Killer’s biblical last words before being first to be executed by firing squad in 15 years

A double-murderer quoted the Bible and called on Christians in his last words before becoming the first US death row inmate to be executed by firing squad since 2010.

Brad Sigmon, 67, turned to religion to protest the death penalty in his final words read by his lawyer, Gerald ‘Bo’ King.

‘I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty,’ stated Sigmon.

‘Nowhere does God in the New Testament give man the authority to kill another man.’

He quoted a few Bible passages addressing the law and forgiveness.

Sigmon, who was sentenced to death for fatally beating his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat, wore a black jumpsuit and was ‘completely strapped into’ a metal chair.

Moments after Sigmon’s final statement was read, officials at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia put a hood over his head.

Corrections officers fired rifles through an open portal in the wall at 6.05pm.

A small red stain emerged from the inmate’s chest.

Sigmon was declared dead at 6.08pm after a doctor examined him for a minute-and-a-half, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@usnewsrank.com.

For more stories like this, check our news page.