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.
[1] 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.
[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.
[9] 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.
[11][1] 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.
[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.
[26] 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.
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.
After the loss of his legal motion in 2024, Brad Sigmon remains on death row for murdering Gladys and David Larke as of 2025.
The other five individuals on the list were Freddie Eugene Owens, Richard Bernard Moore, Marion Bowman Jr., Steven Bixby, and Mikal Mahdi.
[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.