SOUTH CAROLINA (WACH) — The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) informed the SC Supreme Court on Tuesday that they are now prepared to carry out executions by lethal injections.

Since 2017, Gov. Henry McMaster has been calling on the General Assembly to pass a Shield Statute.

The SC General Assembly passed legislation this year to enact the Shield Statute.

Justice has been delayed for too long in South Carolina," said Governor Henry McMaster. "This filing brings our state one step closer to being able to once again carry out the rule of law and bring grieving families and loved ones the closure they are rightfully owed.

The Shield Statute protects the identity of individuals or entities involved in the planning or execution of a death sentence.

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After Gov. McMaster signed the Shield Statute into law on May 12, SCDC resumed efforts to secure the drugs under the new shield provision.

As a result of those efforts, SCDC was able to secure pentobarbital to carry out executions by lethal injection under a one-drug protocol.

SCDC's lethal injection policy has been revised to provide the use of a one-drug protocol.

The new protocol is essentially identical to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and at least six other states protocols.

Courts have upheld the use of this drug against constitutional challenges.

South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (SCADP) spoke out against SCDC obtaining the drug.

SCADP is deeply disturbed that South Carolina is on the precipice of restarting executions. We maintain that the death penalty is not ‘justice,’ as Governor McMaster proclaims. It is an outdated system of punishment that our economy is opting out of, as shown by the fact that SCDC made more that 1300 contacts in search of lethal injection drugs. If our market wanted executions to take place, SCDC would have secured the drugs instantly. Instead, multinational, FDA-affiliated pharmaceutical companies actively speak out against the practice of lethal injection. Investing in the death penalty will only harm future economic prospects in South Carolina, not help them. Our government officials should be mindful of this, lest they gain a reputation of ‘going behind companies backs.

SCADP says the organization is still committed to stopping "premeditated, state-sponsored murder" in South Carolina.

The death penalty will continue to disproportionately affect individuals who are impoverished, have Black and Brown skin, receive inadequate legal representation, and suffer from persistent mental health issues. Our message remains consistent: if the state of South Carolina wants to create true community safety and healing, our limited taxpayer dollars would be better spent on effective violence prevention programs, including child abuse prevention, mental health care, treatment for substance use, and community violence interrupters.

South Carolina law specifies that the electric chair is the default method of execution. Inmates are given the option of choosing death by firing squad or lethal injection if those methods are available.

All three methods outlined in law are available to carry out a death sentence.

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