South Carolina is currently staring down a legal and ethical crossroads that most states abandoned decades ago. It’s heavy. It’s messy. Basically, the state found itself in a corner because they couldn't get their hands on lethal injection drugs. Manufacturers just stopped selling them for executions. So, the legislature looked at the situation and decided the firing squad in South Carolina was a viable, "humane" alternative. It sounds like something out of a grainy black-and-white Western, but it's the reality of the 2020s justice system in Columbia.
State officials didn't just wake up one day and decide to get "old school" for the sake of it. This was a direct response to a decade-long hiatus in executions. Since 2011, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) has been unable to carry out a single death sentence because the "cocktail" of drugs required—typically midazolam, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride—wasn't available.
The Law That Changed Everything
In May 2021, Governor Henry McMaster signed a law that basically forced inmates to choose their own ending. Before this, the default was lethal injection. If the drugs weren't there, the execution stayed on hold. The new law flipped that. Now, if lethal injection isn't available, the inmate has to pick between the electric chair and the firing squad. If they refuse to pick? The electric chair is the default.
It’s a grim choice. Honestly, most of us can't even fathom being asked to select the method of our own death. But for people like Richard Moore or Freddie Owens, this isn't a philosophy experiment. It’s their legal reality.
The state spent about $53,600 to renovate the execution chamber at the Broad River Capital Punishment Facility. They had to install a chair with restraints in the corner of the room, hidden behind a green curtain. They also added a "firing port" where three shooters—all volunteer employees from the SCDC—aim their rifles.
How the Process Actually Works
It isn't a chaotic scene. It’s clinical. The inmate is strapped into a chair. A hood is placed over their head. A small target is pinned over their heart.
Three shooters stand behind a wall. They use rifles loaded with live ammunition. Interestingly, in many historical contexts, one shooter is given a blank so no one knows for sure who fired the fatal shot, but South Carolina’s protocol focuses on the effectiveness of the hit. The goal is a rapid loss of consciousness through massive trauma to the heart and lungs.
Some experts, like Dr. Jonathan Groner, a surgeon and professor at Ohio State University, have long argued that the firing squad is actually more "reliable" than lethal injection. We've all read the horror stories of "botched" injections where the IV line fails or the inmate suffers for twenty minutes. With the firing squad, death is usually instantaneous.
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The Legal Battle and the "Cruel and Unusual" Argument
As you’d expect, lawyers for death row inmates didn't just sit back. They sued. They argued that both the electric chair and the firing squad in South Carolina violate the state constitution’s ban on "cruel, corporal, or unusual punishment."
A circuit court judge, Jocelyn Newman, initially agreed with the inmates in 2022. She called these methods "archaic." She noted that the state was essentially moving backward in time while the rest of the world moved forward. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court took a different view. In a major ruling in 2024, the court upheld the law. They essentially said that while these methods are certainly grim, they don't necessarily cross the line into "cruel" as defined by law.
Justice John Kittredge wrote for the majority. He noted that the state has an interest in carrying out lawful sentences. If the drugs aren't available, the state has to find another way. It’s a pragmatic, if cold, legal stance.
Justice Kaye Hearn, however, wrote a scathing dissent. She argued that the state was being intentionally opaque about its efforts to find lethal injection drugs. She basically suggested that the state hadn't tried hard enough to get the drugs and was using the "unavailability" as an excuse to bring back more violent methods.
The Shield Law Factor
In 2023, the state passed another law—a "shield law." This was a game-changer. It keeps the identity of drug suppliers secret.
Why does this matter? Because companies were afraid of the PR nightmare of being linked to executions. Once their names were protected, South Carolina suddenly "found" a supply of pentobarbital.
Now, the state has a three-drug option (lethal injection) and the backup options (firing squad and electric chair). In September 2024, the state carried out its first execution in 13 years. Freddie Owens was executed via lethal injection after he chose not to select a method, and his lawyer eventually opted for the needle once the drugs were available.
