COLUMBIA, S.C. — The inmate scheduled to be the first put to death under South Carolina’s recently revamped capital punishment law has filed a last-minute request seeking to halt his execution in the electric chair.
Attorneys for Brad Sigmon argued in papers filed Thursday that the state hasn’t exhausted all methods to procure lethal injection drugs. They want a judge to put a stop to his June 18 execution.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for next week.
South Carolina says it can't get lethal injection drugs, and a new law would force inmates to choose either the electric chair or a firing squad, in the event lethal injection drugs aren’t available.