South Carolina Supreme Court rules state death penalty including firing squad is legal

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled the state’s death penalty is legal. All five justices agreed Wednesday with at least part of the ruling, opening the door to restart executions in a state that hasn’t put an inmate to death since 2011. South Carolina’s death penalty now includes a firing squad as well as lethal injection and the electric chair. The justices ruled that state lawmakers appear to be genuinely against inflicting pain and making the death penalty as humane as possible. The ruling can likely be appealed. As many as eight inmates may be out of appeals and awaiting execution dates.