How does execution by firing squad work in South Carolina
2 years, 8 months ago

How does execution by firing squad work in South Carolina

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Death by firing squad may sound like something from America’s pioneer days but it is set to make a dramatic comeback. When the Supreme Court allowed the re-introduction of the death penalty in 1976, ending a four year constitutional ban, the first execution was carried out by a firing squad. Richard Moore was convicted of murdering a convenience store worker South Carolina, which is one of only five states to allow firing squad executions, joining Utah, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Utah, has not executed an inmate for 10 years, claiming that it has not been able to buy the drugs needed for lethal injections. Lawmakers in South Carolina changed the capital punishment statute last year to allow death by firing squad, as well as by electric chair and lethal injection.

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History of this topic

Condemned South Carolina inmate chooses to die by lethal injection
2 months ago

Condemned South Carolina inmate chooses to die by lethal injection

The Independent  

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Lethal injection, electric chair, firing squad or even nitrogen gas: the execution methods still used in the world today as one death row inmate in the US faces an impossible choice
2 months, 1 week ago

Lethal injection, electric chair, firing squad or even nitrogen gas: the execution methods still used in the world today as one death row inmate in the US faces an impossible choice

Daily Mail  

After languishing on Death Row for almost 25 years, convicted murderer Richard Moore now faces an agonising decision – choosing how he will be executed. Richard Moore, 59, a South Carolina Death Row inmate, has the choice to either die by the firing squad, electric chair or lethal injection Moore has now been on South Carolina's Death Row for 23 …

South Carolina inmate dies by lethal injection in state’s first execution in 13 years
3 months ago

South Carolina inmate dies by lethal injection in state’s first execution in 13 years

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina put inmate Freddie Owens to death Friday as the state restarted executions after an unintended 13-year pause because prison officials couldn’t get the drugs needed for lethal injections. South Carolina’s governor and corrections director swiftly filed a reply, stating the high court should reject Owens’ petition. First execution in 13 years Owens may be the …

Is South Carolina Willing to Heed the Clearest Lesson We Have About Executions?
54 years, 11 months ago

Is South Carolina Willing to Heed the Clearest Lesson We Have About Executions?

Slate  

Carrying out an execution is always a complicated business that takes a horrible toll on anyone who is associated with it. On Monday, the South Carolina Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the state’s next execution and also agreed to consider a request from four of the state’s death-row inmates that South Carolina wait at least three months between executions. …

South Carolina prison director says electric chair, firing squad and lethal injection ready to go
3 months, 3 weeks ago

South Carolina prison director says electric chair, firing squad and lethal injection ready to go

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s prisons director said Wednesday that state’s supply of a lethal injection drug is pure, its electric chair was tested two months ago and its firing squad has the ammunition and training to carry out its first execution next month in more than 13 years. Corrections Director Bryan Stirling was ordered by the state Supreme Court …

South Carolina prison director says electric chair, firing squad and lethal injection ready to go
3 months, 3 weeks ago

South Carolina prison director says electric chair, firing squad and lethal injection ready to go

The Independent  

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South Carolina Supreme Court to decide minimum time between executions
3 months, 3 weeks ago

South Carolina Supreme Court to decide minimum time between executions

The Independent  

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South Carolina sets date for first execution in more than 13 years
4 months ago

South Carolina sets date for first execution in more than 13 years

The Independent  

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South Carolina sets date for first execution in more than 13 years
4 months ago

South Carolina sets date for first execution in more than 13 years

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has set a Sept. 20 date to put inmate Freddie Eugene Owens to death in what would be the state’s first execution in more than 13 years. He must also give Owens’ lawyers proof that the lethal injection drug is stable and correctly mixed, according to the high court’s 2023 interpretation of the state’s secrecy …

South Carolina Supreme Court rules state death penalty including firing squad is legal
4 months, 3 weeks ago

South Carolina Supreme Court rules state death penalty including firing squad is legal

