South Carolina's Execution Spree: A Look at Mikal Mahdi's Fate

The state of South Carolina has been in the spotlight recently due to its aggressive push to carry out executions. Just last week, Mikal Mahdi, a 42-year-old man, was put to death by a firing squad. This was the second such execution in the state in recent times. Mahdi was convicted for the murder of James Myers, an off-duty public safety officer, back in 2004. His legal team had been fighting to block the execution, arguing that Mahdi had experienced significant abuse and torture during his childhood and had not received a fair trial. Unfortunately, both the state courts and the US Supreme Court rejected these final petitions. The governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, announced just minutes before the execution that he would not be commuting Mahdi's sentence. It's worth noting that no governor in the state has granted clemency to a death row defendant in the last 50 years. The state had resumed executions last year after a 13-year pause, caused by difficulties in obtaining lethal injection supplies. Now, inmates on death row are given the choice of how they wish to be executed: electric chair, lethal injection, or firing squad. Mahdi's lawyers stated that he chose the firing squad as the "lesser of three evils, " preferring to be shot rather than "burned and mutilated in the electric chair" or suffer a prolonged death by lethal injection. The execution process involved Mahdi being strapped to a chair and shot by three prison employees aiming at a target on his chest. He did not make a final statement and did not look at the witnesses present, which included his lawyer. According to an Associated Press reporter who was a media witness, Mahdi cried out when shot, his arms flexed, and he groaned a couple of times before taking his final breaths around 80 seconds later. He was pronounced dead just under four minutes after being shot. Mahdi's lawyer, David Weiss, released a statement expressing the deep loss felt by those who knew him. He highlighted Mahdi's potential and the tragic circumstances that led to his execution, describing it as a "horrifying act" that should not occur in a civilized society. It's important to consider the broader context of Mahdi's life. His upbringing was marked by violence and neglect. His mother left when he was just four years old, and by the age of nine, he was already suicidal and had been briefly committed to a psychiatric facility. He did not receive further treatment and was homeschooled by his father, who held conspiracy theories. Mahdi entered the prison system as a young teenager and spent a significant amount of time in solitary confinement, which is now widely regarded as torture. At the age of 21, just two months after being released from prison, Mahdi committed a series of violent crimes, including the murder of Myers. His trial lawyers failed to adequately represent him, and the judge sentenced him to death without fully considering the extent of his traumatic background. The South Carolina attorney general's office argued that Mahdi had exhausted his appeals and that his claims of ineffective counsel had already been addressed. However, critics point out that Mahdi's life was a clear example of systemic neglect, and his execution was a cruel and final failure of the justice system. In his final days, Mahdi had been trying to learn Spanish and had expressed a desire to donate his organs after his death. Unfortunately, healthcare protocols prevented this from happening. Anti-death penalty advocates had been holding vigils, calling for McMaster to grant clemency, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Mahdi's execution was the 12th of the year so far. It came just a month after South Carolina executed Brad Sigmon, the first person to be put to death by firing squad in the US in 15 years. The state has executed five people in the last seven months, facing ongoing scrutiny over the secrecy of its methods and the harsh conditions on death row.