death penalty

The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an execution date for the second of two men on death row suing the state over a new law forcing inmates to choose between dying by firing squad or the electric chair.

It's been more than a decade since Randy Gardner's brother was the last U.S. inmate executed by firing squad, years the Utah man says have been filled with nightmares about what he describes as his brother's “gruesome” death. Now, Gardner is among advocates spending time in South Carolina, speaking out about why he feels the method shouldn't be used here.

he South Carolina Supreme Court has set an execution date for one of two death row prisoners suing the state over a new law allowing inmates to choose between a firing squad or the electric chair. Court documents show Brad Sigmon's execution is scheduled for June 18. A lawsuit filed by Sigmon's attorneys earlier this month argues that he can't be electrocuted or shot because he was sentenced under an old law that made lethal injection the default execution method. State prison officials have previously said the electric chair is ready to use but they are still working on developing a firing squad.