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina can execute death row inmates by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair, the state’s high court ruled Wednesday, opening the door to restart executions after more than a decade. South Carolina allowing inmates to choose from the three execution methods is far from an effort to inflict pain but a sincere attempt at …

South Carolina Supreme Court rules state death penalty including firing squad is legal
4 months, 3 weeks ago

South Carolina Supreme Court rules state death penalty including firing squad is legal

CNN  

COLUMBIA, S.C. AP — The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state’s death penalty, which now includes a firing squad as well as lethal injection and the electric chair, is legal. The Supreme Court allowed the inmates to add arguments that the shield law was too secret by not releasing the potency, purity and stabilization of lethal injection …

South Carolina wants to restart executions by firing squad, electric chair and lethal injection
10 months, 2 weeks ago

South Carolina wants to restart executions by firing squad, electric chair and lethal injection

Hindustan Times  

Lawyers for four death row inmates who have run out of appeals are expected to argue to the South Carolina Supreme Court that the state's old electric chair and new firing squad are cruel and unusual punishments. If the Supreme Court justices allow executions to restart and any additional appeals are unsuccessful, South Carolina's death chamber, unused since May 2011, …

South Carolina wants to restart executions with firing squad, electric chair and lethal injection
10 months, 2 weeks ago

South Carolina wants to restart executions with firing squad, electric chair and lethal injection

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawyers for four death row inmates who have run out of appeals argued to the South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday that the state’s old electric chair and new firing squad are cruel and unusual punishments. And they got a lawyer for the inmates to say if the Supreme Court bans electrocution and the firing squad and …

South Carolina has lethal injection drug but justices want more info before restarting executions
1 year, 1 month ago

South Carolina has lethal injection drug but justices want more info before restarting executions

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s highest court apparently is not ready to allow the state to restart executions after more than 12 years until they hear more arguments about newly obtained lethal injection drugs as well as a recently added firing squad and the old electric chair. South Carolina has not carried out an execution since 2011 after the state’s …

South Carolina inmates want executions paused while new lethal injection method is studied
1 year, 2 months ago

South Carolina inmates want executions paused while new lethal injection method is studied

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawyers for six death row inmates out of appeals in South Carolina are asking the state Supreme Court to give full consideration to the state’s new lethal injection rules as well as the electric chair and firing squad before restarting executions after an unintended 12-year pause. The inmates said judges should decide now if the state’s new …

After unintended 12-year pause, South Carolina secures drug to resume lethal injections
1 year, 3 months ago

After unintended 12-year pause, South Carolina secures drug to resume lethal injections

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has obtained a drug needed to carry out lethal injections and is ready to perform the state’s first execution in over 12 years, officials announced Tuesday. The South Carolina General Assembly passed a shield law in May allowing the state to keep secret the procedure for executions and the suppliers of drugs or other items …

Executions may return to South Carolina; shield law nears OK
1 year, 7 months ago

Executions may return to South Carolina; shield law nears OK

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill that would allow South Carolina to buy the drugs needed for lethal injection without revealing the name of the company who sells them will soon be heading for the governor’s desk. South Carolina has had an unintended 12-year moratorium on the death penalty after its lethal injection drugs passed their expiration date and pharmacies refused …

South Carolina gets closer to lethal injection secrecy
1 year, 8 months ago

South Carolina gets closer to lethal injection secrecy

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — After an unintended 12-year moratorium on the death penalty in South Carolina, the state House gave key approval Wednesday to allow the name of any company that sells lethal injection drugs to remain secret, as well as members of the execution team. “Just bring out a dead body.” Sixteen states have carried out nearly 100 lethal injection …

Why executions by firing squad may be coming back in the US
1 year, 8 months ago

Why executions by firing squad may be coming back in the US

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — The image of gunmen in a row firing in unison at a condemned prisoner may conjure up a bygone, less enlightened era. Some, including a few Supreme Court justices, view firing squads as less cruel than lethal injections, despite the violence involved in riddling bodies with bullets. Under Idaho’s bill, firing squads would be used only if executioners …

