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EXCLUSIVE: As a South Carolina antheral connected decease enactment prepares to beryllium enactment to decease by firing squad, his lawyer argues that the lawsuit is simply a substance of "appropriate punishment" alternatively than guilt arsenic helium seeks to halt his client's execution.
Mikal Mahdi, 42, is acceptable to beryllium executed connected Friday astatine 6 p.m. astatine a situation successful Columbia aft pleading blameworthy to the 2004 sidesplitting of an off-duty constabulary officer.
In an interrogation with Fox News Digital, Mahdi's lawyer, David Weiss, said his client's lawsuit raises questions astir "appropriate punishment" fixed the inmate's beingness struggles and maturation arsenic a idiosyncratic successful the years since the transgression was committed.
"It's a question of what's the due punishment, fixed the beingness experiences of the person, everything they went done and the reasons wherefore things ended up arsenic they did, with truly tragic crimes being committed," Weiss said. "But astir without exception, what you spot is erstwhile tragic crimes are committed, the idiosyncratic who committed them besides went done incredibly hard beingness experiences that led them down that path. And that's what happened here."
SECOND SOUTH CAROLINA INMATE CHOOSES EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD
Mikal Mahdi, 42, is acceptable to beryllium executed connected Friday astatine 6 p.m. astatine a situation successful Columbia. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
Mahdi is simply a "much antithetic person" present than erstwhile helium committed the superior crimes astatine property 21, Weiss said, saying that his lawsuit was a "confused, aggravated kid" astatine the clip who has since grown up and matured a lot. Weiss explained that Mahdi is present an "intelligent, thoughtful idiosyncratic who spends arsenic overmuch clip arsenic helium tin speechmaking and learning astir the world."
Weiss said Mahdi accepts work for what helium did and knows what helium did was horrible. He said Mahdi understands that helium indispensable beryllium punished for his crimes and that helium could beryllium executed.
But Weiss warned that if South Carolina carries retired the execution, it volition beryllium sidesplitting idiosyncratic who is simply a "very antithetic idiosyncratic from the idiosyncratic who committed the superior crimes successful the archetypal place."
Mahdi would beryllium the 5th idiosyncratic to beryllium executed by firing squad successful the U.S. since 1976 – with the archetypal 3 carried retired successful Utah – and the 2nd successful South Carolina aft Brad Sigmon, 67, was enactment to decease utilizing that method past month. Sigmon was the archetypal idiosyncratic to beryllium executed by firing squad successful 15 years.
Given the prime of lethal injection, electrocution and firing squad, Weiss said Mahdi chose the lesser of 3 evils. He noted that lethal injection was antecedently believed to beryllium much humane earlier it was aboriginal determined to beryllium "quite torturous" and that electrocution is cruel since a idiosyncratic is being "cook[ed] from the wrong out."
"If the execution goes through, they're going to occurrence 3 high-powered rifles astatine our client's chest," Weiss said. "It's a horrible happening for him to spell through. It's a horrible happening to person to witnesser for everybody involved, from the ineligible squad to witnesses to situation unit who person to transportation it out."
In the decease chamber, Mahdi volition beryllium strapped to a seat and person a hood implicit his caput and a people implicit his heart. Three shooters volition occurrence astatine him done a tiny opening astir 15 feet away.
Bo King, a lawyer who represented Sigmon, elaborate what helium witnessed erstwhile his lawsuit was enactment to decease connected March 7.
"Seeing however helium was restrained, helium was tied to the seat with his arms pulled backmost acold enough, astir arsenic if idiosyncratic had him successful a wrestling hold, holding his arms down his back. And past with his chin and jaw secured to the seat with immoderate benignant of strap," King told Fox News Digital.
SOUTH CAROLINA SETS DATE FOR 5th EXECUTION IN UNDER 7 MONTHS
Brad Sigmon was executed successful March for beating to decease his estranged girlfriend’s parents successful Greenville County successful 2001. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
"What has stayed with maine and continues to occupation maine is however helium reacted aft being shot, specifically watching his close limb propulsion truthful frantically connected the straps, tying it to the chair," helium continued. "And each musculus successful his limb popped out, and it looked similar an anatomical drawing. It conscionable looked similar helium was trying truthful desperately to propulsion his limb escaped and screen the spread successful his chest."
King said helium remembers watching the coiled unfastened successful the mediate of Sigmon's chest.
"It's a hard show to reconcile successful existent time," helium said. "You're watching it happening. You're thinking, I conscionable saw a spread unfastened up successful that person."
King besides explained that helium believes it is inhumane to necktie idiosyncratic down to termination them, emphasizing that "the magnitude of harm that I saw done to Brad's assemblage is beyond thing that I would consider."
Three different prisoners person been enactment to decease successful South Carolina since the authorities resumed executions successful September. Freddie Owens connected Sept. 20, Richard Moore connected Nov. 1 and Marion Bowman Jr. connected Jan. 31 each died by lethal injection. Sigmon chose the firing squad owed to concerns astir the prolonged suffering the 3 different inmates had faced erstwhile they were killed by lethal injection, King said.
In Mahdi's case, Weiss expressed interest that his lawsuit would beryllium executed "even though helium ne'er had the just proceedings that the Constitution is expected to guarantee."
"The full question astatine his proceedings was what punishment did helium deserve? In bid to marque a reasoned determination astir that, the proceedings justice needed to beryllium fixed each the accusation astir who Mikal was, what helium went done successful his life, tragically," Weiss explained.
