Latest news with #botchedExecution
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.
South China Morning Post
09-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Lawyers for US man executed by firing squad say bullets mostly missed heart
A man who was put to death last month in South Carolina's second firing squad execution was conscious and likely suffered in extreme pain for as long as a minute after the bullets, meant to quickly stop his heart, struck him lower than expected, according to a pathologist hired by his lawyers. Advertisement The lawyers called it a botched execution because they think either the volunteer prison employees who all had live ammunition missed or the target was not placed properly. An autopsy photo of Mikal Mahdi's torso showed only two distinct wounds at the April 11 execution, according to the pathologist's report, which was filed Thursday with a letter to the state Supreme Court. Mahdi chose to be executed by firing squad over lethal injection or electrocution in the killing of an off-duty police officer in 2004. Mikal Mahdi. File photo: South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP All three guns fired simultaneously and prison officials believe all three bullets hit Mahdi with two of them entering his body at the same spot and following the same path, Corrections Department spokeswoman Chrysti Shane said Thursday. That has happened before when the firing squad team practices its job to fire at the inmate from 4.6 metres (15 feet) away. Advertisement A pathologist hired by lawyers for condemned inmates said there was not enough independent evidence from the autopsy – where only one photo of the body was taken and Mahdi's clothes were not examined – to make that conclusion.
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Man executed by firing squad was conscious for up to a minute after bullets missed target, lawyers say
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 and failed to quickly stop his heart, according to a pathologist hired by the inmate's attorneys. An autopsy photo of Mikal Mahdi's torso showed only two distinct wounds from the three prison employees who volunteered for the firing squad and had live ammunition in the April 11 execution, according to the pathologist's report. It was filed Thursday with a letter to the state Supreme Court titled "notice of botched execution." Prison workers suggested to the pathologist who performed the autopsy that two bullets entered his body at the same spot. "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," said Dr. Jonathan Arden, a pathologist hired by attorneys for condemned inmates. Arden said that likely meant Mahdi took 30 to 60 seconds to lose consciousness — two to four times longer than the 15 seconds that experts including Arden and ones hired by the state predicted for a properly conducted firing squad execution. This photo provided by South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Mikal Mahdi. South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP During that time Mahdi would have suffered excruciating pain as his lungs tried to expand and move into a broken sternum and ribs, as well as from "air hunger" as the damaged lungs struggled and failed to bring in needed oxygen, Arden said. Witnesses to the execution 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 about 75 seconds. Mahdi, 42, was executed after admitting 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. 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. A spokeswoman on Thursday said they were working to respond to the filing. 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, Arden said in a report summarizing his findings. "I noticed where the target was placed on Mikal's torso, and I remember thinking to myself, 'I'm certainly not an expert in human anatomy, but it appears to me that target looks low,'" said David Weiss, an attorney for Mahdi who was also a witness at his death. 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. Arden called that virtually unheard of in his 40 years of examining dead 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. In their conversation Marcus also said the severe amount of liver damage was not anticipated and he "expected the entrance wounds to be higher on the chest," Arden wrote in his report. In contrast, the autopsy on Brad Sigmon, the first man killed by firing squad in the 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. Without X-rays or other internal scans to follow the path of the bullets through Mahdi's body, no additional light could be shed on the two-bullets-through-one-hole claim, Arden said. Bradley declined to talk about his autopsy when reached by phone Thursday morning. Weiss said he was stunned that so little was done in the autopsy even after the pathologist saw only two holes in his chest. The apparent errors in how the execution was carried out are a major problem, he asserted. Ron Kaz demonstrates outside the site of the scheduled execution of South Carolina inmate Mikal Mahdi in Columbia, S.C., Friday, April 11, 2025. David Yeazell / AP "His heart was missed, and in all likelihood only two out of three shots were fired," Weiss said. "And I think that raises incredibly difficult questions about the type of training and oversight that is going into this process." "It was obvious to me as a lay person upon reading his autopsy report that something went wrong here. We should want to figure out what it was that went wrong when you've got state government carrying out the most serious, most grave possible type of function," Weiss said. Mahdi's body was cremated, preventing a second autopsy, Weiss said. South Carolina allows condemned inmates to choose whether to die by lethal injection, electric chair or firing squad. Sigmon's execution was the first by firing squad in 15 years anywhere in the U.S., and the fourth since 1976, with all of the others happening in Utah. The method had deep and violent roots around the world but was presented by South Carolina corrections officials as the most humane of the available options. In addition to known problems securing legitimate lethal injection drugs, autopsies have shown that lethal injection causes a rush of fluid into the lungs, and burns have been found on bodies after electrocutions. Three South Carolina inmates in the past year have chosen lethal injection, but the past two opted for the firing squad, saying they feared the other methods — autopsies have shown that lethal injection causes a rush of fluid into the lungs, and burns have been found on bodies after electrocutions. Twenty-six people remain on South Carolina's death row. Stephen Stanko, who has two death sentences for murders in Horry County and Georgetown County, has run out of appeals and likely will be scheduled to die in June.