S. Carolina bill shielding death penalty drugmakers advances
1 year, 10 months ago

S. Carolina bill shielding death penalty drugmakers advances

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republicans’ quest to resume executions in South Carolina overcame another hurdle Thursday. The state Senate Corrections and Penology Committee approved a bill that would shield the identities of the companies that dispense the drug cocktail used to execute people on death row. Recent sessions have seen futile attempts to begin executing the state’s death row prisoners — …

Court demands more info in South Carolina death penalty case
1 year, 10 months ago

Court demands more info in South Carolina death penalty case

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court ordered a lower court to collect more information from the Department of Corrections regarding the state agency’s attempts to acquire lethal injection drugs. The order reversed a previous ruling that denied the plaintiffs’ request for such information from the circuit court, which Chief Justice Donald Beatty wrote “abused its discretion.” “Inmates’ discovery …

South Carolina still seeking a way to hold executions
1 year, 11 months ago

South Carolina still seeking a way to hold executions

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As judges decide if the electric chair or a firing squad are legal execution methods in South Carolina, lawmakers are trying to figure out how 14 other states have managed to get the drugs for lethal injections. About 30 inmates are on death row and four of the condemned are out of appeals, but South Carolina’s last …

Electric chair, firing squad’s legality at S. Carolina court
1 year, 11 months ago

Electric chair, firing squad’s legality at S. Carolina court

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s highest court heard arguments Thursday on whether a newly organized firing squad or the old electric chair are legal ways to execute inmates in the state, which has been unable to obtain drugs for lethal injections. The state appealed and the South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments for nearly three hours Thursday over whether the …

South Carolina Judge Bars State Executions Method Similar to “Being Burned Alive” and “Torture”
54 years, 11 months ago

South Carolina Judge Bars State Executions Method Similar to “Being Burned Alive” and “Torture”

Slate  

Death in the electric chair is like “being burned alive.” The firing squad is like “torture.” Those were the conclusions of a truly unprecedented judicial “two-for.” On Wednesday, a South Carolina state judge, Jocelyn Newman, relying in large part on that state’s constitution, struck down two methods of execution at once. Key to their suit was their contention that “both …

Judge says SC electric chair, firing squad unconstitutional
2 years, 3 months ago

Judge says SC electric chair, firing squad unconstitutional

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina judge ruled Tuesday that the state’s newly created execution firing squad, as well as its use of the electric chair, are unconstitutional, siding with four death row inmates in a decision sure to be swiftly appealed as the state struggles to implement its new execution protocols. Attorneys for the state countered with their own …

Judge to decide if firing squad or electric chair is cruel
2 years, 4 months ago

Judge to decide if firing squad or electric chair is cruel

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Whether South Carolina can start executing prisoners again either with a firing squad or electric chair is now in the hands of a judge after a trial over whether shooting or electrocuting inmates is cruel and unusual punishment banned by the U.S. Constitution. Lawyers for four death row inmates argued this week the prisoners would feel terrible …

Man leaves S Carolina death row as firing squad trial starts
2 years, 4 months ago

Man leaves S Carolina death row as firing squad trial starts

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina inmate who killed four people in two states is off death row after a federal appeals court ruled the judge who sentenced him to die nearly two decades ago did not consider his abusive childhood or mental illness. The ruling last week means the number of prisoners on South Carolina’s death row has been …

EXPLAINED: How US State of South Carolina Execution Firing Squad Works
2 years, 7 months ago

EXPLAINED: How US State of South Carolina Execution Firing Squad Works

News 18  

It’s unknown how long a stay will hold off the execution of Richard Bernard Moore — South Carolina’s first-ever inmate to be put to death by a firing squad — as his attorneys pursue legal challenges. South Carolina just instituted the firing squad option last year, giving condemned inmates the choice between that and electrocution, prompted by an inability to …

