South Carolina carried out a firing squad execution on Friday after both the state and U.S. Supreme Courts denied appeals earlier in the week.
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Mikal Mahdi, 42, was convicted of two murders committed in 2004: the killing of an off-duty police officer in Calhoun County, South Carolina, and the murder of a convenience store clerk in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For the officer’s murder, he received a death sentence, while the clerk’s murder resulted in a life imprisonment sentence, according to the Associated Press.
Mahdi was given a choice for his execution: lethal injection, the electric chair, or a firing squad. He chose the latter. According to the AP, he declined to give a final statement and avoided eye contact with the nine witnesses present. Once a hood was placed over his head, three prison employees, who had volunteered for the task, carried out the execution. Less than four minutes later, he was pronounced dead.
Prison officials reported that before his execution, Mahdi enjoyed a final meal of ribeye steak, mushroom risotto, broccoli, collard greens, and cheesecake. He paired the meal with a glass of sweet tea.
The Details of the Inmate’s Firing Squad Execution
After his extravagant meal, Mahdi was blindfolded and secured to a metal chair positioned over a catch basin in the prison’s execution chamber. A white target with a red bullseye was placed over his chest.
At 6:01 p.m., three members of the state’s corrections department took their positions behind a wall, 15 feet away. Through small openings in the partition, they fired simultaneously, each discharging a single round. As the bullets struck, Mahdi cried out, his arms jerking in response to the impact.
Mahdi reportedly groaned and took deep, labored breaths for approximately two minutes before letting out a final gasp. A doctor confirmed his death four minutes after the gunshots were fired.
Nine witnesses gathered in a room divided from the execution chamber by bulletproof glass. Among those present were a member of the victim’s family, Mahdi’s attorney, a representative from the First Circuit Solicitor’s Office, a representative from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, and three reporters. Together, they observed Mahdi’s final moments in silence.
Mikal Mahdi Reportedly Confessed to Two Murders
In 2006, Mahdi was sentenced to death after confessing to the murder of off-duty Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Capt. James Myers, 56, on Myers’ property on July 18, 2004.
Myers was shot at least eight times, and his body was burned before being discovered by his wife in their shed. The shed was located near a gas station where Mahdi had attempted to buy gas using a stolen credit card. Mahdi abandoned a car he had previously carjacked in Columbia at the gas station. He later fled in Myers’ unmarked police truck. He was eventually apprehended in Florida while driving the stolen vehicle.
Mahdi also confessed to killing convenience store clerk Christopher Boggs just three days prior to murdering Myers. According to The Associated Press, Boggs was shot twice in the head while reviewing Mahdi’s ID.
Friday’s execution marked the second time in five weeks that a South Carolina inmate was put to death by firing squad, and the fifth execution carried out in the state over the past eight months.