Firing squad executes Brad Keith Sigmon in South Carolina for murder of ex's parents

A firing squad successful South Carolina executed Brad Keith Sigmon connected Friday for the beating deaths of his ex-girlfriend's parents, marking the first firing squad execution successful the authorities successful modern past and the archetypal successful the U.S. since 2010.

Sigmon was strapped to a specially made seat and had a hood implicit his caput portion 3 unpaid corrections staffers aimed loaded rifles astatine his bosom and each fired disconnected unrecorded rounds, according to respective quality media witnesses who spoke astatine a quality league afterward. He was pronounced dormant astatine 6:08 p.m., the witnesses said.

The execution came soon aft the U.S. Supreme Court denied Sigmon's past remaining appeal, and Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declined to assistance him clemency.

Sigmon, 67, was convicted of the 2001 murders of Gladys and David Larke, who were beaten to decease with a shot bat successful their small-town location successful northwestern South Carolina. Sigmon, who chose the firing squad implicit lethal injection oregon the electrical chair, ever admitted to sidesplitting the Larkes.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I americium guilty," Sigmon told jurors astatine his trial, according to archived sum in the Greenville News, portion of the USA TODAY Network. "I person nary excuse for what I did. It’s my responsibility and I’m not trying to blasted cipher other for it, and I’m sorry."

During his past words Friday, Sigmon listed 4 Bible quotes that helium said showed that "nowhere does God successful the New Testament springiness antheral the authorization to termination different man."

“I privation my closing connection to beryllium 1 of emotion and a calling to my chap Christians to assistance america extremity the decease penalty," Sigmon said done his attorney. "We are present nether God’s grace and mercy.”

Sigmon's ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Armstrong, told USA TODAY − successful her archetypal interrogation successful the 24 years since her parents' execution − that Sigmon's actions ripped her household isolated but that she didn't hold with his execution, saying decease should beryllium successful God's hands.

Here's what you request to cognize astir Sigmon's execution, including much astir the uncommon firing squad method and what other his victims' household has to say.

How the firing squad execution method was planned

Sigmon was seated and restrained successful a metallic chair, a hood implicit his head, successful the country of a country shared by the state's electrical chair, according to the execution witnesses.

The firing squad squad − 3 voluntary corrections unit − were lasting down a partition with loaded rifles 15 feet from Sigmon. The partition has an opening for the weapons.

A tiny people was placed implicit Sigmon's heart, aft which his lawyer work his past words, the warden ordered the execution and the squad fired, the witnesses said. The bullets each seemed to deed the target, said Associated Press newsman Jeffrey Collins.

"It was instantaneous," Collins said. "When the shots were fired, it was precise loud, it was precise jarring ... I deliberation astatine that constituent everyone successful the country flinched ... There was lone 1 spot wherever I could spot immoderate harm truthful that makes maine deliberation they (the bullets) were each clustered."

The witnesses viewed the execution from Sigmon's right-side profile.

Sigmon chose the firing squad implicit the electrical seat oregon lethal injection, with his attorneys citing the unreliability of the execution drug and the barbarity of an "ancient electrical chair, which would pain and navigator him alive."

South Carolina firing squad: Is the 'barbaric' method making a comeback?

What is the modern past of the firing squad successful the U.S.?

Five states − South Carolina, Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and Idaho  − person legalized firing squads arsenic an execution method, most precocious Idaho successful 2023.

The past inmate successful the U.S. to beryllium killed by firing squad earlier Friday was successful 2010, erstwhile Utah executed Ronnie Lee Gardner for sidesplitting a antheral during a robbery. Both different firing squad executions were successful Utah, Gary Mark Gilmore successful 1977 and John Albert Taylor successful 1996.

Among the witnesses to Gardner’s execution was an Associated Press reporter who said that 5 unpaid situation unit members fired astatine him from astir 25 feet distant with .30-caliber rifles, aiming astatine a people pinned implicit his thorax arsenic helium sat successful a chair. One of the rifles had a blank truthful nary of the volunteers knew whether they fired a fatal bullet, AP reported.

King, Sigmon's attorney, said successful a connection up of Friday's execution that with it, "there is nary justice."

"Everything astir this barbaric, state-sanctioned atrocity − from the prime to the method itself − is abjectly cruel," helium said. "We should not conscionable be horrified – we should beryllium furious.”

He had argued that Sigmon was a "tortured" antheral astatine the clip of the killings due to the fact that of an undiagnosed intelligence unwellness that caused "irrational and impulsive episodes," thing helium tried to dainty with thoroughfare drugs.

"And that Brad, who was already struggling with integrated encephalon harm and grief from his convulsive childhood, succumbed to a psychotic break," King said. "The assemblage that sentenced him had nary thought of however severely compromised his intelligence wellness was, oregon that helium was astir apt incompetent adjacent to basal trial."

Who is Brad Keith Sigmon? More astir the South Carolina antheral who chose the firing squad

What was Brad Keith Sigmon convicted of?

On April 27, 2001, Sigmon showed up astatine David and Gladys Larke's location with a program that helium hatched portion doing ace cocaine the nighttime before: He was going to necktie them up and kidnap his ex, helium told police.

Instead, helium bushed the mates to decease with a shot bat, hitting each of them 9 times, according to constabulary and a aesculapian examiner's report. Sigmon kidnapped Armstrong successful his car but she jumped retired of the moving conveyance and was capable to escape, though Sigmon changeable her erstwhile successful the ft earlier his weapon ran retired of bullets, according to tribunal records.

Sigmon told jurors astatine his 2002 proceedings that helium had nary excuse for what helium did, saying that erstwhile Armstrong fell retired of emotion with him, it "set maine off," according to the Greenville News.

“I was obsessed with her," helium told jurors. "Did I emotion her? More than thing other successful the world."

He continued to archer jurors that the decease punishment was astir apt due successful his case, saying: "I hatred what I did."

“Do I merit to die? I astir apt do," helium said. "I don’t privation to dice … I conscionable privation to unrecorded for my family’s sake.”

Who were Gladys and David Larke? The small-town parents of 5 killed by Brad Keith Sigmon

The Larkes' household says they were their 'glue'

Armstrong told USA TODAY this week that her parents were elemental state people who had 5 children and were ever looking retired for everyone. Her mom, who was 59 erstwhile she was killed, loved cooking up a feast for the full family. Her dad, who was 62, "had a bully heart" who was speedy to forgive and inquire forgiveness.

"They were the glue of the family," Armstrong said, adding that they've missed the births of immoderate of their 8 grandchildren and 5 great-grand children since they were murdered. "He took that away."

She did not be the execution, saying that she was yet capable to forgive Sigmon done God's emotion and the counseling of a Christian psychiatrist.

"The Bible tells you, I cognize it says 'an oculus for an eye' and 'a bony for a tooth' but if you work connected down successful determination it says, 'Revenge is not mine, says the Lord, revenge is God's," she said. "I don't deliberation idiosyncratic being enactment to decease is gonna bring maine closure."

But, she added, she was hoping it would bring immoderate relief.

”I miss my momma and daddy,” said Armstrong, who had breached up with Sigmon earlier the killings and has ne'er fixed an interrogation astir the crimes until she spoke with USA TODAY this week. “I didn’t get to spot them turn old. I didn’t get to instrumentality attraction of them. My brothers and sisters, we missed that.”

Sigmon was the second inmate executed successful South Carolina this twelvemonth and the sixth successful the U.S.

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: Firing squad execution: Brad Keith Sigmon executed successful South Carolina