Brad Keith Sigmon (born November 12, 1957) is an American convicted murderer who was sentenced to death for the 2001 double murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents in South Carolina. Sigmon was convicted of battering David and Gladys Larke, both aged 62 and 59 respectively, to death with a baseball bat on April 27, 2001, merely a week after he and his ex-girlfriend broke off, and therefore given two death sentences, in addition to a 30-year jail term for first-degree burglary (Sigmon had stole from the Larkes on the date of the murders). Sigmon, who had since lost all his appeals against the death penalty, is currently on death row awaiting his execution at Broad River Correctional Institution, and his execution date is yet to be set.
Brad Keith Sigmon, the oldest of five children in his family, was born on November 12, 1957, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Sigmon's mother was 17 when she gave birth to him, and bore her four younger children one year apart of each other. Sigmon's father was part of the U.S. military and due to his line of work, the family often needed to move frequently, including the Philippines shortly after the birth of Sigmon's fifth and youngest sibling.[1]
Sigmon's parents eventually divorced when he was still young, because Sigmon's mother Virginia Wooten struggled to manage the challenges of being a young mother while also adapting to military life, and Sigmon's father Ronnie Sigmon was an alcoholic who often abused his wife. Although he never laid a hand on his four younger children, Ronnie also physically abused Sigmon since the latter was the eldest child, and Sigmon often would protect his mother from being beaten by his father. Sigmon's parents eventualy remarried, and Sigmon often moved back and forth between his parents and stepparents.[1]
Despite these events, Sigmon overall had a normal childhood. During his adolescent years, Sigmon first began to work at age 16 while in high school, so as to help alleviate his family's financial burden, because he took on the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings after his parents' divorce. Nine weeks before he was supposed to graduate, Sigmon dropped out of high school at age 19 in order to get married, and he later had one son. According to Sigmon's son, parents, siblings, stepfather (Virginia's second husband) and aunt, Sigmon was a loving son, father and brother who deeply cared about his family. Court sources revealed that Sigmon struggled with both drug use problems and mental health issues during his adulthood.[1]
Murders of David and Gladys Larke
On April 27, 2001, 43-year-old Brad Sigmon committed the double murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents, David and Gladys Larke, in South Carolina.
Prior to the double murder, Sigmon and a woman named Rebecca Barbare had been in a romantic relationship for about three years and lived together in a trailer close to Barbare's parents' home. However, earlier that year, after Barbare ended their relationship and moved in with her parents, Sigmon became progressively more obsessed with her, even going as far as to stalk her in an attempt to check if she had another man, in addition to his requests to rekindle their relationship.[1][2]
On the eve of the murder, which was April 26, 2001, Sigmon and his friend, Eugene Strube, spent the night drinking alcohol and consuming cocaine. The following morning, Sigmon informed Strube that when Barbare left to take her children to school, he planned to go to the Larkes' house, "tie her parents up," and "get ahold of" Barbare. Strube was initially supposed to follow along with Sigmon's plan, but he later backed out.[1][2]
Alone, Sigmon entered the home of the Larkes, where he found 62-year-old David in the kitchen and 59-year-old Gladys in the living room. Armwed with a baseball bat, Sigmon attacked the couple, beating them one after another with the bat and also going back and forth between the two rooms. Sigmon stopped the assault after the couple died, and both the Larkes sustained nine blows to their heads, which led to their skulls being crushed. After murdering the Larkes, Sigmon stole David's gun and waited for Barbare to return home.[1][2]
When Barbare arrived back home, Sigmon forced her into the car on gunpoint. Sigmon's original plan was to pick up his own car and drive to North Carolina with Barbare. However, the plan did not go well as Barbare managed to jump out of the car and tried to run away. Sigmon shot at her while giving chase, but Barbare managed to escape, and Sigmon later gave up and fled the scene.[1][2][3] Barbare subsequently underwent treatment in the Greenville Memorial Hospital.[4]
After the murders came into revelation, the police conducted a manhunt for Sigmon, and a charge sheet was issued for Sigmon on charges of murder (pertaining to the Larkes), kidnapping and assault with intent to kill (pertaining to Barbare's abdcution).[5][6] Sigmon was eventually captured in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, after he went on the run for 11 days,[7] and he was extradited back to South Carolina.[8] The state authorities also planned to seek the death penalty for Sigmon with respect to the double murder charges.[9]
Murder trial
After his arrest, Brad Sigmon was indicted by a South Carolina grand jury for two counts of murder, first-degree burglary, and other offenses, including kidnapping.[1]
