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Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Lawmakers seek investigation into South Carolina's firing squad execution
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Two South Carolina legislators have requested an investigation into the state's firing squad execution last month after lawyers for the inmate said his autopsy showed the shots nearly missed his heart and left him in extreme pain for up to a minute. The Democratic and Republican representatives asked the governor, the prison system and leaders in the state House and Senate for an independent and comprehensive review of the April 11 execution of Mikal Mahdi. They also want the firing squad removed from the methods of execution that an inmate can choose until an investigation is complete. Condemned prisoners in South Carolina can also choose lethal injection or the electric chair. Reps. Justin Bamberg and Neal Collins wrote in their letter that the request doesn't diminish the crimes Mahdi was convicted of, nor was it rooted in sympathy for the 42-year-old inmate. Mahdi was put to death for the 2004 shooting of an off-duty police officer during a robbery. 'This independent investigation is to preserve the integrity of South Carolina's justice system and public confidence in our state's administration of executions under the rule of law,' they wrote. Bamberg, a Democrat, and Coillins, a Republican, are deskmates in the South Carolina House. Prison officials say the execution was conducted properly Prison officials said they thought the execution was properly conducted. House and Senate leaders did not respond. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said he sees no need to investigate. 'The governor has high confidence in the leadership of the Department of Corrections. He believes the sentence of death for Mr. Mahdi was properly and lawfully carried out,' wrote spokesman Brandon Charochak in an email. Even without an investigation, what happened at Mahdi's execution may get hashed out in court soon. A possible execution date for Stephen Stanko, who has two death sentences for murders in Horry County and Georgetown County, could be set as soon as Friday. He would have to decide two weeks later how he wants to die. Mahdi had admitted he killed Orangeburg Public Safety officer James Myers in 2004, shooting him at least eight times before burning his body. Myers' wife found him in the couple's Calhoun County shed, which had been the backdrop to their wedding 15 months earlier. Just one autopsy photo The autopsy conducted after Mahdi's execution raised several questions that the lawmakers repeated in their letter. The only photo of Mahdi's body taken at his autopsy showed just two distinct wounds in his torso. A pathologist who reviewed the results for Mahdi's lawyers said that showed one of the three shots from the three prison employee volunteers on the firing squad missed. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy concluded that two bullets entered the body in the same place after consulting with an unnamed prison official who said that had happened before in training. Prison officials said all three guns fired and no bullets or fragments were found in the death chamber. 'Both bullets traveling on the exact same trajectory both before and after hitting a target through the same exact entrance point is contrary to the law of physics,' Bamberg and Collins wrote. Shots appeared to have hit low In the state's first firing squad execution of Brad Sigmon on March 7, three distinct wounds were found on his chest and his heart was heavily damaged, according to his autopsy report. The shots barely hit one of the four chambers of Mahdi's heart and extensively damaged his liver and lungs. Where it likely takes someone 15 seconds to lose consciousness when the heart is directly hit, Mahdi likely was aware and in extreme pain for 30 seconds to a minute, said Dr. Jonathan Arden, the pathologist who reviewed the autopsy for the inmate's lawyers. Witnesses said Mahdi cried out as the shots were fired at his execution, groaned again some 45 seconds later and let out one last low moan just before he appeared to draw his final breath at 75 seconds. Little documentation at the autopsy Bamberg and Collins said Mahdi's autopsy itself was problematic. The official autopsy did not include X-rays to allow the results to be independently verified; only one photo was taken of Mahdi's body, and no close-ups of the wounds; and his clothing was not examined to determine where the target was placed and how it aligned with the damage the bullets caused to his shirt and his body. 'I think it is really stretching the truth to say that Mikal Mahdi had an autopsy. I think most pathologists would say that he had 'an external examination of the body,'' said Jonathan Groner, an expert in lethal injection and other capital punishments and a surgeon who teaches at Ohio State University. Sigmon's autopsy included X-rays, several photos and a cursory examination of his clothes Prison officials have used the same company, Professional Pathology Services, for all its execution autopsies, Corrections Department spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said. They provide no instructions or restrictions to the firm for any autopsy, she said. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy refused to answer questions from The Associated Press. Bamberg and Collins also want the state to allow at least one legislator to attend executions as witnesses. State law is specific about who can be in the small witness room: prison staff, two representatives for the inmate, three relatives of the victim, a law enforcement officer, the prosecutor where the crime took place, and three members of the media.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Lawmakers seek investigation into South Carolina's firing squad execution