EXPLAINER: How South Carolina execution firing squad works
2 years, 8 months ago

EXPLAINER: How South Carolina execution firing squad works

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s unknown how long a stay will hold off the execution of Richard Bernard Moore — South Carolina’s first-ever inmate to be put to death by a firing squad — as his attorneys pursue legal challenges. South Carolina just instituted the firing squad option last year, giving condemned inmates the choice between that and electrocution, prompted by …

EXPLAINER: How South Carolina execution firing squad works
2 years, 8 months ago

EXPLAINER: How South Carolina execution firing squad works

The Independent  

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2nd SC execution on hold after court halts firing squad plan
2 years, 8 months ago

2nd SC execution on hold after court halts firing squad plan

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s highest court, two days after pausing plans for a rare firing squad execution, announced Friday that it was putting another execution on hold as inmates challenge the constitutionality of the state’s capital punishment methods. The order comes after the court this week temporarily blocked the state from executing Richard Bernard Moore, whose scheduled April 29 …

Court halts South Carolina plan for firing squad execution
2 years, 8 months ago

Court halts South Carolina plan for firing squad execution

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s highest court on Wednesday issued a temporary stay blocking the state from carrying out what was set to be its first-ever firing squad execution. Attorneys for the 57-year-old inmate had sought a stay, citing pending litigation in another court challenging the constitutionality of South Carolina’s execution methods, which also include the electric chair. Moore’s execution …

On Death Row for 2 Decades, South Carolina Inmate Picks the Firing Squad Over Electric Chair
2 years, 8 months ago

On Death Row for 2 Decades, South Carolina Inmate Picks the Firing Squad Over Electric Chair

News 18  

A South Carolina prisoner scheduled to be the first man executed in the state in more than a decade has decided to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair later this month, according to court documents filed Friday. Moore’s would mark the first since Ronnie Lee Gardner ‘s 2010 execution by a five-person firing squad in Utah. …

South Carolina inmate picks firing squad over electric chair
2 years, 8 months ago

South Carolina inmate picks firing squad over electric chair

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina prisoner scheduled to be the first man executed in the state in more than a decade has decided to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair later this month, according to court documents filed Friday. Moore’s would mark the first since Ronnie Lee Gardner ’s 2010 execution by a five-person firing …

First death row inmate to face execution in South Carolina in a decade chooses to die by firing squad
2 years, 8 months ago

First death row inmate to face execution in South Carolina in a decade chooses to die by firing squad

The Independent  

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South Carolina Inmate Picks Firing Squad Over Electric Chair
2 years, 8 months ago

South Carolina Inmate Picks Firing Squad Over Electric Chair

Huff Post  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina prisoner scheduled to be the first man executed in the state in more than a decade has decided to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair later this month, according to court documents filed Friday. South Carolina-Execution via Associated Press Moore’s attorneys have asked the state Supreme Court to delay his …

South Carolina inmate picks firing squad over electric chair
2 years, 8 months ago

South Carolina inmate picks firing squad over electric chair

The Independent  

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South Carolina death row inmate chooses to be executed by firing squad over the electric chair
2 years, 8 months ago

South Carolina death row inmate chooses to be executed by firing squad over the electric chair

CNN  

CNN — A man sentenced to death in South Carolina has chosen to be executed by firing squad rather than the electric chair, which would make him the first death row inmate to die by firing squad in the state. Last year, the South Carolina legislature passed a law which made electrocution the state’s primary execution method, though death row …

South Carolina death row inmate picks firing squad over electric chair for execution
2 years, 8 months ago

South Carolina death row inmate picks firing squad over electric chair for execution

LA Times  

Richard Moore, a South Carolina inmate set to be executed later this month, has chosen to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair. A South Carolina prisoner scheduled to be the first man executed in the state in more than a decade has decided to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair later this …

Lawsuit over South Carolina execution methods can go forward
2 years, 8 months ago

