"I want my closing statement to be one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty," Brad Kieth Sigmon wrote ahead of his execution.

South Carolina executed a convicted murderer by firing squad on Friday, the first use of the method in the United States in 15 years.

A convicted double murderer has been executed by firing squad, the first such execution in the United States since 2010, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.