South Carolina in the United States completed renovations required by law that will enable the state to carry out executions by firing squad.
The South Carolina Department of Corrections released a report on the completed renovations on Friday March 18, 2022.
The renovations along with South Carolina legislation which came into law on May 14, 2021, give death row inmates the option of choosing their method of execution and allow for the use of firing squads.
The law makes the electric chair the state’s primary method of execution while giving inmates the option of choosing to be executed by firing squad or lethal injection if available.
South Carolina reportedly spent $53,600 on the renovations to enable firing squad executions.
According to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, only three people have been executed by firing squad in the U.S. since 1976.
Lethal injection is the most commonly used method of execution in the United States with 1,363 reportedly being carried out since 1976. In 2021, 11 executions were carried out in the United States.
