South Carolina Supreme Court rules death penalty by firing squad, other methods legal

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that death by firing squad and other forms of execution commonly held to be cruel and unusual are legal in the state if the inmate requests the method of execution.

The ruling comes after the state passed a law in 2021 allowing executions by firing squad and electrocution in addition to lethal injection, in response to a shortage of lethal injection drugs and a rise in mishaps during executions.

That law made electrocution the default method of execution...