Earlier this week, South Carolina's highest tribunal rejected a last entreaty from Mahdi's lawyers. His lawyers argued that his archetypal attorneys made a mediocre lawsuit successful attempting to spare his beingness and failed to telephone connected relatives, teachers oregon different radical who knew him successful his sentencing defense, but the authorities Supreme Court ruled that galore of those aforesaid arguments had been made successful erstwhile unsuccessful appeals.
During his trial, Mahdi’s lawyers said their lawsuit was the 2nd lad of a pistillate who was wedded successful an arranged matrimony astatine 16 years old. His household described a chaotic childhood, though cipher testified astir maltreatment oregon intelligence illness.
Weiss told Fox News Digital that the proceedings justice who handed down the condemnation was fixed precise small accusation and Mahdi's defence called a azygous witnesser who testified for conscionable a fewer minutes, giving lone a wide outline of Mahdi's "extraordinarily traumatic childhood" that began erstwhile helium was a toddler and extended done his aboriginal teen years.
"When helium needed further enactment astatine school, the teachers tried to supply it, but his dada pulled him retired of schoolhouse alternatively than allowing him to get that enactment for his depression, for his suicidal feelings and things conscionable spiraled from determination wherever helium went into the juvenile situation strategy for reasonably insignificant crimes, and helium ends up spending thousands of hours successful solitary confinement arsenic a kid," Weiss said.
As aboriginal arsenic 2nd grade, Mahdi suffered from intelligence despair and discussed self-harm. He already had a transgression grounds by the clip helium was a teenager, spending weeks successful solitary confinement aft being convicted of breaking and entering and attacking a constabulary serviceman successful Virginia.
"We cognize contiguous successful a mode that we conscionable didn't admit backmost past erstwhile Mikal was successful the system, however damaging that is to a person's development," helium continued. "And the justice who decided what condemnation Mikal should person was told astir thing astir his story."
CONVICTED DOUBLE MURDERER EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD IN SOUTH CAROLINA
This photograph provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state's decease enclosure successful Columbia, including the electrical chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. (South Carolina Department of Corrections/AP)
Weiss added: "That's the existent injustice here, and that's the existent outrage here."
Mahdi stole a weapon and a car successful Virginia connected July 14, 2004, apprehension records show. The adjacent day, helium changeable and killed a North Carolina store clerk arsenic the clerk was checking his identification. A mates of days later, helium carjacked idiosyncratic astatine an intersection successful Columbia, South Carolina.
On July 18, 2004, portion connected the tally aft those crimes, Mahdi hid successful the shed of Orangeburg, South Carolina, nationalist information serviceman James Myers. Mahdi ambushed Meyers erstwhile the serviceman returned from a day solemnisation for his wife, sister and daughter, prosecutors said.
Myers, 56, was changeable 8 oregon 9 times, including doubly successful the caput aft falling to the ground. A pathologist testified that astatine slightest 7 of the shots would person been fatal.
Mahdi past acceptable Myers' assemblage connected occurrence and ran away. Myers' woman discovered her husband's dormant assemblage successful the shed, which they had utilized for the backdrop of their wedding.
On July 21, 2004, Mahdi was taken into custody successful Florida. When 1 of the officers progressive successful his apprehension learned what helium was wanted for successful South Carolina, helium thanked Mahdi for not shooting astatine him. Mahdi told him that the lone crushed helium did not was due to the fact that helium was skeptical that helium could successfully sprout 2 officers and their K-9 and get distant with it.
While down bars, Mahdi was caught 3 times with tools helium could person utilized to escape. One was an Allen wrench and the others were homemade handcuff keys, including 1 that was recovered nether his lingua astatine his trial.
On decease row, Mahdi stabbed a defender and struck different idiosyncratic with a factual block. On 3 occasions, situation unit recovered sharpened metallic successful his compartment that could beryllium utilized arsenic a knife.
After helium pleaded blameworthy to murder, Mahdi was sentenced by Judge Clifton Newman, who astatine the clip told The Post and Courier that helium was not definite helium believed successful the decease penalty, but the lawsuit became bigger than his beliefs.
"My situation and my committedness passim my judicial vocation has been to temper justness with mercy and to question to find the humanity successful each suspect that I sentence," Newman said arsenic helium handed down Mahdi’s punishment. "That consciousness of humanity seems not to beryllium successful Mikal Deen Mahdi"
Once 1 of the busiest for executions, South Carolina resumed executions successful September aft a 13-year intermission caused successful portion by the authorities having trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs owed to pharmaceutical companies' concerns that they would person to disclose they had sold the drugs to authorities officials.
The country wherever inmates are executed successful Columbus, South Carolina. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
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The authorities legislature past passed a shield instrumentality allowing officials to support lethal injection cause suppliers private. The legislature besides approved the firing squad arsenic different execution method implicit difficulties obtaining the drugs.
South Carolina has executed 47 inmates since the decease punishment was resumed successful the U.S. successful 1976. In the aboriginal 2000s, the authorities was carrying retired an mean of 3 executions per year. Only 9 states person killed much inmates.
If Mahdi runs retired of ineligible appeals, including petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to reappraisal the issues successful the authorities precocious court's ruling, his lone remaining enactment would beryllium for Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to trim his condemnation to beingness without parole, which Mahdi's lawyers person already requested. But nary South Carolina politician has granted clemency successful the 49 years since the decease punishment resumed successful the U.S.
"I deliberation Gov. McMaster has an accidental to alteration that, and helium should alteration it," Weiss said.
A spokesperson for McMaster's bureau confirmed to Fox News Digital that the politician had received the petition from Mahdi's lawyers asking for clemency.
"As the politician has done previously, helium volition reappraisal and cautiously see the petition," the spokesperson said.
Fox News Digital has reached retired to the South Carolina Department of Corrections for comment.
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