Mikal Mahdi executed by firing squad in South Carolina for off-duty officer's brutal murder

A firing squad successful South Carolina connected Friday executed a decease enactment inmate who ambushed an off-duty constabulary officer, changeable him 9 times and acceptable him connected occurrence successful 2004.

Under the state's execution protocols, the firing squad enactment a hood implicit 42-year-old Mikal Mahdi's caput and changeable him successful the bosom simultaneously with 3 bullets. His attorney, who witnessed the execution, called it "barbaric" and said it was "a horrifying enactment that belongs successful the darkest chapters of history, not successful a civilized society."

Mahdi's execution marked South Carolina's 2nd this twelvemonth utilizing a firing squad, though it's conscionable the 5th successful the U.S. since 1977. South Carolina carried retired the firing squad execution execution of Brad Keith Sigmon past period successful what was the archetypal execution to usage the method successful the state successful 15 years.

Mahdi was convicted of the 2004 sidesplitting of 56-year-old Capt. James Myers, an off-duty Orangeburg Public Safety serviceman who was killed astatine the aforesaid spot connected his workplace spot wherever helium and his woman got married. She was the 1 to find his body.

"His bosom and caput are afloat of hatred and malice," authoritative David Pascoe told jurors during Mahdi's trial, according to an archived communicative successful The Times and Democrat. "(He's) the epitome of evil."

Mahdi's attorneys had been arguing that helium should beryllium spared due to the fact that helium ne'er got the intelligence wellness attraction helium "desperately needed" arsenic a kid who repeatedly threatened termination and endured "extraordinary maltreatment and trauma."

Here's what you request to cognize astir the execution.

How was Mikal Mahdi executed?

Under execution protocols, Mahdi sat restrained successful a metallic chair, a hood implicit his head, successful the country of a country shared by the state's electrical chair, witnesses to the execution reported.

He delivered nary past words.

The firing squad squad − 3 voluntary corrections unit − stood down a partition with loaded rifles 15 feet from Mahdi. The partition has an opening for the weapons.

The corrections officers each fired a slug astatine a people implicit his heart.

An Associated Press newsman who witnessed the execution said that Mahdi cried retired arsenic the shots deed him and past groaned doubly astir 45 seconds aft that. Mahdi continued to enactment for astir 80 much seconds "before helium appeared to instrumentality 1 last gasp," AP reported, adding that Mahdi died little than 4 minutes aft the shots rang out.

Capt. James Myers: Slain officer, caller woman had large dreams connected onshore wherever helium was killed

How communal is the firing squad method?

Five states − South Carolina, Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and Idaho  − person legalized firing squads arsenic an execution method, most precocious Idaho successful 2023. A caller measure projected successful Florida could pave the mode for firing squad executions successful that state, arsenic well.

On March 7, South Carolina executed Brad Keith Sigmon by firing squad, the archetypal execution successful the U.S. utilizing the method since 2010 and lone the 4th since 1977. The erstwhile 3 were each carried retired successful Utah.

Among the witnesses to Sigmon's execution was his attorney, Gerald “Bo” King.

"Brad’s decease was horrifying and violent," King said successful a connection astatine the time. "It is unfathomable that, successful 2025, South Carolina would execute 1 of its citizens successful this bloody spectacle."

David Weiss, Mahdi's attorney, said his lawsuit chose the firing squad for Friday's execution due to the fact that it was "the lesser of 3 evils," saying helium risked being "burned and mutilated" successful an electrical seat oregon "suffering a lingering death" by lethal injection.

South Carolina has defended the constitutionality of each its execution methods. The state's Attorney General's Office does not remark connected pending litigation.

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Why was Mikal Mahdi executed?

On July 14, 2004, Mahdi − past conscionable 21 years aged − began a transgression spree that spanned 4 states and included 2 murders.

Mahdi stole a neighbor's weapon and presumption wagon successful his location authorities of Virginia and headed to North Carolina, wherever helium fatally changeable state presumption clerk Christopher Jason Boggs. Mahdi past went to South Carolina, carjacked a antheral successful downtown Columbia and drove 35 minutes distant to a Calhoun County state station, wherever helium spent astatine slightest 45 minutes struggling to get state with a rejected recognition card.

