The idea of execution by firing squad may be unsettling, but the recent use of this method has reignited debate over what constitutes a “humane” execution. On March 7, the state of South Carolina executed Brad Sigmon, a convicted murderer, by firing squad—the first such execution in the U.S. since 2010—after he opted to forgo lethal injection, a method increasingly under scrutiny due to drug shortages and botched procedures.