COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has blocked two upcoming executions, saying those inmates cannot be put to death until they truly have a choice of a newly established firing squad option. The high court issued an order late Wednesday pausing the planned electrocutions this month of Brad Sigmon and Freddie Owens. A newly revised state law forces inmates to decide between the electric chair or a firing squad if lethal injection drugs aren’t available. Prison officials have yet to establish a firing squad, leaving electrocution as the only available option. The court wrote a firing squad must be available before an execution can be carried out.