Sigmon eventually stood trial in July 2002 for both counts of murder and a single count of first-degree burglary, and he reportedly admitted his guilt to the jury. The jury subsequently found him guilty of all charges, and they would decide on his sentence.[10]
The prosecution sought the death penalty for Sigmon, stating that both Gladys and David Larke lived through the "most horrific death" and based on the aggravating factors of the case, Sigmon should be sentenced to death, so as to show him the same mercy he demonstrated to his victims. The defence, in response, urged the jury to consider that Sigmon acted out due to his relationship issues and cited the mitigating factors of Sigmon's case (including his good behaviour in jail and adulthood drug problems) in seeking life imprisonment for Sigmon. Eventually, the jury unanimously agreed to sentence Sigmon to death for both counts of murder on July 20, 2002. Apart from the two death sentences, Sigmon was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for the burglary charge.[11][1]
Appeal process
On December 19, 2005, the South Carolina Supreme Court turned down Brad Sigmon's direct appeal against his two death sentences and double murder conviction.[12]
On May 8, 2013, Sigmon's second appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court was also rejected.[13]
After exhausting all his avenues of appeal, Brad Sigmon was originally scheduled to be executed on February 12, 2021. However, on February 5, 2021, a week before the date itself, Sigmon was issued an indefinite stay of execution by the South Carolina Supreme Court, after the court found that the state did not have the drugs necessary to facilitate the execution of Sigmon by lethal injection, which was the state's sole legal method of execution.[16]
At that time, South Carolina had effectively imposed an unofficial moratorium on executions following the state's last execution in 2011. This was due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs, caused by the expiration of existing supplies and the refusal of many pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs for executions.[17]
In response to the state's inability to carry out lethal injections, lawmakers in South Carolina passed new legislation to reintroduce the electric chair and legalize firing squad executions as alternative methods for future executions when lethal injection was not an option.[18][19] The absence of lethal injection drugs in the state would eventually be resolved in September 2023, after the state authorities had successfully acquired new drugs, allowing it to resume lethal injection executions.[20]
After the new laws were passed, Sigmon and another death row inmate Freddie Eugene Owens had their execution dates set. Sigmon was re-scheduled to be executed by the electric chair on June 18, 2021, while Owens's date was set exactly a week after Sigmon's (June 25).[21] However, Sigmon's second death warrant was suspended (and in turn, Owens's), after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the executions of Sigmon and Owens should be postponed until they were given the choice of death by electrocution or firing squad, especially since the latter option was yet to be finalized and the former option was the sole available execution method at this point in time.[22][23][24] Another reason for the stay of execution was that both Owens and Sigmon had filed a lawsuit against the state's revival of the electric chair.[25]
A year later, Sigmon's third death warrant was issued, re-scheduling his execution date as May 13, 2022. However, in light of a lawsuit filed by the condemned against the electric chair and firing squad execution methods, Sigmon received another stay of execution until the full resolution of the lawsuit.[26]
Lawsuit against state execution policies
In 2023, Brad Sigmon was among several death row prisoners who filed a lawsuit against South Carolina over the state's decision to introduce the firing squad and electric chair as alternative execution methods. The inmates argued that these methods were unconstitutional because they could inflict unnecessary pain and suffering, constituting cruel and unusual punishment.[27] In response, the state contended that both the electric chair and firing squad adhered to existing legal procedures, and there was no law requiring executions to be instantaneous or painless for those sentenced to death.[28][29]
On July 31, 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court, in a 5-judge ruling, dismissed the lawsuit and upheld the constitutionality of both the electric chair and firing squad. The majority of the justices voiced support for these methods, with three backing the firing squad and four favoring the electric chair. This ruling paved the way for the potential resumption of executions in South Carolina, affecting all 32 inmates on the state's death row, including Sigmon.[30][31][32] At the time of this ruling, five condemned inmates – consisting of Sigmon, Freddie Eugene Owens, Mikal Mahdi, Richard Bernard Moore and Marion Bowman Jr. – had exhausted all avenues of appeal and were listed for imminent execution on later dates.[33][2]
The 13-year moratorium on executions in South Carolina came to an end on September 20, 2024, when one of the five inmates, Freddie Owens, was executed for the 1997 murder of a convenience store clerk.[34] Richard Moore later became the second condemned inmate to die on November 1, 2024.[35]
Scheduled execution
After the loss of his legal motion in 2024, Brad Sigmon remains on death row for murdering Gladys and David Larke as of 2024.