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Comparing the Methods: What Science Says
We tend to think of the needle as the most "civilized" way to go. It looks like a medical procedure. But is it?
- Lethal Injection: High risk of "botching." If the sedative doesn't work perfectly, the inmate can feel a burning sensation or suffocation while paralyzed.
- The Electric Chair: Invented in the late 1800s. It’s violent. It often results in burns and, in some terrible historical cases, smoke or fire.
- Firing Squad: Extreme physical trauma, but usually results in a 10-second window to unconsciousness.
When you look at the data, the firing squad has the lowest rate of "accidents" or botched attempts. Out of nearly 9,000 executions in U.S. history, the firing squad has been used only a handful of times in the modern era (mostly in Utah). None of those were considered "botched" in the way we see with injections or electrocutions.
Public Opinion in the Palmetto State
South Carolinians are split, but there’s a strong "law and order" streak in the state. Many residents feel that if someone has committed a heinous crime—like the 1997 murder of a convenience store clerk that sent Richard Moore to death row—the method of execution shouldn't be the focus.
On the flip side, religious groups and civil rights activists are vocal in their opposition. The South Carolina Catholic Council and various ACLU chapters argue that the state is engaging in "barbarism." They point out that South Carolina is one of only four states to authorize the firing squad, along with Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah.
It’s worth noting that the firing squad in South Carolina isn't just a political talking point. It represents a fundamental shift in how we view the state's power over life and death. When the state prepares a team of human beings to pull triggers on another human, it changes the psychological weight of the act. It’s much more direct than pushing a plunger on an IV.
What Happens Next for Death Row Inmates?
Right now, there are 32 men on South Carolina's death row. Not all of them are at the end of their appeals. But for those who are, the choice is looming.
The state Supreme Court has cleared the way. The "shield law" has secured the drugs. This means that while the firing squad is "available," the state will likely push for lethal injection as the primary method to avoid the international backlash that comes with a firing squad execution.
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However, the firing squad remains a legal option on the books. If the pentobarbital supply expires or the "shield law" is challenged and suppliers back out again, the rifles will be the state's go-to.
Why the Modern Firing Squad is Different
In the old days, firing squads were often military. It was about desertion or treason. Today, it's a specific protocol designed to be as "professional" as possible.
- The inmate is seated, not standing.
- The distance is exactly 15 feet.
- The rifles are .308 caliber.
- The shooters are trained marksmen.
This isn't a "squad" in the sense of a messy line of soldiers. It’s a targeted, mechanical process.
Actionable Insights and Reality Checks
If you are following this issue or researching the legalities of capital punishment, here are the core takeaways you need to understand:
- Check the Status of Appeals: Most executions are stayed not because of the method, but because of "procedural" errors in the original trial. The method only becomes the primary focus when all other legal avenues are exhausted.
- Understand the "Choice": In South Carolina, the inmate must make a choice. If they remain silent, the state chooses for them. This is a strategic move by the state to shift the "moral" burden of the method onto the inmate.
- The "Shield Law" is the Key: The future of the firing squad in South Carolina actually depends more on the "shield law" than the execution law itself. As long as the state can hide where it gets its drugs, the firing squad will likely remain a secondary, unused option.
- Watch the Federal Courts: While the state Supreme Court has ruled, there is always the possibility of a federal challenge under the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The reality is that South Carolina has rebuilt an infrastructure for an 18th-century death penalty in a 21st-century world. Whether it ever gets used remains to be seen, but the rifles are cleaned, the chamber is ready, and the law is on the state's side for now. It’s a stark reminder that in the world of criminal justice, "progress" isn't always a straight line. Sometimes it’s a circle.
For those looking to get involved or learn more about the specific cases, the South Carolina Department of Corrections website provides public records on death row rosters, though they are understandably tight-lipped about the specific identities of the execution team. Monitoring the South Carolina Supreme Court's "Opinions" page is the best way to see the next legal hurdle before it hits the mainstream news cycle.