SCDC now able to carry out executions by firing squad

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The South Carolina Department of Corrections says it can now carry out executions by firing squad.

Back in May 2021, a new law made the electric chair the state’s primary mean of execution, with inmates having the option to choose death by firing squad or lethal injection, if supplies are available. SCDC says the Capital Punishment facility at Broad River Correctional Institution has been renovated to accommodate executions by firing squat, with the death chamber including a chair with restraints for the inmate to sit in facing an opening 15 feet away. Officials say the death chamber also now has bullet-resistant glass between it and the witness room.

SCDC says the department spent about $53,600 on supplies and materials to make the changes.