On August 28, 2024, a court order was issued allowing the state to carry out six executions over the next year, with each execution scheduled to occur 35 days (or five weeks) apart.[36][37]
Sigmon was included in this group of six condemned inmates. The other five individuals on the list were Freddie Eugene Owens, Richard Bernard Moore, Marion Bowman Jr., Steven Bixby, and Mikal Mahdi.[38] Owens and Moore – who were sentenced to death in 1999 and 2001 respectively – became the first two to be executed, on September 20 and November 1, 2024.[39][40] Following their executions, Bowman, convicted in 2002 for the 2001 arson-murder of a woman, was set to receive his execution date on November 8, 2024, which was tentatively scheduled for December 6, 2024.[41]
However, Bowman's death warrant was not issued as planned because Bowman, along with Sigmon and the other two inmates facing imminent execution, filed an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court. They requested that their executions be delayed until after the winter holiday period, specifically after Christmas and New Year's Day. In response, the state argued that it was not uncommon for executions to take place during the holiday season, citing five executions carried out by the state between December 4, 1998, and January 8, 1999.[42] However, the lawyers representing the four death row inmates submitted a statement to the court, arguing that, "Six consecutive executions with virtually no respite will take a substantial toll on all involved, particularly during a time of year that is so important to families."[43]
On November 14, 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court granted the inmates a temporary respite, and agreed to not sign any new death warrants until at least January 3, 2025.[44][45] As a result, Sigmon and the other three inmates scheduled for imminent execution had their execution dates postponed until 2025.[46][47]
The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New York dentist, conceived this execution method in 1881. It was developed over the next decade as a more humane alternative to conventional executions, particularly hanging. First used in 1890, the electric chair became symbolic of this execution method.
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading, is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ, such as the brain or heart, most often will kill relatively quickly.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty in 27 states, throughout the country at the federal level, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 7, as well as the federal government and military, subject to moratoriums.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Arkansas.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Utah.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.
Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Old Smokey is the nickname of the electric chairs used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. "Old Sparky" is sometimes used to refer to electric chairs in general, and not one of a specific state.
Opened in 1969, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison (GDCP) is a Georgia Department of Corrections prison for men in unincorporated Butts County, Georgia, near Jackson. The prison holds the state execution chamber. The execution equipment was moved to the prison in June 1980, with the first execution in the facility occurring on December 15, 1983. The prison houses the male death row, while female death row inmates reside in Arrendale State Prison.
James Earl Reed was an American convicted murderer put to death in the state of South Carolina by electrocution in "Old Sparky", the state's electric chair. He remains the most recent person executed in South Carolina via electrocution.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Mississippi.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of South Carolina.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Tennessee.
Richard Bernard Moore was an American man executed in South Carolina for murder. He was convicted of the September 1999 murder of James Mahoney, a convenience store clerk, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 2022, Moore's case received international attention when he was scheduled for execution and opted to be executed by firing squad under the state's new capital punishment laws. He was set to become the first person executed in South Carolina in over a decade and the first to be executed by firing squad in the state. However, his execution was stayed by the South Carolina Supreme Court on April 20, 2022.
Freddie Eugene Owens, alias Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, was an American man convicted and executed in South Carolina for the 1997 killing of Irene Grainger Graves, a convenience store clerk. Owens was 19 when he and an 18-year-old accomplice shot and killed Graves during a robbery in November 1997.
On May 20, 1981, in Knoxville, Tennessee, 23-year-old Lee Standifer, who was two days short of her 24th birthday, was murdered by her boyfriend David Earl Miller, who dragged her into the woods and killed her by beating and stabbing. Standifer's body was found the day after her death, and Miller was charged with murdering her after he was arrested in Ohio on May 29, 1981.
On March 17, 1986, a mother-daughter pair, 51-year-old Wanda Lou Romines and 15-year-old Sheila Ann Romines, were held hostage in their home by two men in Union County, Tennessee. The Romines were subsequently murdered by their kidnappers, who both tortured the victims to death and even raped Sheila Romines. The murderers – Stephen Michael West and Ronald David "Ronnie" Martin – were arrested the following day and charged with the double murder.
On February 16, 2001, in Dorchester County, South Carolina, 21-year-old Kandee Louise Martin was shot to death by a high school acquaintance, who stuffed her body inside the trunk and set fire to the car, burning her body as a result. The killer, Marion Bowman Jr., was arrested and charged with murder and arson.
Mikal Deen Mahdi is an American convicted killer on death row for the murder of a police officer in South Carolina. Over a period of three days in July 2004, Mahdi, then a resident of Virginia, went on a multi-state crime spree, which included carjacking, firearm robbery and two murders. Mahdi robbed and killed a 29-year-old convenience store clerk Christopher Jason Boggs in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on July 15, 2004. Two days after the murder of Boggs, Mahdi carjacked a man and stole his car in Columbia, South Carolina, before he fled to a local farm in Calhoun County and murdered 56-year-old off-duty police officer James Myers, whose body was doused in diesel and burned by Mahdi.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
