rifles, there was no sound.
About a minute after the gunfire a doctor came out, checked Sigmon, and declared him dead at 6:08 p.m. local time.
Originally published on Latin Times
