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Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Inmate Executed by Firing Squad Died in ‘Excruciating' Pain After Bullets Missed His Heart, Autopsy Report Suggests
South Carolina man Mikal Mahdi — who was convicted of two 2004 murders, including the death of a police officer — was executed by firing squad on April 11 Now, attorneys for Mahdi are claiming he died in 'excruciating conscious pain and suffering' during the execution Mahdi's legal team filed a complaint with the South Carolina Supreme Court on May 8, claiming the execution was 'botched' by the South Carolina Department of CorrectionsA man recently executed by firing squad in South Carolina is said to have died in "excruciating' pain, suggests an autopsy report in a legal complaint filed by his attorneys nearly a month after the execution. Mikal Mahdi — who was convicted of two 2004 murders, including the death of a police officer — was executed on April 11. Now, his legal team claims the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) 'botched' it. Mahdi, 42, opted for death by firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair 'based on the assumption that SCDC could be entrusted to carry out its straightforward steps: locating the heart; placing a target over it; and hitting that target,' per Mahdi's attorneys in the complaint, obtained and reviewed by The Guardian, that was submitted May 8 to the South Carolina Supreme Court. However, according to Dr. Jonathan Arden, a forensic pathologist retained by Mahdi's lawyers to review his autopsy, Mahdi may have experienced 'excruciating conscious pain and suffering for about 30 to 60 seconds,' per the complaint. PEOPLE reached out to an attorney for Mahdi on Saturday, May 10, but did not receive an immediate response. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. When the state supreme court confirmed the legality of execution by firing squad in 2024, it did so with the understanding that the inmate would not suffer more than '10-15 seconds.' Anything more than that would be deemed exceedingly cruel and unusual, and therefore unconstitutional. A reporter for the Associated Press who was present during the execution also said that Mahdi appeared to struggle after being shot, stating that he 'cried out' and 'flexed' his arms after he was shot. 'He groaned two more times about 45 seconds after that. His breaths continued for about 80 seconds before he appeared to take one final gasp. A doctor checked him for a little over a minute, and he was declared dead ... less than four minutes after the shots were fired,' the reporter wrote. Mahdi's legal team is now claiming that the execution was 'botched,' per NBC News. Mahdi's legal team also claims that the three-person firing squad tasked with shooting Mahdi in the heart largely missed their target, with Mahdi incurring more damage to other internal organs than should have been expected, leading to prolonged suffering. "Mikal's heart was left almost completely intact," David Weiss, one of Mahdi's attorneys, told NBC News. Mahdi's attorneys said they felt "obliged" to share the information with the state court in an effort to prevent this from happening to other death row inmates. 'The implications are horrifying for anyone facing the same choice,' Weiss said in a statement obtained to NBC News. 'South Carolina's refusal to acknowledge their failures with executions cannot continue.' Chrysti Shain, director of communications for the SCDC, told PEOPLE via email that an autopsy conducted by the SCDC unequivocally showed that all bullets struck Mahdi in the heart and that all other statements regarding what occurred during the execution are merely 'interpretations from paid consultants.' She further stated that a 'medical professional used a stethoscope' to accurately place a clear target over Mahdi's heart prior to the execution. Mahdi was the second inmate to be executed in South Carolina via firing squad this year, the first being Brad Sigmon. Sigmon was executed on March 7 for the bludgeoning deaths of his girlfriend's parents in 2001. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Killer executed by firing squad died in ‘excruciating conscious pain' after bullet missed heart, report says
