S. Carolina court blocks electrocutions, orders firing squads – National & International News – THU 17Jun2021

SC court blocks electrocutions, orders firing squads. Record heatwave strains nation’s power grids. Myanmar’s civilians take up arms against military junta.

NATIONAL NEWS

S. Carolina court blocks electrocutions, orders firing squads

The South Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily halted the executions of two death row inmates. One of the men, Brad Sigmon, was to die by electrocution this Friday. The other, Freddie Owens, was to die by the same method the following Friday. Due to shortages of lethal injections, South Carolina recently passed a law giving death row inmates a choice between electrocution and firing squad.

However, the state has yet to assemble a firing squad. Nevertheless, the corrections department had planned to move ahead by putting Sigmon and Owens in the state’s 109-year-old electric chair. Lawyers for both men sought a stay until the firing squad option was available to them. This will likely take time as the state is still examining procedures for recruiting and swearing in a firing squad.

Sigmon and Owens’ lawyers continue to maintain that the men have the right to die by lethal injection. They also contend that the state has not yet exhausted all options for procuring or manufacturing the necessary drugs.

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Record heatwave strains nation’s power grids

Power suppliers in the Southern and Western US are calling on residents to conserve energy to reduce strain on power grids. Temperatures in many parts of the country have soared above 100 degrees. About 46 million in the US are currently under heat advisories. To cope, many are keeping their air conditioners running around the clock, increasing demands on electrical grids. 

In Texas, where millions were left without power due to a winter storm in February, many residents fear more failures as temperatures rise. Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston, says, “We’ve been looking at the decay of the grid and the decay of reliable electricity provided to the grid for many years. Blackouts and brownouts would not surprise me”. To minimize the risk, Texans are being asked to keep their thermostats at around 78 degrees.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Myanmar’s civilians take up arms against military junta

Despite months of brutal crackdowns, mass arrests and hundreds of deaths, Myanmar’s anti-junta resistance has refused to back down. Following the example of minority militias in the country’s border regions, previously peace civilian protesters in the cities are now arming themselves. The ethnic militias and protesters have formed an alliance to resist military rule in the country.

One protester who requested anonymity says, “Before the coup, I couldn’t even kill an animal. When I saw the military kill civilians, I felt really sad and troubled… I came to the mindset that I’m fighting for the people against evil military dictators”.

An increasing number of civilians like him are traveling to border regions to train with the battle-hardened militias. The protesters then bring these skills back to the cities to form resistance cells. In part, their mission is to protect civilians from the military, which has killed more than 860 protesters and arrested thousands since the Feb. 1 coup.

But in spite of their obvious determination, the newly-minted freedom fighters face long odds. Most are armed with nothing more than simple hunting rifles or even homemade weapons. By contrast, the country’s military force has a $2 billion arsenal of high-grade weaponry, and 70 years of experience in suppression.

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