Brad Keith Sigmon Final Words Before South Carolina Execution
March 8, 2025
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Brad Keith Sigmon called for an end to the death penalty before he was executed by firing squad in South Carolina on Friday.
Why It Matters
The death penalty is a legal form of criminal punishment in 27 states. Governors in California, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Ohio have currently placed executions on hold.
A poll taken by Gallup in October of last year found that 53 percent of Americans are in favor of the death penalty, but the number differs across generations. Less than half of millennial and Gen Z adults support the punishment.
What To Know
Sigmon, 67, was killed at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, at 6:08 p.m. He was the second death row inmate executed in the state this year.
This undated image provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Brad Sigmon. This undated image provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Brad Sigmon. South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP, File
“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,” Sigmon said.
He continued, “Why? Because we no longer live under the Old Testament law but now live under the New Testament.”
The killing was the first execution by firing squad in the state’s history. The last execution by firing squad happened in Utah in 2010.
In 2002, Sigmon was found guilty of two counts of murder and one count of burglary. He was sentenced to death for the two murder counts and 30 years in prison for the burglary charge.
Prior to the murders, Sigmon was in a romantic relationship with Rebecca Barbare. The two lived in a trailer close to her parents’ home until Barbare ended the relationship and moved in with her parents.
On April 27, 2001, Sigmon entered the home of Barbare’s parents and began beating them with a baseball bat.
William David Larke, 62, and Gladys Larke, 59, sustained nine blows to their heads.
A manhunt for Sigmon ensued. He was captured in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, after 11 days on the run.
The Supreme Court rejected Sigmon’s appeal on January 11, 2021. The Court denied his request for a stay of his execution on Friday.
Gerald “Bo” King, Sigmon’s lawyer, asked the South Carolina Supreme Court to halt the execution in a filing last week. King said that Sigmon chose firing squad due to concerns with the use of lethal injection in South Carolina’s last three executions.
Marion Bowman Jr., who was executed by lethal injection in South Carolina on January 31, “died with his lungs massively swollen with blood and fluid,” akin to “drowning,” according to the state’s autopsy report.
King argued that the state needed to provide more information about the protocol for lethal injections in order for Sigmon to have made a fair choice.
State prosecutors argued that Sigmon “waived any argument about lethal injection” when he chose death by firing squad.
What People Are Saying
King, in a legal filing: “He’s made the best choice that he can, but the fact that he had to make it at all is horrifying.”
What Happens Next
The next execution is scheduled for March 13 in Texas. David Leonard Wood is expected to be killed by lethal injection.
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