Spiritual adviser to man executed by firing squad: 'We're more than the worst thing we've done.'

(RNS) — When 67-year-old Brad Sigmon was put to death on March 7 in South Carolina for the murder of his then-girlfriend’s parents, it was the first time in 15 years that an execution in the United States had been carried out by a firing squad.

United Methodist minister Hillary Taylor, Sigmon’s spiritual adviser since 2020, said the multifaceted, months long effort to save Sigmon’s life, and to provide emotional and spiritual support for his legal team, and the aftermath of his execution has been a “whirlwind” said Taylor, the director of South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Her organization has advocated for three other death row inmates in the state over the past six months as South Carolina ramps up executions after a 13-year hiatus; the delay was caused in part by legal challenges to the lethal injection method. In 2021, a state bill gave those on death row the simplified options of electrocution or death by firing squad, which has had the effect of expediting executions.

After Sigmon chose the firing squad, suddenly, said Taylor, “I got catapulted into the movement to save his life.” She was introduced to anti-death penalty organizers around the country, and in time what had been a volunteer position with the anti-capital punishment group became a paid position.

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