New death penalty law makes inmates pick electric chair or firing squad in South Carolina

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has signed into law a bill that forces death row inmates for now to choose between the electric chair or a newly formed firing squad in hopes the state can restart executions after an involuntary 10-year pause. South Carolina had been one of the most prolific states of its size in putting inmates to death, but a lack of lethal injection drugs brought executions to a halt.

McMaster signed the bill Friday with no ceremony or fanfare, according to the state Legislature's website. It's the first bill the governor decided to deal with after nearly 50 hit his desk Thursday. "The families and loved ones of victims are owed closure and justice by law. Now, we can provide it," McMaster said on Twitter on Monday.