South Carolina death row inmate asking for postponed execution to obtain autopsy from state's last execution
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A South Carolina death row inmate who is the next person scheduled to be put to death by the state is again requesting that his execution be postponed because his lawyers have not received the autopsy report from the last execution two weeks ago.

Brad Sigmon, 67, whose execution is scheduled for March 7, had made a similar request that the state Supreme Court rejected earlier this month, but his attorneys said in a motion Friday that the situation is now more urgent because of the Feb. 21 deadline to decide his execution method, as he can choose to be killed by lethal injection, firing squad or electric chair.

Sigmon was convicted in the 2001 baseball bat killings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents at their home in Greenville County. The two were in separate rooms, investigators said, and Sigmon went back and forth between the rooms as he beat them both to death.

After killing the couple, Sigmon kidnapped his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint, but she managed to escape from his car. He shot at her as she ran away but missed.

Death chamber in Columbia, S.C.

This photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state’s death chamber in Columbia, South Carolina, including the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

Another anesthesiologist who reviewed the autopsy for the state said fluid is often found in the lungs after a lethal injection, also arguing that witness accounts and other evidence gave no indication that Moore was conscious beyond 30 seconds after the sedative was first injected.

Prison officials have not disclosed the reason why Moore needed a second massive dose or whether that is part of their normal procedures, pointing to a 2023 shield law that keeps the providers of lethal injection drugs, the identities of members of execution teams and the procedures used a secret.

In a sworn statement issued after an execution date is scheduled, Corrections Director Bryan Stirling certifies that each method is available. He said “lethal injection is available via a single dose of pentobarbital.”

Sigmon’s lawyers have yet to see the autopsy report on Marion Bowman, who was executed by lethal injection Jan. 31. There was no autopsy after the execution of Freddie Owens on Sept. 20 at his request, citing religious reasons due to his Muslim faith.

Additional information is being sought by Sigmon’s lawyers about the lethal injection drug. Requests had been rejected before the previous three executions.

Execution room

The room where inmates are executed in Columbus, South Carolina. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

His lawyers also want his execution date postponed until they can review the autopsy results.

Once one of the busiest for executions, South Carolina resumed executions in September after a 13-year pause caused in part by the state having difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs after its supply expired due to pharmaceutical companies’ concerns that they would have to disclose they had sold the drugs to state officials. The state legislature then passed the shield law allowing officials to keep lethal injection drug suppliers private.

The state Supreme Court agreed to set executions at least five weeks apart, but Sigmon’s lawyers, who also represent others on death row, want to extend that time between to 13 weeks so they can fully review previous autopsies and other reports.

South Carolina has executed 46 inmates since the death penalty was resumed in the U.S. in 1976. In the early 2000s, the state was carrying out an average of three executions per year. Only nine states have killed more inmates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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