South Carolina dey allow witnesses to observe executions wey di state dey carry out
One South Carolina prison inmate wey chop accuse say e kill im ex-girlfriend parents wit baseball bat go be di first pesin dem go execute by firing squad for di first time in 15 years.
If Brad Sigmon execution go as planned on Friday by 18:00 local time (23:00 GMT), three volunteers wey dey on standby behind one curtain go at di same time fire rifles for im chest wit specially designed bullets.
Di state procedure compulsory say dem must tie those wey dem put to death by firing squad must to a chair wen dem enta di execution chamber. Di inmate come get one target dem go put on im heart and one bag dem go put ova im head.
Court find 67-year-old Sigmon guilty of murdering David and Gladys Larke for 2001, bifor e kidnap im ex-girlfriend for gunpoint. She later escape as e try to shoot her.
Dem offer am di alternatives of death by electric chair or lethal injection, Sigmon lawyers say e chose di more violent process becos of im concerns about di effectiveness of di oda two methods.
E go be di first pesin dem go execute by firing squad for US since 2010, and only di fourth since di kontri reintroduce death penalty for 1976.
Di case
Dem charge Sigmon wit murder for 2001 afta investigators tok say e kill im ex-girlfriend parents for dia house for Greenville County, e beat dem wit one bat.
E also tell detectives say im bin dey plan to harm im ex-girlfriend bifor she escape.
“I no fit have her. I no go allow anybody else have her,” e tell dem.
Di South Carolina Supreme Court dis week reject one request from Sigmon lawyers to intervene. Dem want more time to sabi about di drug South Carolina dey use for lethal injections and dem question wed aim 2002 legal representation dey adequate.
E dey expected say dat go be im final appeal ahead of Friday planned execution.
No South Carolina govnor don grant mercy to any inmate wey dey face execution since di US legalise death penalty again for 1976, according to di Death Penalty Information Center.
How execution dey work
Execution by firing squad dey complex.
Dem go tie Sigmon for chair wit one basin dem build below am to catch im blood. Dem go put one target for im chest and one bag ova im head.
Three volunteers wey dey hide for di back of one curtain go come fire am from 15ft (4.6m) away.
Di bullets dem dey use dey designed to break apart on impact and cause maximum damage. Medical experts don debate di amount of pain wey dia use dey cause.
Afta dem fire di shots, one doctor go confam Sigmon death.
Di state dey allow witnesses to observe di death from behind bulletproof glass, but dem go hide di executioners from view to protect dia identities.
South Carolina bin pass one law for 2023 wey require say di identities of di execution team members must be secret.
E also forbid di publication of information wey relate to di procurement of lethal injection drugs, as plenty pharmaceutical companies don refuse to provide dem for state executions.
Di American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) bin file one lawsuit wey challenge di state law for January.
How common is death by firing squad for South Carolina?
South Carolina don spend $54,000 (£41,841) to build dia firing squad area for 2022 as suppliers refuse to provide prison officials wit di lethal chemicals wey dey needed for death by injection.
Di 2023 law now dey protect many details about di lethal injection procedure, including di names of suppliers and di exact contents.
Dem dey electrocute most of di inmates dem dey sentence to death for di state, but di three most recent executions na by injections wey include pentobarbital.
Dem declare di three men dead 20 minutes afta dem give dem di injection, though e be like say dem to stop to dey breathe afta few minutes.
Di lack of information about these executions don attract criticism for im lack of transparency.
“Dis ban no only further depart from di state history of making execution-related information publicly available but e criminalise di disclosure of dis information by anyone for any reason,” Di ACLU bin argue fir dia legal complaint.
“It thus silences di scientists, doctors, journalists, former correctional officials, lawyers, and citizens wey don scrutinize di safety, efficacy, morality, and legality of South Carolina use of lethal injection.”
Sigmon don express concern about di effectiveness of lethal injection.
South Carolina don release only one of two available autopsies from these deaths, wey Sigmon lawyer say show unusual amounts of fluid for di pesin lungs.
Speaking about di decision not to die by injection, im attorney tell AP: “E no wish to inflict dat pain on im family, di witnesses, or di execution team. But, given South Carolina unnecessary and unconscionable secrecy, Brad dey choose as best e fit.”
Nationally, na only three pipo don die by firing squad since 1976.
