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“He has a right to this choice, but it’s not an informed choice,” King said. “My frustration is we are in a world where he has to choose between being electrocuted, poisoned, or shot, and we can’t even get the most basic facts you would want to make that decision.”

History of South Carolina Executions

South Carolina halted executions in 2011 due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs after pharmaceutical companies stopped selling them for use in capital punishment. Then, in 2023, state lawmakers passed a shield law to protect the identities of drug suppliers, allowing officials to resume executions.

According to South Carolina officials, the firing squad execution process involves strapping the inmate to a chair, placing an “aim point” on the heart, and covering the head with a hood. Three shooters positioned behind a 15-foot wall then fire their rifles through an opening.

In 2022, a South Carolina judge ruled that this method "constitutes torture," calling it "cruel" and unconstitutional.

 The judge noted that the condemned person could remain conscious for at least 10 seconds after being shot. And could experience severe pain if the initial gunfire does not completely incapacitate the heart. If vital signs remain after 10 minutes, a second round of shots will be administered.

Currently, five states allow firing squads, and Idaho lawmakers are considering making it the primary execution method. The last firing squad execution in the U.S. occurred in Utah in 2010, the only state to use this method in the past 50 years.