Two South Carolina legislators have requested an investigation into the state's firing squad execution last month after lawyers for the inmate said his autopsy showed the shots nearly missed his heart and left him in extreme pain for up to a minute. The Democratic and Republican representatives asked the governor, the prison system and leaders in the state House and Senate for an independent and comprehensive review of the April 11 execution of Mikal Mahdi. They also want the firing squad removed from the methods of execution that an inmate can choose until an investigation is complete. Condemned prisoners in South Carolina can also choose lethal injection or the electric chair. Reps. Justin Bamberg and Neal Collins wrote in their letter that the request doesn't diminish the crimes Mahdi was convicted of, nor was it rooted in sympathy for the 42-year-old inmate. Mahdi was put to death for the 2004 shooting of an off-duty police officer during a robbery. 'This independent investigation is to preserve the integrity of South Carolina's justice system and public confidence in our state's administration of executions under the rule of law,' they wrote. Bamberg, a Democrat, and Coillins, a Republican, are deskmates in the South Carolina House. Prison officials say the execution was conducted properly Prison officials said they thought the execution was properly conducted. House and Senate leaders did not respond. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said he sees no need to investigate. 'The governor has high confidence in the leadership of the Department of Corrections. He believes the sentence of death for Mr. Mahdi was properly and lawfully carried out," wrote spokesman Brandon Charochak in an email. Even without an investigation, what happened at Mahdi's execution may get hashed out in court soon. A possible execution date for Stephen Stanko, who has two death sentences for murders in Horry County and Georgetown County, could be set as soon as Friday. He would have to decide two weeks later how he wants to die. Mahdi had admitted he killed Orangeburg Public Safety officer James Myers in 2004, shooting him at least eight times before burning his body. Myers' wife found him in the couple's Calhoun County shed, which had been the backdrop to their wedding 15 months earlier. Just one autopsy photo The autopsy conducted after Mahdi's execution raised several questions that the lawmakers repeated in their letter. The only photo of Mahdi's body taken at his autopsy showed just two distinct wounds in his torso. A pathologist who reviewed the results for Mahdi's lawyers said that showed one of the three shots from the three prison employee volunteers on the firing squad missed. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy concluded that two bullets entered the body in the same place after consulting with an unnamed prison official who said that had happened before in training. Prison officials said all three guns fired and no bullets or fragments were found in the death chamber. 'Both bullets traveling on the exact same trajectory both before and after hitting a target through the same exact entrance point is contrary to the law of physics,' Bamberg and Collins wrote. Shots appeared to have hit low In the state's first firing squad execution of Brad Sigmon on March 7, three distinct wounds were found on his chest and his heart was heavily damaged, according to his autopsy report. The shots barely hit one of the four chambers of Mahdi's heart and extensively damaged his liver and lungs. Where it likely takes someone 15 seconds to lose consciousness when the heart is directly hit, Mahdi likely was aware and in extreme pain for 30 seconds to a minute, said Dr. Jonathan Arden, the pathologist who reviewed the autopsy for the inmate's lawyers. Witnesses said Mahdi cried out as the shots were fired at his execution, groaned again some 45 seconds later and let out one last low moan just before he appeared to draw his final breath at 75 seconds. Little documentation at the autopsy Bamberg and Collins said Mahdi's autopsy itself was problematic. The official autopsy did not include X-rays to allow the results to be independently verified; only one photo was taken of Mahdi's body, and no close-ups of the wounds; and his clothing was not examined to determine where the target was placed and how it aligned with the damage the bullets caused to his shirt and his body. 'I think it is really stretching the truth to say that Mikal Mahdi had an autopsy. I think most pathologists would say that he had 'an external examination of the body,'' said Jonathan Groner, an expert in lethal injection and other capital punishments and a surgeon who teaches at Ohio State University. Sigmon's autopsy included X-rays, several photos and a cursory examination of his clothes Prison officials have used the same company, Professional Pathology Services, for all its execution autopsies, Corrections Department spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said. They provide no instructions or restrictions to the firm for any autopsy, she said. