Otis Singleton
South Carolina has a long history of capital punishment, including the use of the electric chair. In 1944, 14-year-old George Stinney became the youngest person executed by electrocution in the state, though his conviction was later overturned. South Carolina has not executed a prisoner in over a decade due to difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. In 2021, the state passed a law making the electric chair the default method of execution, with a firing squad or lethal injection as alternatives. However, the use of the electric chair and firing squad has been challenged in court as cruel and unusual punishments, with a Richland County court ruling them unconstitutional in 2022. The debate over the legality and ethics of these execution methods in South Carolina continues.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Electric chair legality | Legal method of killing prisoners in the state for over a century, but ruled unconstitutional in 2022 |
| Recent executions | No executions in nearly 12 years |
| Alternative methods | Firing squad and lethal injection |
| Lethal injection supply | Expired and pharmaceutical companies refuse to sell more |
| Recent developments | South Carolina Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether the electric chair, firing squad, or lethal injection are cruel and unusual punishments |
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What You'll Learn
South Carolina's electric chair history
South Carolina's electric chair was purchased in 1912 from the New Jersey-based Adams Electric Company. It cost the state $2,800, or about $77,000 adjusted for inflation, and was part of an $8,000 project to construct a new "death house" in Columbia. The chair is made of oak and copper and is "about the size of an ordinary rocker". The electrical components have been updated "as needed", but the wooden chair has remained the same since 1912.
The electric chair was South Carolina's primary execution method for most of the 20th century. Lethal injection was introduced in 1995 and became death row inmates' preferred choice as it was considered more humane. However, in 2021, South Carolina passed a law making the electric chair the default method of execution instead of lethal injection. This was due to the state's inability to acquire drugs for lethal injections.
The electric chair has a long and controversial history in South Carolina. It has been used 248 times, with the most frequent use occurring between 1931 and 1940, when there were 68 executions using the chair. The youngest person to be executed in the electric chair was 14-year-old George Stinney Jr., who was put to death in 1944. Stinney was the youngest person legally executed in the United States in the 20th century, and his conviction was overturned in 2014 on the grounds that he did not receive a fair trial.
In 2022, a Richland County court ruled that both electrocution and the firing squad violate the South Carolina Constitution, which bans methods that are "cruel, unusual, or corporal". The court found that the electric chair is no longer viewed as a reliable method of administering a painless death and that the underlying assumptions upon which it is based have been disproven. As a result, the court concluded that it was time to retire South Carolina's electric chair as a violation of the state's constitution.
Despite this ruling, the Supreme Court of South Carolina ruled in July 2024 that electrocution and firing squad were legal methods of execution. South Carolina's electric chair could be used for the first time since 2008 if the scheduled execution of Brad Sigmon took place on June 18, 2021.
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Is electrocution legal in South Carolina?
The electric chair has been a legal method of execution in South Carolina for over a century. In 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly passed a law making the electric chair the default method of execution instead of lethal injection. This was due to the state's inability to obtain lethal injection drugs, as their supply had expired in 2013 and pharmaceutical companies refused to sell them more.
However, in 2022, a Richland County court ruled that both electrocution and the firing squad violate the South Carolina Constitution, which bans methods that are "cruel, unusual, or corporal". The court found that there was no evidence that electrocution could instantaneously or painlessly kill an inmate, and that the idea of the electric chair inducing instant unconsciousness was based on "underlying assumptions [...] that have since been disproven".
Despite this ruling, South Carolina has continued to pursue the use of the electric chair, the firing squad, and lethal injection for executions. In 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments on whether these methods of execution were cruel and unusual punishments. The state argued that all three methods fit existing protocols, and that "courts have never held the death has to be instantaneous or painless".
As of 2024, electrocution remains an option for execution in South Carolina, along with lethal injection and the firing squad.
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South Carolina's execution methods
South Carolina has not executed a prisoner in over 12 years. The state's supply of lethal injection drugs expired in 2013, and pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell them more. In 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly passed a law making the electric chair the default method of execution instead of lethal injection. This law also allowed prisoners to choose between the newly created firing squad or lethal injection if it was available.
In 2022, a Richland County judge declared that the firing squad and electrocution were both in violation of the South Carolina State Constitution, which bans methods that are "cruel, unusual, or corporal". The judge stated that there was no evidence that electrocution could instantaneously or painlessly kill an inmate, and that the idea of the electric chair inducing instant unconsciousness was based on "underlying assumptions [...] that have since been disproven". The ruling led to a permanent injunction being issued against both methods of execution.
However, in July 2024, the Supreme Court of South Carolina ruled that electrocution and firing squad were legal methods of execution. As of 2024, South Carolina is one of only nine U.S. states that still reserve the electric chair as an option for execution.
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Firing squad vs. electric chair
South Carolina has not executed a prisoner in over 12 years. The state's supply of lethal injection drugs has expired, and pharmaceutical companies refuse to sell them more. In 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly passed a law making the electric chair the default method of execution instead of lethal injection. However, in 2022, a Richland County court ruled that both electrocution and firing squad executions violate the South Carolina Constitution, which bars methods of execution that are cruel, unusual, or corporal.
The electric chair was first used in the United States in 1890 and has been used extensively in the country, as well as in the Philippines. It was initially believed that death by electric chair was caused by cerebral damage, but it was later discovered that death primarily occurs due to ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest. The electric chair has been deemed a more humane method of execution than the firing squad, which involves a prisoner being strapped to a chair with a target over their heart, which a firing squad then shoots at.
The firing squad has been used very rarely in the United States, with only four executions carried out since 1976, three of which took place in Utah. In 2010, a prisoner in Utah chose to be executed by firing squad. The prisoner is typically bound to a chair with leather straps and a black hood over their head. A doctor locates the prisoner's heart and places a target over it. Five shooters, one of whom is given blank rounds, fire at the prisoner from 20 feet away.
Both methods of execution have been deemed inhumane by critics. Witnesses to executions by electric chair have described gruesome scenes of prisoners' eyeballs popping out, flesh swelling, and skin stretching to the point of breaking. In some cases, prisoners have caught fire, and the smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber. Similarly, firing squad executions have been described as inhumane, with the bullets tearing through the prisoner's chest.
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South Carolina's last execution
South Carolina's governor, Henry McMaster, refused to commute Mahdi's sentence, stating that no governor in the state had granted clemency to a death row defendant in the last 50 years of the modern death penalty era. McMaster's decision came after a 13-year hiatus in executions due to the state's inability to obtain lethal injection supplies.
South Carolina's Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the electric chair and firing squad were legal methods of execution. However, a Richland County court ruled in 2022 that both electrocution and the firing squad violate the South Carolina Constitution, which bars methods of execution that are cruel, unusual, or corporal.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the electric chair is legal in South Carolina. It has been a legal method of execution in the state for over a century.
No, South Carolina hasn't executed a prisoner in nearly 12 years. Its supply of lethal injection drugs expired in 2013 and pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell them more.
South Carolina introduced a law in 2021 that made the electric chair the default method of execution, instead of lethal injection. A death row inmate who does not want to be electrocuted could choose between the newly created firing squad or lethal injection if it were available.