A convicted killer who was executed in South Carolina by firing squad last month endured 'excruciating conscious pain and suffering' for up to a minute when the shooters 'largely missed his heart,' causing him to suffer a prolonged death, according to his attorneys. Mikal Mahdi, 42, cried out as the bullets hit him and groaned twice before he took his final gasp of breath, the Associated Press reported. The firing squad execution of Mahdi on April 11 is the second one to be carried out this year in South Carolina using the controversial method. Now Mahdi's attorneys have submitted a status report with the South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday, claiming their client's death was a 'massive botch.' 'The implications of this botch are horrifying,' the attorneys wrote in the 'Notice of Botched Execution' report obtained by The Guardian. Citing a third-party autopsy report commissioned by the SCDC, the lawyers claim several alleged mistakes were made by the corrections department shooters, writing that they fired two shots instead of three, as required, and indicated that their low placement of shots, all ultimately led to Madhi's 'suffering.' Madhi appeared to have two half-inch wounds that were 'just above the border with the abdomen, which is not an area largely overlying the heart,' Dr. Jonathan Arden, one of the pathologists from the autopsy, noted in the report, according to the Supreme Court notice. 'The autopsy also documents two distinct wound paths that traveled 'downward and to the right' inside Mr. Mahdi's torso, 'macerat[ing] the left lobe of the liver and the pancreas' and 'the left lower lung lobe' before crashing into his spine and ribs,' the document says, quoting Arden's report. 'Along the way, bullet fragments made 'two perforations of the right ventricle of [Mr. Mahdi's] heart, comprising two holes in the front, and two holes in the back,' leaving it otherwise intact.' Mahdi's attorneys wrote that they felt obliged to share the information with the court and other inmates who will face this same dilemma. They said Mahdi had the choice of dying by firing squad, lethal injection, or the electric chair – and that he had chosen the firing squad, what he considered the 'lesser of three evils', his attorneys said. 'Mr. Mahdi elected the firing squad, and this Court sanctioned it, based on the assumption that SCDC could be entrusted to carry out its straightforward steps: locating the heart; placing a target over it; and hitting that target,' the attorneys wrote in the report. 'That confidence was clearly misplaced.' Mahdi had been on death row for the killing of Orangeburg Public Safety officer James Myers in 2004, shooting him at least eight times, then burning his body. Myers' wife found him in the shed, which had been the backdrop to their wedding 15 months earlier. He had also admitted to the killing three days earlier of Christopher Biggs, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, convenience store clerk who was shot twice in the head as he checked Mahdi's ID. Mahdi was sentenced to life in prison for that killing. Mahdi's execution came a little over a month after Brad Sigmon was put to death March 7, in the first U.S. firing squad death in 15 years and the fourth since 1976. The others all occurred in Utah. The firing squad is an execution method with a long and violent history around the world, but South Carolina lawmakers saw it as the quickest and most humane method, especially with the uncertainty in obtaining lethal injection drugs, the Associated Press reported.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
S.C. inmate's firing squad execution was 'botched,' with bullets mostly missing his heart, lawyers say
Mikal Mahdi was executed on April 11, becoming the second man in South Carolina to be executed by a three-person firing squad this year after admitting to killing an off-duty police officer in 2004. Mahdi's legal team filed a complaint with the South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday saying that the execution was botched. The filing contained a report from forensic pathologist Dr. Jonathan Arden, who reviewed Mahdi's autopsy and photographs of the gunshot wounds and bullet fragments. The attorneys claim that only two of the bullets struck Mahdi, and that they largely missed his heart in such a way that he suffered long enough to violate constitutional law against cruel and unusual punishment. The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDOC) commissioned an autopsy that found all three bullets struck Mahdi's heart, and that other statements are "interpretations" of what the examination showed. 'The causes of this botch are unknown,' Mahdi's legal team wrote in their notice. 