1d ago

South Carolina Carries Out 'Horrifying and Violent' Firing Squad Execution of Brad Sigmon

www.commondreams.org South Carolina Carries Out 'Horrifying and Violent' Firing Squad Execution of Brad Sigmon | Common Dreams

"By executing Brad Sigmon, South Carolina has also executed the possibility of redemption," said one critic. "Our state is declaring that no matter what you do to make up for your wrongdoing, we reserve the right to kill you."

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2d ago

South Carolina Carries Out 'Horrifying and Violent' Firing Squad Execution of Brad Sigmon.

www.commondreams.org /news/brad-sigmon

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shieeeet if i was on death row, and i had a choice, i;d take the firing squad over lethal injection any day.
in case y'all didn't know lethal injection is a cocktail of 3 different drugs that were never approved by any doctor, the whole "do no harm" bit. typically its a sedative, a paralytic, and a potassium shot to seal the deal. there have been cases where people are alive and but paralyzed for way too long while the potassium is slowly and agonizingly killing then
- If I had to choose I'd prefer my head to be crushed by a rapidly falling 100 ton block of steel. Shooting in the heart is fucking crazy. Your brain will survive for quite a while as it loses blood flow/oxygen.
- There are states that have been experimenting with nitrogen, which just puts you painlessly to sleep. The pain from suffocation is caused by the buildup of carbon dioxide, not from lack of oxygen.
  If I had the option, this is hands down what I would choose.
  
  They've (probably purposefully) botched the nitrogen executions so instead of quick and painless it's slow and horrible
- Getting shot by multiple people in the chest and stomach isn't going to be any more painless.
  
  No one is arguing it's perfect or "painless", but in light of high-profile botched executions where the convict is unintentionally(?) tortured for hours before they died it seems to be the better option.
  Multiple people targeting your brain and heart... It will be worse to watch and you might cause psychological damage to anyone watching or taking part... but at least you won't suffer for long.
  EDIT:
  and stomach
  As I mentioned in another comment, they aim for the heart, from 15 feet (4.5 meters) away. And there's usually at least 3 shooters, so even if multiple people are abysmally bad marksmen, no one's dying slowly from a gut shot...
  
  They don't aim at the head. They aim at the heart. And not every rifle has a live round so no one knows who fired the killing shot. At least that's how it was traditionally done.
  
  You're right, I've since read the article and they aimed for the heart. Death was pronounced within 3 minutes of the shots. But I don't think this particular execution used the "random bullet and 2 blanks" method, or at least that's not a detail mentioned in the article:
  "He chose the firing squad knowing that three bullets would shatter his bones and destroy his heart," said King. "But that was the only choice he had, after the state's three executions by lethal injection inflicted prolonged and potentially torturous deaths on men he loved like brothers."
  
  still id rather get shot, and die of shock and blood-loss in under a minute then be paralyzed and in agony for a half hour. Lethal injection may look more humane, but appearances are deceiving, with a firing squad what you see is what you get, multiple rifle rounds turning your organs into slush.
  Edit: 3 hours of them trying to administer the lethal injection https://www.the-sun.com/news/6015918/joe-nathan-james-jr-longest-lethal-injection/
  
  Death by potassium overdose causes runaway cell death. When a cell dies and ruptures it releases potassium which then ruptures and kills other cells.
  Essentially, melting your flesh off your body from the inside.
  I'll take getting shot, thanks.
  
  It will at least be quicker!

39 comments