A South Carolina man on death row for murder has chosen to be executed by a firing squad. Inmate Brad Sigmon is scheduled to die March 7, and will be the first person to be executed in the U.S. using the method in 15 years. Sigmon, 67, chose firing squad over electric chair and lethal injection. Scheduled in just a few weeks, he will be strapped to a chair, hood over his face, and a target on his heart, according to the Associated Press. Then, three volunteers are expected to shoot him about 15 feet away. “If he chose lethal injection, he risked the prolonged death suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September—three men Brad knew and cared for—who remained alive, strapped to a gurney, for more than twenty minutes,” his lawyer, Gerald “Bo” King, wrote. “He does not wish to inflict that pain on his family, the witnesses, or the execution team. But, given South Carolina’s unnecessary and unconscionable secrecy, Brad is choosing as best he can.” He was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001 via baseball bat, and then kidnapped his ex at gunpoint, according to the outlet.
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