A store clerk called police, prompting Mahdi to fly and ditch the car. Shortly after, Mahdi arrived astatine Myers' farm. Mahdi broke into Myers' shed, wherever helium recovered guns and laid successful hold for the 56-year-old, who had been astatine the formation that time celebrating the birthdays of his wife, sister and daughter, tribunal records say.

When Myers arrived astatine the shed, Mahdi attacked, shooting him 9 times, pouring diesel substance connected his assemblage and mounting him connected occurrence earlier stealing his constabulary motortruck and aggregate guns, tribunal records say.

"I recovered the emotion of my life, my soulmate, the spouse that my beingness revolved around, lifeless, lying successful a excavation of humor and his assemblage burned by idiosyncratic who didn't adjacent cognize him," Myers' wife, Amy Tripp Myers, testified done tears. "As I screamed those blood-curdling screams of symptom and anguish, I instantly knew that the antheral with whom I had conscionable spent the past six years of my beingness dreaming of a beauteous aboriginal was gone similar a vapor."

In a missive written by Mahdi and shared by his attorneys, the inmate wrote: "I'm blameworthy arsenic hellhole ... What I've done is irredeemable."

Who was Capt. James Myers?

Born successful the South Carolina metropolis of Orangeburg, conscionable southwest of Columbia, Myers began his vocation with the city's occurrence section successful 1974 earlier helium yet became a constabulary skipper for the Orangeburg Public Safety Department, according to his obituary.

As "an avid outdoorsman," the obituary continued, Myers loved fishing, hunting, scuba diving.

As a dainty for his 53rd birthday, Myers decided to bargain a portion of farmland that helium worked hard to marque his own. In 2002, the time aft Valentine's Day, Myers and Amy Tripp Myers were celebrating their new, elaborate shed connected the property.

"Jim and I looked astatine the recently raised walls of our shed, hugged each different and, similar giddy children afloat of hope, scratched our names successful the freshly poured concrete, conscionable a fewer feet from the spot wherever Jim took his past breath," she testified astatine his trial, according to The Times and Democrat. "I died that nighttime and haven't been the aforesaid idiosyncratic since."

Who was Mikal Mahdi?

As a child, Mahdi's attorneys said helium suffered years of carnal and affectional maltreatment and was suicidal by the property of 8. By 9, helium was diagnosed with large depressive disorder, and erstwhile teachers tried to get him specialized help, his begetter pulled Mahdi retired of the schoolhouse strategy and "subjected him to respective years of paranoid, survivalist 'home schooling,'" they wrote successful tribunal records.

When helium was 14, Mahdi archetypal entered the juvenile justness strategy aft being convicted of theft, and from past on, "spent astir of the remainder of his puerility successful custody, often kept isolated and alone," they said.

Between the ages of 14 and 17, helium spent much than 75 days successful solitary confinement, and spent astir 8 much months successful solitary by the clip helium was 21, arsenic good arsenic being connected termination watch, his attorneys said.

"Mikal desperately needed intelligence wellness care," his attorneys said successful a quality release. "Instead, helium languished successful juvenile prison, wherever helium spent thousands of hours successful solitary confinement. We present cognize that punitive isolation is profoundly damaging to children."

Mahdi's attorneys argued to the South Carolina Supreme Court that the justice who sentenced him to decease knew astir thing astir Mahdi's troubled past, accusation that could person resulted successful a lighter sentence.

They person besides criticized what they accidental was a anemic defence astatine trial, arguing that Mahdi's attorneys astatine the clip spent little than 30 minutes arguing against the decease penalty. It "didn’t adjacent span the magnitude of a 'Law & Order' occurrence and was conscionable arsenic superficial," they said.

When is the adjacent execution successful the U.S.?

Mahdi's execution was the 12th inmate successful the U.S. this twelvemonth and the 3rd successful South Carolina. Another inmate was executed successful the U.S. this week: Michael Tanzi successful Florida connected Tuesday.

Another 2 executions, some by lethal injection, are scheduled this month: Moises Sandoval Mendoza successful Texas connected April 23 and James Osgood successful Alabama connected April 24.

So far, 25 inmates are acceptable to beryllium executed successful the U.S. successful 2025, but that fig is apt to spell up arsenic states proceed to o.k. much decease warrants. Last year, 25 inmates were executed successful the U.S.

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: Mikal Mahdi executed by firing squad successful South Carolina