
The South Carolina Supreme Court has given the green light for the state to carry out executions using firing squads and electrocution. This decision comes after the state passed a law in 2021 that allowed these methods, although its implementation was delayed due to lawsuits from death row inmates.
The law was designed to address the shortage of lethal injection drugs, making electrocution the default method if the drugs were unavailable. In the court’s decision, Justice John Few noted that while no method of execution is without risk, the state’s efforts to make the death penalty less inhumane were sincere. “The inescapable reality that an execution by any method may not go as planned… does not render the method ‘cruel’ under the constitution,” Few wrote.
With this ruling, South Carolina joins a small group of states that permit execution by firing squad. Since 1976, the method has only been used three times, all in Utah.
Gov. Henry McMaster praised the court’s decision, emphasizing that it upholds the rule of law and provides justice for victims’ families. “This decision is another step in ensuring that lawful sentences can be duly enforced and the families and loved ones of the victims receive the closure and justice they have long awaited,” McMaster stated.
South Carolina has not conducted an execution since 2011, but there are currently 32 inmates on death row. The approval of these execution methods is seen as a way to address the challenges posed by the shortage of lethal injection drugs and ensure that sentences can be carried out.
The use of firing squads and electrocution remains controversial, with debates focusing on the humanity and ethics of these methods. However, the state’s supreme court ruling affirms their legality and sets the stage for their potential use in future executions.