Man on death row set to die tonight in South Carolina's first ever execution by firing squad makes final plea
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: South Carolina Department of Corrections
A man on death row who's set to be executed by firing squad later on Friday (March 7) has made one final plea.
It was back in 2002 when Brad Sigmon was placed on death row after he was convicted of the double murder of his ex Rebecca Barbre's parents in South Carolina.
The now 67-year-old beat her parents to death with a baseball bat while at their home in Greenville County, according to CBS.
He then kidnapped Rebecca at gunpoint, but she escaped from his car as he attempted to shoot her.
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As well as a 30-year jail term for first-degree burglary, Sigmon received two death sentences and has been on death row ever since.
Sigmon has had numerous appeals to have his conviction overturned rejected, and his only hope is for Governor Henry McMaster to spare his life through an intervention in the coming hours.
Sigmon's attorney Bo King argues he should be spared as he was not given information about the lethal injection method when that was on the table.
"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 told WYFF4.
The inmate is making history as he's the first US prisoner to be executed by firing squad in 15 years.
The New York Post reports that Sigmon will be strapped to a chair and have a hood placed over his head as the execution takes place.
Sigmon will also have a target placed over his heart in the death chamber while three volunteers fire at him through a small opening around 15 feet away.
South Carolina grants death row inmates a choice of execution methods - either via electric chair, lethal injection or firing squad.
Just hours before Sigmon is set to be executed, King argues that he should not have received the death penalty as he was suffering from a mental illness at the time.
"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," the attorney added.
Sigmon reportedly chose three buckets of KFC as his last meal, which allowed him to share it with other inmates on death row, according to King.