The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) informed the state’s Attorney General Alan Wilson on Friday that they are now able to carry out firing squad executions. According to S.C. Code 24-3-530, the department is required by law to be able to carry out the executions.
The bill was signed into law on May 14, 2021. It makes the electric chair the primary method of execution but allows inmates to choose death by firing squad or lethal injection if those options are available.
Broad River Correctional Institution’s Capital Punishment Facility was renovated to allow for firing squad executions.
Inmates can now sit in a chair before being shot at the facility. The chair is far enough away from the electric chair that it cannot be moved. Bulletproof glass has now been installed in the witness room and death chamber. It is facing a wall with an opening about 15 feet away.
According to the department, the protocol for carrying out the execution includes three firing squad members. Through the opening, the squad confronts the inmate with rifles loaded with live ammunition. Members of the squad are SCDC employees who volunteered to be a part of it.
Witnesses to a firing squad execution will see the inmate’s right-side profile rather than facing them directly. They will be allowed to make one final statement before being tethered to the chair and wearing a hood over their heads.
The execution squad will place a small target point over the heart.
In addition, before the team opens fire, the warden gets to read the execution order. According to the department, a physician will be called in to evaluate the inmate and declare them dead.
After the execution is completed, witnesses will be escorted out.
SCDC reported spending approximately $53,600 on equipment and materials to make the modifications and add precautionary measures.
Source: WISTV
