McMaster, SCDC file appeal after judge rules firing squad, electrocutions unconstitutional

FILE -  This March 2019, file photo, provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections...
FILE - This March 2019, file photo, provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state's electric chair in Columbia. (Kinard Lisbon/South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP, File)(Kinard Lisbon | AP)
Published: Sep. 15, 2022 at 9:23 AM EDT|Updated: Sep. 15, 2022 at 9:24 AM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Governor Henry McMaster and Director of the SC Dept. of Corrections (SCDC) Bryan Stirling have filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court after a judge ruled firing squads and electrocutions unconstitutional.

On September 6, Judge Jocelyn Newman ruled in a case involving four death row inmates against the State of South Carolina. Judge Newman wrote:

“In 2021, South Carolina turned back the clock and became the only state in the country in which a person may be forced into the electric chair if he refuses to elect how he will die. In doing so, the General Assembly ignored advances in scientific research and evolving standards of humanity and decency.”

Gov. McMaster, Stirling and SCDC’s appeal can be read below:

If you are having trouble reading the appeal, click here.

Judge Newman’s full order can be read below:

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article’s headline.