The Independent
08-05-2025
- The Independent
Lawyers for man executed by firing squad in South Carolina say bullets mostly missed his heart
A man who was put to death last month in South Carolina 's second firing squad execution was conscious and likely in extreme pain for as long as a minute after the bullets, meant to quickly stop his heart, struck him lower than expected, according to a pathologist hired by his attorneys. An autopsy photo of Mikal Mahdi's torso showed only two distinct wounds from the three volunteer prison employees who all had live ammunition in the April 11 execution, according to the pathologist's report, which was filed Thursday with a letter to the state Supreme Court titled 'notice of botched execution.' Prison workers suggested two bullets entered his body at the same spot. '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,' said Dr. Jonathan Arden, a pathologist hired by attorneys for condemned inmates. Arden said that likely meant Mahdi took 30 to 60 seconds to lose consciousness — two to four times longer than the 15 seconds that experts including Arden and ones hired by the state predicted for a properly conducted firing squad execution. During that time Mahdi would have suffered excruciating pain as his lungs tried to expand and move into a broken sternum and ribs, as well as from 'air hunger' as the damaged lungs struggled and failed to bring in needed oxygen, Arden said. Witnesses to the execution 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. Mahdi, 42, was executed after admitting 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. 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. 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, Arden said in a report summarizing his findings. 'I noticed where the target was placed on Mikal's torso, and I remember thinking to myself, 'I'm certainly not an expert in human anatomy, but it appears to me that target looks low,'' said David Weiss, an attorney for Mahdi who was also a witness at his death. 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. Arden called that virtually unheard of in his 40 years of examining dead 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. In their conversation Marcus also said the severe amount of liver damage was not anticipated and he 'expected the entrance wounds to be higher on the chest,' Arden wrote in his report. In contrast the autopsy on Brad Sigmon, the first man killed by firing squad in the 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. Without X-rays or other internal scans to follow the path of the bullets through Mahdi's body, no additional light could be shed on the two-bullets-through-one-hole claim, Arden said. Weiss said he was stunned that so little was done in the autopsy even after the pathologist saw only two holes in his chest. The apparent errors in how the execution was carried out are a major problem, he asserted. 'His heart was missed, and in all likelihood only two out of three shots were fired,' Weiss said. 'And I think that raises incredibly difficult questions about the type of training and oversight that is going into this process.' 'It was obvious to me as a lay person upon reading his autopsy report that something went wrong here. We should want to figure out what it was that went wrong when you've got state government carrying out the most serious, most grave possible type of function,' Weiss said. Mahdi's body was cremated preventing a second autopsy, Weiss said. South Carolina allows condemned inmates to choose whether to die by lethal injection, electric chair or firing squad. Three in the past year have chosen lethal injection, but the past two opted for the firing squad, saying they feared the other methods — autopsies have shown that lethal injection causes a rush of fluid into the lungs, and burns have been found on bodies after electrocutions. Twenty-six people remain on South Carolina's death row. Stephen Stanko, who has two death sentences for murders in Horry County and Georgetown County, has run out of appeals and likely will be scheduled to die in June.