'Did one member of the execution team miss Mr. Mahdi entirely? Did they not fire at all? How did the two who did shoot Mr. Mahdi miss his heart?' Mahdi's autopsy that was commissioned by the SCDOC, performed by Dr. Marcus Bradley, showed the inmate only had two gunshot wounds, even though three bullets were simultaneously fired, with no exit wounds. Bradley noted that one wound — labeled gunshot wound A — represented the pathway of two gunshots, meaning two bullets entered through the same exact hole. Arden, with a 40-year-career in forensic pathology, called this "extraordinarily uncommon" in his report. He wrote that even if both bullets had the same entrance wound, it would be "larger and more irregular in configuration," than a typical wound of one projectile. The autopsy photograph of Mahdi's wounds showed "two typical gunshot wounds," Arden found. Arden said in his report he spoke with Bradley on April 24, who said he took the photograph of the gunshot wounds to "document the unexpected finding." Bradley "acknowledged that such an occurrence would be 'remote' in his estimation," the report stated. A third doctor, forensic pathologist Dr. Carl Wigren, reviewed the autopsy for NPR, concluding the odds of two bullets entering through the exact same entrance wound were 'pretty miniscule.' The SCDOC noted there were no bullet fragments found in the execution room. Arden compared Mahdi's wounds to Brad Sigmon's, the first South Carolina man to be executed by firing squad in the state on March 7. Sigmon's execution marked the first death by firing squad in the U.S. in the past 15 years. Photographs from Sigmon's autopsy showed three separate entrance wounds, all in the center-left of the chest and visibly higher than Mahdi's wounds. 'The autopsy confirms what I saw and heard,' one of Mahdi's attorneys, David Weiss, said in a statement. 'Mikal suffered an excruciating death. We don't know what went wrong, but nothing about his execution was humane.' South Carolina passed a law in 2021 allowing inmates to choose a third method of execution — firing squad — in addition to lethal injection and electric chair. Inmates challenged the law, but the state Supreme Court affirmed the legality of a firing squad in 2024, on the basis that a person would suffer no longer than 15 seconds before going unconscious, if shot in the heart. Arden testified as an expert in the case. The judges wrote that Arden's testimony established the 15-second period of time during which an inmate would suffer pain, 'unless there is a massive botch of the execution in which each member of the firing squad simply misses the inmate's heart.' At Mahdi's execution, a witness reporter from the Associated Press wrote that Mahdi cried out as the shots hit him, his arms flexed. "He groaned two more times about 45 seconds after that," the report stated. "His breaths continued for about 80 seconds before he appeared to take one final gasp." The SCDOC autopsy said the bullets struck Mahdi's heart in the right ventricle, as well as his diaphragm, left liver lobe and pancreas — all areas of the lower chest and abdomen. But in his report, Arden stated the location of Mahdi's entrance wounds were "on the lowest area of the chest and not obviously overlying the heart," although the location of the target relative to Mahdi's heart cannot be determined. A spokesperson for the SCDOC said a medical professional used a stethoscope to place the target and a chest X-ray was conducted. Witnesses saw the target pushed into the wound in Mahdi's chest. Compared to Sigmond's entrance wounds, which were all in the left-center of his chest, Mahdi's were visibly lower. Arden said Bradley noted he thought the entrance wounds would be higher in the chest and 'did not expect to find such severe damage to the liver.' "Mikhal's heart was left almost completely intact," Weiss told NBC News, indicating that was the cause of in the inmate's prolonged death. "That's not to say that it was missed entirely." "Both the forensic medical evidence and the reported eyewitness observations of the execution corroborate that Mr. Mahdi was alive and reacting longer than was intended or expected," Arden's report concluded. Mahdi's attorneys said in the notice that they felt "obliged" to share the information in Arden's report with the state court. 'The implications are horrifying for anyone facing the same choice as Mikal,' Weiss said in a statement. 'South Carolina's refusal to acknowledge their failures with executions cannot continue.' The South Carolina Department of Corrections confirmed there are 25 people currently on South Carolina's death row. An additional man has been sentenced to death but is on death row in California, as he was sentenced in both states. There are no current execution warrants in the state, but one could come soon, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. This article was originally published on
The Sun
09-05-2025
- The Sun
Firing squad ‘botched' death row execution as inmate suffers ‘excruciating' death bleeding out strapped to chair