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy refused to answer questions from The Associated Press. Bamberg and Collins also want the state to allow at least one legislator to attend executions as witnesses. State law is specific about who can be in the small witness room: prison staff, two representatives for the inmate, three relatives of the victim, a law enforcement officer, the prosecutor where the crime took place, and three members of the media.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congressional term limits aren't the answer to Washington's problems. Elections are
Editor's note: Below are the reasons three South Carolina state representatives gave at a Feb. 4 House Judiciary committee meeting for voting against a resolution calling for a change to the U.S. Constitution to impose term limits on members of Congress. The committee approved House Concurrent Resolution 3008 on a 13-11 vote, and the House subsequently passed it onto the state Senate, where it sits now. Rep. John King, D-York: 'I believe we do have term limits. Every two years people can decide whether they want to send us back here as we've seen. People have voted some of our colleagues out of office, and you have (incumbent politicians come up for re-election0 every four years in the Senate, six years in the U.S. Senate. 'Term limits to me are every time we run for office. We should not be telling people who they want to represent them on the state or federal level. That's why we have districts. And those people in our districts have sent us here and they have determined who they want to be their representatives. So I think that if you feel like D.C. needs to have term limits then you need to be doing something about term limits here in South Carolina. 'I just have a problem with us wanting to carve out our congressional folk and say they should have term limits and then not look at the South Carolina General Assembly and not have term limits for us. I just believe that we have what we have as term limits presently. When people go to the polls every two years they can decide who they want to elect and be their representatives.' Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg: 'I personally don't believe in term limits. I think that people are going to vote for who they want to vote for. If they like you and you're doing a good job and you're pleasing the majority of your constituents, they'll keep sending you back. 'To me, term limits arbitrarily tie the hands of the general public. Because even if they wanted to keep someone they thought was doing a good job — or alternatively they maybe didn't think they were doing a good job but they thought they were better than the alternative choice — if you impute term limits in any fashion, you're tying their hands and you're forcing a decision on them. 'I think that's the opposite of small government. Let people decide. And I highly question any data that says that 70% of South Carolinians or whoever are in favor of term limits on the federal level because we have almost had the same federal delegation forever. One, two, three, four, five, 10 terms or whatever it is. So I question the validity of that data. I don't believe it because if that were the case then we'd have an entire brand new federal delegation already. If Congress won't impose term limits on itself, the states need to enact them | Opinion 'Term limits, again, just restrict people's freedoms. You've got folks who want to see the presidency be able to have a third term because they love the particular president that much, and I don't agree, but I respect the fact that they think that. But for a presidential term limit, they'd be able to try to do that.' Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg: 'This bill has seemingly been up in front of this body almost every year, at least for 20 years that I'm aware of. It comes up every year, and what I think people need to recognize is that, in terms of the drawback on term limits, you lose a lot of institutional knowledge, in terms of the body, in terms of how things work, the process.... 'One of the things that we need to be concerned about is of course the further ungirdling of this thing that we call a democracy because the people every two years get an opportunity to decide whether that representative or senator is doing a good job or a bad job, whether it's on the federal level or the state level. And I don't think we need to treat the federal level any differently than we treat ourselves.… 'It's important in the long term that we look at how this works on a national level for a small state like South Carolina, which has a small number of … members of Congress, where seniority is important. 'Where would the state of South Carolina be if we did not have single legislators in place such as Congressman (Jim) Clyburn? I think, because of his seniority in the Congress through both Democratic and Republican administrations, he has been successful in terms of guiding billions of dollars for high-speed internet and also for infrastructure back to the state. That didn't just happen. That came about because of the leverage that he had because of his seniority.'
