Experts share the most painful ways to be executed amid death row inmate choosing method that hasn’t been used in 15 years

In the United States today, even though many people think the death penalty is a thing of the past, it’s still legal in more than half the country 27 out of 50 states still use it.

And in some of those states, inmates on death row actually get to choose how they want to be executed. The most common way is through lethal injection, but some people have chosen other methods, like the electric chair or even a firing squad.

Lethal injection is supposed to be the easiest and least painful method. It usually involves a combination of three drugs. The first drug is meant to make the person unconscious so they don’t feel anything.

The second drug paralyzes them, and the third one stops their heart. But sometimes, the drugs don’t work the way they’re supposed to. This has led to some executions taking a very long time or not working at all. When that happens, the inmate might have to go through the process again, which can be very traumatic and painful.

What’s more surprising to some people is that there are still places where older, more brutal methods are allowed. One of those is the firing squad, where a group of people with rifles shoot the inmate.

Brad Sigmon, a man in South Carolina, chose to die this way instead of through the electric chair or lethal injection. His lawyer said Brad’s choice wasn’t really a choice at all it was the lesser of three bad options. If he didn’t choose firing squad or injection, he would’ve ended up in the state’s very old electric chair, which has a history of burning people alive during execution.

In a firing squad execution, the inmate is tied to a chair and a target is placed over their heart. Then, three trained shooters aim at that target and fire. Some experts believe this can be very painful.

A court in South Carolina even said it might count as torture because of the serious damage it does to the heart and bones around it. The pain doesn’t last long, but experts say it could still hurt a lot before the person loses consciousness.

Other experts, however, think the firing squad might actually be one of the quicker ways to die. Dr. James Williams, a doctor in Texas who has studied this method, says that when someone is shot in the heart, they lose blood pressure so fast that blood stops flowing to the brain.

That would make the person pass out very quickly maybe within just a few seconds. He compared it to a chokehold, where someone can lose consciousness in three to five seconds.

Even though the firing squad sounds brutal, there are still people who support it. They say it’s quick and doesn’t involve the same risks of drug failure like lethal injection does. But critics argue that all forms of execution, no matter how fast or “clean” they seem, are inhumane.

They believe that killing someone as punishment even if it’s legal is wrong and outdated. They say that no one, no matter what they’ve done, should have to go through such pain or fear before dying.

The debate over the death penalty is ongoing. Some think it’s necessary for justice, especially in the most serious crimes. Others believe it’s cruel and should be abolished entirely. But what’s clear is that even today, people on death row are facing hard choices about how they’re going to die, and none of the options are truly painless or easy.