A SOUTH Carolina firing squad has been accused by experts of botching the execution of a convicted cop killer, leaving him in "excruciating" pain as he bled to death. None of the bullets directly hit Mikal Mahdi's heart, as is supposed to happen during an execution, an autopsy commissioned by the state has revealed. 5 5 Mikal Mahdi, 42, was shot dead on April 11, marking South Carolina's second execution in just over a month. An autopsy of Mahdi's chest showed only two bullet wounds instead of three from the trio of prison employees who volunteered for the squad, according to the NPR's report. It has been revealed that the bullets injured his liver and other internal organs but missed his heart, which continued to beat and as a result, left him alive for roughly a minute, experts said. The autopsy was filed on Thursday by Mahdi's lawyers with a letter to the state Supreme Court titled "notice of botched execution". 'Mr. Mahdi did experience excruciating conscious pain and suffering for about 30 to 60 seconds after he was shot,' pathologist Dr. Jonathan Arden wrote in his analysis of the autopsy. Arden, hired by Mahdi's legal team to review the autopsy, added that Mahdi was 'alive and reacting longer than was intended or expected'. Dr. Carl Wigren, a forensic pathologist who reviewed the autopsy documents for NPR, said: 'He's not going to die instantaneously from this." He added: 'I think that it took him some time to bleed out.' Mahdi was sentenced to death for the 2004 murder of off-duty public safety officer Captain James Myers, who was shot nine times and set on fire in a shed where he had married his wife just 15 months earlier. He was also convicted of murdering two other people, as well as of carjacking and firearm robbery. The killer chose to be executed by firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair, as he feared being 'burned and mutilated' or 'suffering a lingering death', his attorney said. Strapped to a metal chair beneath a hood and with a red bullseye target placed over his heart, Mahdi gave no final words and refused to look at the nine witnesses behind the bulletproof glass. He cried out and flexed his arms as three prison staff fired rounds into his chest, then groaned twice more before taking a final breath 80 seconds later. A doctor pronounced him dead four minutes after the shots were fired. Though South Carolina's constitution bans cruel or unusual punishment, the state Supreme Court ruled last year that firing squads aren't cruel - claiming death occurs within 15 seconds. The justices wrote: 'The evidence before us convinces us - though an inmate executed via the firing squad is likely to feel pain, perhaps excruciating pain - that the pain will last only ten to fifteen seconds. 'Unless there is a massive botch of the execution in which each member of the firing squad simply misses the inmate's heart.' A doctor noted in the state autopsy's comments section that 'it is believed' two bullets passed through a single wound. But pathologists reviewing the case expressed doubt, with Wigren stating, 'I think the odds of that are pretty minuscule.' A doctor noted in the comments section on the state autopsy that 'it is believed that' two bullets went through one wound. But pathologists who reviewed were skeptical that two bullets went through precisely the same small hole. 'I think the odds of that are pretty minuscule,' Wigren said. Jeffrey Collins, a reporter for the Associated Press, wrote that he heard Mahdi groan twice about 45 seconds after shots. He claimed Mahdi continued to breathe for another 80 seconds before he appeared to take a final gasp. Pathologist Arden concluded in his report: 'Both the forensic medical evidence and the reported eyewitness observations of the execution corroborate that Mr. Mahdi was alive and reacting longer than was intended or expected." Mahdi's execution was the fifth in the state in less than eight months, and the 12th in the US so far this year. During his trial, Assistant Solicitor David Pascoe called him 'the epitome of evil' and said: 'His heart and mind are full of hate and malice.' Myers' wife, Amy Tripp Myers, gave a heartbreaking testimony: 'I found the love of my life, my soulmate, the partner that my life revolved around, lifeless, lying in a pool of blood and his body burned by someone who didn't even know him.' In a letter written before his death, Mahdi admitted: 'I'm guilty as hell… What I've done is irredeemable.' Despite a final push by his legal team and childhood teachers calling for clemency, Republican Governor Henry McMaster denied a last-minute appeal. The US Supreme Court also rejected his final petition. Mahdi's death followed the execution of 67-year-old Brad Sigmon in March, the first firing squad execution in South Carolina after a 13-year pause. 5 5
