Brother of death row inmate speaks out about final moments after state's first ever execution by firing squad
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: South Carolina Department of Corrections
The brother of a death row inmate who was recently executed has shared details about his sibling's final moments.
On Friday (March 7), Brad Sigmon became the first person to die by firing squad in the US in 15 years.
In the early 2000s, Sigmon murdered David and Gladys Larke — the parents of his ex-girlfriend.
Sigmon's choice to by killed by firing squad raised eyebrows, as it's not the usual method chosen by inmates, but his lawyers said he feared that he'd be 'cooked alive' if he died by electric chair.
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Meanwhile, in a latch-ditch plea to postpone his execution, Sigmon's team argued he was somewhat forced into choosing the firing squad because he wasn't given enough information about the lethal injection protocols.
Despite their efforts to delay his death, Sigmon's execution went ahead as planned and he was pronounced dead at 6:08 pm local time on Friday.
Now his brother, Mike Sigmon, has spoken out and shared his sibling's final moments.
"He had a proud face when he sat down to be shot," he told the New York Post.
"I’m never going to feel relieved about it but he said what he wanted to say and he died the way he wanted to die."
Sigmon has three brothers and two sisters, all of whom visited him in prison ahead of his execution, says Mike.
One of Sigmon's sons also had a private visit with him.
Mike says that Sigmon wanted to die back in 2001 after he murdered the Larkes.
"He’s been apologetic since the day he was captured," he said of his late brother.
"He wanted death by cop. He called my mom and she said you know my phone is tapped. He knew. He wanted to pretend he had a gun behind his back so the cops would shoot him but they tackled him so fast he had no time to react."
Apparently their mom has since developed Alzheimer's disease and resides in a nursing home.
With her condition in mind, Mike said that they haven't informed her of her son's recent execution and don't have any plans to tell her.
Sigmon's lawyers have also spoken out following his death.
"Brad only wanted assurances that these drugs were not expired, or diluted, or spoiled - what any of us would want to know about the medication we take, or the food we eat, much less the means of our death," Bo King said in a statement after his death, as per BBC News.
"It is unfathomable that, in 2025, South Carolina would execute one of its citizens in this bloody spectacle."