Witness describes shocking details of Brad Sigmon’s execution by a firing squad

A WITNESS has recalled the shocking details of Brad Sigmon’s firing squad execution, revealing that the killing is “etched” in his mind.

At 67 years old, Sigmon made history by opting for execution by firing squad, a method that had not been chosen in 15 years. His end came on Friday night as he faced his fate in front of multiple onlookers.

Reporter Jeffrey Collins has witnessed executions in South Carolina for the Associated Press for over two decades.

He has watched a total of 11 people killed using three methods.

The lethal punishment involved three bullets aimed at his heart by three riflemen who volunteered for the task at the South Carolina Department of Corrections in Columbia. Jeffrey, among the witnesses, was present for the somber event.

He described seeing Sigmon sitting there with a hood over his head and target on his chest before the bullets were fired.

This individual had been found guilty of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke, with a baseball bat at their Taylor’s residence in 2001, leading to his conviction.

Sigmon chose the firing squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, which he feared would cook him alive or make it feel like he was drowning.

Jeffrey said that in the two weeks since he knew how Sigmon had chosen to die, he “read up on firing squads and the damage that can be done by the bullets” and looked over autopsy pictures of the last man shot to death by the state in Utah in 2010.

The journalist then went into detail on what it was like to witness Sigmon’s firing squad execution.

He said: “It’s impossible to know what to expect when you’ve never seen someone shot at close range right in front of you.

“The firing squad is certainly faster – and more violent – than lethal injection. It’s a lot more tense, too.

“My heart started pounding a little after Sigmon’s lawyer read his final statement.

“The hood was put over Sigmon’s head, and an employee opened the black pull shade that shielded where the three prison system volunteer shooters were.”

Jeffrey said how just two minutes later they fired, “with no warning or countdown,” which understandably “startled” the journalist.

He recalled: “The white target with the red bullseye that had been on his chest, standing out against his black prison jumpsuit, disappeared instantly as Sigmon’s whole body flinched.”

A “jagged red spot” then appeared where Sigmon was shot, around the “size of a small fist”.

Sigmon’s chest then chillingly moved “two or three times” before a doctor arrived, conducted an examination and he was declared dead.

Jeffrey added: “Then we left through the same door we came in.”

Despite Sigmon’s killing appearing to be rather blunt and abrupt, Jeffrey said he “won’t forget the crack of the rifles” or the “target disappearing”.

What also remains “etched” in the journalist’s mind is that Sigmon was “talking or mouthing toward his lawyer, trying to let him know he was OK before the hood went on”.

Sigmon’s last words were revealed, as he spoke four Bible quotes that he believed showed that “nowhere does God in the New Testament give man the authority to kill another man”.

He said: “I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty.

“An eye for an eye was used as justification to the jury for seeking the death penalty. At that time, I was too ignorant to know how wrong that was.”

He ended his speech with: “We are now under God’s grace and mercy.”

The criminal was convicted of beating to death with a baseball bat his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke, at their Taylor’s home in 2001.

Sigmon made a last gasp for life on Wednesday, when he pleaded with the Supreme Court to halt his execution.

He argued that South Carolina’s refusal to disclose information about its lethal injection procedure violates his due-process rights.

Gerald “Bo” King, Simgon’s lawyer, said it took around 20 minutes for the last three men executed in the state to die from the lethal injection.

He said Sigmon faced “an impossible choice” between bullets that will “break the bones in his chest and destroy his heart” and a having his “lungs filling with blood and fluid” after the injection.

Bo also said Sigmon avoided the chair because he feared it would “burn and cook him alive”.

A group of protesters holding signs with messages such as “All life is precious” and “Execute justice not people” gathered outside the prison before Sigmon’s execution.

BRUTAL MURDER

Sigmon pulped the couple in April 2001, just a week after breaking up with their daughter, Rebecca Barbare.

He and Rebeca had been in a relationship for around three years, living in a trailer park near David and Gladys’s home.

After a night of crack cocaine and drinking, Sigmon told a friend he was going to “get Becky for leaving him” and would “tie her parents up”, according to court documents.

When Rebecca took her kids to school, Sigmon showed up at her parents’ house armed with a baseball bat.

He bludgeoned them alternately, striking each nine times over the head.

David’s “skull was […] almost broken in two”, the court heard during the 2002 trial.

Sigmon then stole David’s gun and waiting for Rebecca to get back.

He marched her into the car at gunpoint but she managed to escape, fleeing as he blasted shots in her direction, according to the court docs.

The murderer fled the state but was captured after 11 days on the run in Tennessee.

When he was arrested, Sigmon told detectives he had planned to murder Rebecca and then turn the gun on himself.

He said: “I couldn’t have her. I wasn’t going to let anybody else have her.”