Lawsuit over South Carolina execution methods can go forward

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A judge ruled Thursday that a lawsuit brought by four death row inmates challenging South Carolina’s execution methods can move forward as the state attempts to carry out its first execution in more than a decade. Moore, 57, is also first state prisoner to face the choice of execution methods after a law went into effect last …

Inmate asks judges to halt firing squad or electrocution
2 years, 8 months ago

Inmate asks judges to halt firing squad or electrocution

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina inmate set to die either by a firing squad or in the electric chair later this month is asking the state Supreme Court to halt his execution until judges can determine if either method is cruel and unusual punishment. Moore’s lawyers said judges need to review South Carolina’s new firing squad rules to see …

S. Carolina schedules 1st execution with firing squad ready
2 years, 8 months ago

S. Carolina schedules 1st execution with firing squad ready

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has scheduled its first execution after corrections officials finished updating the death chamber to prepare for executions by firing squad. Moore could face a choice between the electric chair and the firing squad, two options available to death row prisoners after legislators altered the state’s capital punishment law last year in an effort to work …

2 SC death row inmates ask court not to schedule executions
2 years, 9 months ago

2 SC death row inmates ask court not to schedule executions

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawyers for two men on South Carolina’s death row have asked the state’s Supreme Court to hold off on setting execution dates while they challenge a new law allowing executions by firing squad. Prisons officials began preparing for a firing squad after legislators altered the state’s capital punishment law in an effort to work around a decade-long …

South Carolina Now Ready To Carry Out Executions By Firing Squad
2 years, 9 months ago

South Carolina Now Ready To Carry Out Executions By Firing Squad

Huff Post  

South Carolina is now prepared to carry out executions by firing squad, the Department of Corrections said in a chilling statement Friday. After a law was passed last year allowing firing squads, the state spent $53,000 to renovate the capital punishment facility at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia “to include the capacity to perform an execution by firing squad,” …

Firing-squad executions get the greenlight in South Carolina
2 years, 9 months ago

Firing-squad executions get the greenlight in South Carolina

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has given the greenlight to firing-squad executions, a method codified into state law last year after a decade-long pause in carrying out death sentences because of the state’s inability to procure lethal injection drugs. During South Carolina’s lengthy debate, Democratic state Sen. Dick Harpootlian — a prosecutor-turned-criminal-defense lawyer — introduced the firing squad option. In …

South Carolina can now carry out firing-squad executions
2 years, 9 months ago

South Carolina can now carry out firing-squad executions

CNN  

Washington CNN — The South Carolina Department of Corrections said Friday that it can now carry out executions by firing squad in the state should death row inmates choose the method. Henry McMaster, a Republican, signed a bill into law that made the electric chair the state’s primary means of execution but allowed inmates the option to instead choose firing …

2 South Carolina executions halted until firing squad formed
3 years, 6 months ago

2 South Carolina executions halted until firing squad formed

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked the planned executions of two inmates by electrocution, saying they cannot be put to death until they truly have the choice of a firing squad option set out in the state’s newly revised capital punishment law. The state’s plans, the court wrote in an unanimous order, are on hold …

South Carolina inmates want deaths delayed during appeal
3 years, 6 months ago

South Carolina inmates want deaths delayed during appeal

Associated Press  

Days before what could be South Carolina’s first execution in a decade, the two inmates scheduled to die this month under the state’s recently revamped capital punishment statute want an emergency order to stop their planned electrocutions while they appeal their cases. Attorneys for both men have argued that South Carolina hasn’t tried hard enough to get lethal injection drugs …

Federal judge asked to halt 2 South Carolina electrocutions
3 years, 6 months ago

Federal judge asked to halt 2 South Carolina electrocutions

Associated Press  

FLORENCE, S.C. — Attorneys for two prisoners facing death by electrocution under South Carolina’s new capital punishment law are asking a federal judge to block their executions scheduled later this month, describing the electric chair as a particularly cruel and mutilating method of killing. The South Carolina Supreme Court set Sigmon’s execution for June 18 after prison officials indicated the …

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