On February 6th at 9:30am ET, the court case determining the constitutionality of SC's firing squad and electric chair (Owens v. Stirling) will be argued once again in the South Carolina Supreme Court.

A lot has happened in our state this past year, so let's to take a moment to how this case will impact the death penalty in South Carolina:

The Circuit Court of Richland County already ruled the electric chair and firing squad as unconstitutional methods of execution in 2022. In fact, Judge Jocelyn Newman declared these methods to be cruel, unusual, and corporeal.

“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.”

But the SC Department of Corrections (SCDC) appealed the Circuit Court's Decision, hoping the state Supreme Court would allow them the freedom to execute people using antiquated, barbaric and unconstitutional methods of execution.

After hearing arguments in January 2023, the State Supreme Court sent the case back to the Circuit Court to discover why SCDC couldn't find lethal injection drugs to use instead of the firing squad and electric chair. Rather than go through the discovery process, SCDC pushed lawmakers to pass the 2023 Lethal Injection Secrecy Law instead. This is how the state came to purchase lethal injection drugs in September 2023.

Once lethal injection was a possible execution method again, SCDC moved to dismiss Owens v. Stirling outright, saying that the courts didn't need to rule on other execution methods.

But the state Supreme Court refused to dismiss the case. South Carolina's constitution says there must be a choice of execution methods, and if one of those choices is in violation of the constitution, it must be addressed. The next round of oral arguments will be held on February 6th, 2024 at 9:30am.

To be clear, SCADP believes that all methods of execution are unconstitutional. The death penalty is a violent, expensive system that should be abolished. Our taxpayer dollars would be better spent on literally any alternative, but especially systems that promote public safety. However, this court case is the main roadblock to SCDC restarting executions. It is important for us to watch this case so we can mobilize our next action steps appropriately.

Show the SC Supreme Court that South Carolinians care about ending the death penalty in our state! Watch the court case with us Tuesday, February 6th, at 9:30am!