
Death Penalty-South Carolina
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law on Friday a bill that forces death row inmates to choose between the electric chair or firing squad.
A lack of lethal injection drugs brought executions to a halt back in November, and South Carolina hasn’t had an execution since 2011. According to the Associated Press, some inmates whose appeals were rejected sued the state Monday saying they can’t be electrocuted or shot since they were sentenced under a law that made lethal injection the default execution method.
McMaster tweeted about the law on Monday:
This weekend, I signed legislation into law that will allow the state to carry out a death sentence.
The families and loved ones of victims are owed closure and justice by law. Now, we can provide it.
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) May 17, 2021
Information on the passed law can be found on the South Carolina Legislature website.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, only three inmates have been killed by firing squad since 1977, 19 had died by electric chair since 2000, and South Carolina is one of eight states that can still electrocute inmates. Currently, 27 states offer the death penalty.