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cop killer dies after ‘botched' firing squad execution; witness in the room reveals how it happened
An inmate put to death last month in South Carolina's second firing squad execution was conscious and likely in extreme pain for up to a minute after the bullets missed their target, attorneys allege. Dr. Jonathan Arden, a forensic pathologist hired by Mikal Mahdi's attorneys, alleged that the execution on April 11 was a "massive botch" after he completed an analysis of the autopsy findings, according to the pathologist's report, which was filed Thursday with a letter to the state Supreme Court. The lawsuit challenges the legal precedent set in Owens v. Stirling—that firing squads are humane if properly carried out—by alleging that Mahdi's execution amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Mahdi, 42, was convicted in the 2004 killings of an off-duty police officer in Calhoun County, South Carolina, and a convenience store clerk in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was sentenced to death for the murder of the officer and life in prison for the clerk's murder. Mikal Mahdi, South Carolina Inmate Convicted In Two Seperate 2004 Murders, Executed By Firing Squad Arden's analysis alleged that only two bullets struck Mahdi, both low in the torso and well below the heart, contradicting protocol which requires three shots to the heart for rapid death. Read On The Fox News App "The shooters missed the intended target area and the evidence indicates that he was struck by only two bullets, not the prescribed three. Consequently, the nature of the internal injuries from the gunshot wounds resulted in a more prolonged death process," Arden said. The partial damage to Mahdi's heart allowed continued circulation, leading Arden to determine that Mahdi likely remained conscious for up to 60 seconds after being shot. Witnesses to the execution, according to The AP, heard Mahdi cry out as the shots were fired, groan again some 45 seconds later and let out one last low moan just before he appeared to draw his final breath at 75 seconds. Arden also criticized the autopsy for lacking essential documentation, such as x-rays, clothing examination and adequate photographs. Condemned Sc Man's Case About 'Appropriate Punishment' As He Awaits 'Inhumane' Firing Squad Execution: Lawyer He said that Mahdi's execution failed to meet medical and constitutional standards for a humane death. In contrast, the autopsy on Brad Sigmon, the first man killed by firing squad in the Palmetto State, showed three distinct bullet wounds and his heart was obliterated, Arden said. He added that the autopsy report in that case included X-rays, adequate photos and a cursory examination of his clothes. Prison officials have given no indication that there were problems with Mahdi's execution. A shield law keeps many details private, including the training and methods used by the firing squad. In the official autopsy report, pathologist Dr. Bradley Marcus wrote that the reason there were only two wounds is that one could have been caused by two bullets entering the body at the same spot. Marcus said he spoke to an unnamed prison official who reported that when the three volunteer firing squad members practice, sometimes their targets end up with just one or two holes from three live rounds. Second South Carolina Inmate Chooses Execution By Firing Squad Arden called that virtually unheard of in his 40 years of examining bodies and said Marcus told him in a conversation that the possibility was remote. The autopsy found damage in only one of the four chambers of Mahdi's heart — the right ventricle. There was extensive damage to his liver and pancreas as the bullets continued down. "The entrance wounds were at the lowest area of the chest, just above the border with the abdomen, which is an area not largely overlying the heart," Arden wrote. Mahdi was sentenced to death in 2006 after he admitted to killing off-duty Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Capt. James Myers, 56, on his property on July 18, 2004. Myers had been shot at least eight times and his body was burned when his wife found him in their shed, which was near a gas station where Mahdi attempted to purchase gas with a stolen credit card. He left a vehicle he had carjacked in Columbia at the gas station and was later arrested in Florida while driving Myers' unmarked police truck. Mahdi also admitted to murdering convenience clerk Christopher Boggs three days before he killed Myers. Boggs was shot in the head twice while checking Mahdi's ID, according to The AP. The Associated Press contributed to this article source: Cop killer dies after 'botched' firing squad execution; witness in the room reveals how it happened
