This past Friday, the Department of Corrections in South Carolina surprisingly announced that they were prepared to offer death penalty executions by firing squad for innates.
The department head gave the green light to the Attorney General’s office that both procedures and facilities were ready and available for the new execution alternative.
The state passed a law back in May of last year to make the execution by firing squad available to innates that had been sentenced to death. While it is known that the primary method of execution in South Carolina is the electric chair, innates are also given the option of firing squad or lethal injection, if available.
Currently, there are a total of 35 innates on death row in the state of South Carolina.
Department of Corrections spokesperson Chrysti Shain explained that the department spent around $53,600 to set up the facilities needed for the newly implemented execution alternative.
Before the execution practice is put into full effect, the state’s Supreme Court will need to approve of the specific operation of the firing squad.
The executions by firing squad will be allowed to be viewed directly by witnesses.
Amongst the offenders who are set up to become executed first are 63-year-old Brad Sigmon, who was originally convicted back in 2002 for the murder of his estranged girlfriend’s parents by beating them with a baseball bat. The estranged girlfriend decided to end the three-year-long relationship before moving back in with her parents.
43-year-old Freddie Owens was given the death penalty back in 1999 for shooting a convenience store employee in the head while attempting to rob the store, apparently the employee was struggling to open the safe. Much later on, Owens also confessed to the crime of murdering another inmate named Christopher Lee.
Those opposing the use of the death penalty have made it quite challenging for stated to obtain the chemicals used in lethal injections, in an attempt to prevent the practice of executions. Since 2013, South Carolina has been actively seeking the chemicals needed for lethal injection once it ran out therefore had to halt executions in the meantime.
