- South Carolina resumed executions in 2024 after a 13-year pause due to drug shortages.
- Firing squad executions are markedly faster but more violent than lethal injection.
- An AP journalist recounts witnessing 11 executions, including three different methods.
- Execution protocols remain partially secret, leaving witnesses unprepared for the brutality.
As the sun dipped below the horizon on a Friday evening, the crack of rifles echoed through a South Carolina death chamber. Brad Sigmon became the state’s first inmate executed by firing squad in over a decade, a method described by eyewitnesses as jarringly abrupt compared to lethal injection. For Associated Press journalist Jeffrey Collins, this marked his 11th execution coverage – yet nothing prepared him for the visceral violence of state-sanctioned gunfire.
The firing squad process unfolded with clinical efficiency. Three volunteer shooters, hidden behind a black shade, discharged their rifles without warning. Sigmon’s body convulsed violently upon impact, the white target on his chest vanishing instantly. Collins noted the execution’s stark contrast to South Carolina’s previous lethal injections, where death came slowly through intravenous cocktails. This rapid yet brutal approach reflects growing challenges in procuring execution drugs nationwide, pushing states like South Carolina to revive archaic methods.
Psychological toll on witnesses emerges as an underreported consequence. Collins recalls haunting details from multiple executions – the mechanical thud of an electric chair’s circuit breaker in 2004, a mother’s muted sobs behind prison glass, inmates’ final moments ranging from defiant stares to serene acceptance. These experiences accumulate, creating what capital punishment experts call secondary trauma among journalists and correctional staff.
South Carolina’s execution resurgence follows strategic legal changes. After failing to secure lethal injection drugs for 13 years, legislators approved alternative methods in 2024. Death row inmates now choose between electrocution, firing squad, or lethal injection if available. This policy shift mirrors trends in Utah and Oklahoma, where drug shortages have revived interest in execution alternatives despite ethical concerns.
The state’s death row population has dwindled from 31 to 27 inmates since executions resumed. Two additional executions scheduled at five-week intervals suggest South Carolina aims to clear backlogged cases efficiently. As Collins prepares to witness his 13th execution, he reflects on capital punishment’s evolving mechanics – a system where procedural secrecy collides with humanity’s darkest impulses.
