Experience and preparation allowed AP reporter Jeffrey Collins to take news consumers inside the South Carolina death chamber for the first firing-squad execution in the United States since 2010, delivering gripping first-person reports for text and video.
“My role is to tell people … what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what actually happens,” Collins said in his on-camera report after witnessing the execution.
Collins was uniquely positioned for the task. He had previously covered nine lethal injections and one electric-chair execution. When executions resumed in late 2024 after a hiatus of more than a decade, the prison system consulted with him about media protocols because so much time had passed since the last one.
As Collins wrote, none of his previous experiences prepared him for what he saw on March 7.
“There was no warning or countdown. The abrupt crack of the rifles startled me. And the white target with the red bullseye that had been on his chest, standing out against his black prison jumpsuit, disappeared instantly as (Brad) Sigmon’s whole body flinched,” Collins wrote in his first-person account.
Despite the challenges, Collins’ role as one of only three media witnesses provided the public with rare transparency into what happens inside the execution chamber. His reports fully captured the atmosphere, immersing the audience in the experience.
Collins “performed a monumental task of holding officials accountable and being the eyes of the whole world,” the judges said.
Major news organizations ran Collins’ first-person account verbatim, including his byline, while others used the traditional spot story or quoted directly from his firsthand report.
For outstanding preparation, planning, and first-person reporting that took readers and viewers into the execution room, Jeffrey Collins is this week’s Best of AP — First Winner.
Related articles
