MINUTES. WE ARE LESS THAN 24 HOURS AWAY FROM THE EXECUTION OF BRAD SIGMAN, THE CONDEMNED INMATE CHOSE TO DIE BY FIRING SQUAD. IF THE EXECUTION HAPPENS AS SCHEDULED, SIGMAN WILL BE THE FIRST INMATE TO DIE BY FIRING SQUAD IN THE U.S. IN 15 YEARS, AND THE FIRST IN SOUTH CAROLINA. HE WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING DAVID AND GLADYS LARK WITH A BASEBALL BAT IN GREENVILLE COUNTY IN 2001. OUR NATE STANLEY SPOKE WITH SIGMAN’S LAWYER ABOUT THE LAST 24 HOURS OF HIS LIFE AND THE FEW LEGAL MOVES THEY HAVE LEFT. NATE, HE SAYS THERE ARE TWO AVENUES LEFT FOR SIGMAN TO BE GRANTED CLEMENCY OR A STAY OF HIS EXECUTION, ONE BY AN APPEAL TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND ANOTHER TO SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER. THERE’S A LOT OF APPREHENSION ABOUT TOMORROW NIGHT. JUST HOURS BEFORE BRAD SIGMAN IS SET FOR A HISTORIC EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD, HIS LAWYER SAYS THEY’RE HOPING FOR A STAY OF EXECUTION. HE WANTED TO KNOW, HAD THE DRUGS EXPIRED? HAD THEY BEEN DILUTED? HAD THEY SPOILED? AND NONE OF THOSE FACTS WERE DISCLOSED. DESPITE HIS REPEATED REQUESTS. SIGMAN WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND’S PARENTS, DAVID AND GLADYS LARK, WITH A BASEBALL BAT IN GREENVILLE COUNTY. IN 2001. KING SAYS SIGMAN WAS SUFFERING FROM A MENTAL ILLNESS DURING THE CRIME AND TRIAL. THE DEATH PENALTY IS INTENDED FOR THE WORST OF THE WORST. SO IN A CASE LIKE BRAD’S, THE EVIDENCE THAT HE’S EXPERIENCING THE PSYCHIC PSYCHOTIC BREAK, THAT HE’S NOT COMPETENT AT THE TIME OF TRIAL, WE THINK THAT ARGUES AGAINST THE IMPOSITION OF THE SENTENCE. KING SAYS ON THE EVE OF SIEGMUND’S EXECUTION, HE’S FOCUSED ON THE PEOPLE HE’S MET ON DEATH ROW. A SIGN OF REHABILITATION. BRAD IS SOMEONE WHO, FOR HIS LAST MEAL, ASKED TO GET THREE BUCKETS OF ORIGINAL RECIPE KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN SO HE COULD SHARE WITH THE GUYS THAT HE’S INCARCERATED WITH ON DEATH ROW. BRAD IS SOMEONE WHO SERVED AS AN INFORMAL CHAPLAIN TO THE GUYS ON DEATH ROW. HE’S SOMEONE WHO MODELS THE KIND OF SERVICE AND MINISTRY THAT’S THE THE CENTRAL PILLAR OF HIS FAITH. AND WE WILL BE IN COLUMBIA TOMORROW FOR BRAD SIGMON SCHEDULED EXECUTION. WE’LL HAVE UPDATES ALL DAY AND BRING YOU A SUMMA
Hours before execution, Brad Sigmon’s lawyers are hoping for a stay
Sigmon is set to be the first SC inmate to die via firing squad.
Just hours before Brad Sigmon is set for a historic death via firing squad, his lawyer, Bo King, says they’re hoping for a stay of execution. King claims that Sigmon requested additional information about the lethal injection so he could make an informed decision on his choice of execution method.”He wanted to know had the drugs expired, had they been diluted, had they spoiled? And none of those facts were disclosed despite his repeated requests,” King said. Sigmon was sentenced to death for killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke, with a baseball bat in Greenville County in 2001.King says Sigmon was suffering from a mental illness during the crime and trial. “The death penalty is intended for the worst of the worst, and so in a case like Brad’s, the evidence that he’s experiencing the psychotic break, that he’s not competent at the time of trial, we think that argues against the imposition of the sentence,” he said. King said on the eve of Sigmon’s execution, he’s focused on the people he met on death row, a trait King says is a sign of rehabilitation. “Brad is someone who, for his last meal, asked to get three buckets of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken so he could share with the guys that he’s incarcerated with on death row,” he said. “Brad is someone who served as an informal chaplain to the guys on death row. He’s someone who models the kind of service and ministry that’s the central pillar of his faith.”King also says that Sigmon’s location within the prison changed unexpectedly in 2024, leaving him isolated for the last months of his life.”The realization that he’ll never see them again is weighing very heavily on him. And again, with his last meal, he wanted to share something special with them,” he said.King said there is still an appeal out in the United States Supreme Court, and a petition for clemency was given to Henry McMaster, the South Carolina governor.The WYFF News team will have extensive coverage ahead of Sigmon’s execution from South Carolina’s Department of Corrections’ Broad River Facility in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday afternoon.
COLUMBIA, S.C. —Just hours before Brad Sigmon is set for a historic death via firing squad, his lawyer, Bo King, says they’re hoping for a stay of execution.
King claims that Sigmon requested additional information about the lethal injection so he could make an informed decision on his choice of execution method.
“He wanted to know had the drugs expired, had they been diluted, had they spoiled? And none of those facts were disclosed despite his repeated requests,” King said.
Sigmon was sentenced to death for killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke, with a baseball bat in Greenville County in 2001.
King says Sigmon was suffering from a mental illness during the crime and trial.
“The death penalty is intended for the worst of the worst, and so in a case like Brad’s, the evidence that he’s experiencing the psychotic break, that he’s not competent at the time of trial, we think that argues against the imposition of the sentence,” he said.
King said on the eve of Sigmon’s execution, he’s focused on the people he met on death row, a trait King says is a sign of rehabilitation.
“Brad is someone who, for his last meal, asked to get three buckets of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken so he could share with the guys that he’s incarcerated with on death row,” he said. “Brad is someone who served as an informal chaplain to the guys on death row. He’s someone who models the kind of service and ministry that’s the central pillar of his faith.”
King also says that Sigmon’s location within the prison changed unexpectedly in 2024, leaving him isolated for the last months of his life.
“The realization that he’ll never see them again is weighing very heavily on him. And again, with his last meal, he wanted to share something special with them,” he said.
King said there is still an appeal out in the United States Supreme Court, and a petition for clemency was given to Henry McMaster, the South Carolina governor.
The WYFF News team will have extensive coverage ahead of Sigmon’s execution from South Carolina’s Department of Corrections’ Broad River Facility in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday afternoon.
