Brad Sigmon executed by firing squad in South Carolina for 2001 double murder
Brad Keith Sigmon, 67, was put to death by firing squad in South Carolina after killing his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in 2001.
Sigmon executed by firing squad after bludgeoning ex-girlfriend's parents to death
Brad Keith Sigmon, 67, was executed by firing squad on 8 March 2025 at the South Carolina Department of Corrections, irishmirror.ie reports. He had spent more than two decades on death row following the 2001 murders of David and Gladys Larke in Greenville County.
Sigmon had been in a relationship with the couple's daughter, Rebecca Barbare, for approximately three years. The pair lived in a trailer park close to David and Gladys' home. After Rebecca ended the relationship, Sigmon told an acquaintance he intended to "get Becky for leaving him" and would "tie her parents up", according to court documents. He had been drinking and using crack cocaine that evening.
Armed with a baseball bat, Sigmon forced his way into the Larke home and struck each parent nine times about the head. During the 2002 trial, the court heard that David's "skull was almost broken in two." Sigmon then took David's firearm and attempted to force Rebecca toward his vehicle. She managed to escape as he fired shots in her direction.
He fled the scene, prompting an 11-day police manhunt that concluded in Tennessee. Sigmon was convicted and sentenced in 2002 and remained on death row until early 2025.
Sigmon had selected the firing squad over the electric chair, which he feared would "burn and cook him alive," his lawyer stated. On the morning of the execution, he was secured to a chair inside the death chamber. A hood was placed over his head and a bullseye target fixed to his chest. Three volunteer riflemen were positioned behind a curtain less than fifteen feet away; a basin had been placed beneath the chair to collect blood.
His lawyer read Sigmon's final statement aloud moments before the shots were fired at 6:05pm. "I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty," Sigmon said. "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... We are now under God's grace and mercy."
Three members of the Larke family and Sigmon's spiritual adviser were present to witness the execution. After he was shot, his chest rose and fell several times. The execution was carried out using .308 Winchester Tap Urban bullets. The extent of pain inflicted by this type of ammunition remains a subject of debate among experts.
Source: The Sun