South Carolina Inmate Reignites Execution Method Debate

Hand unlocking blue prison cell with keys.

South Carolina death row inmate Mikal Mahdi has chosen execution by firing squad over lethal injection or electric chair, becoming only the second modern American prisoner to face this method.

Key Takeaways

Mikal Mahdi, convicted of murdering police officer James Myers in 2004, has selected firing squad execution scheduled for April 11.
Mahdi’s lawyer described the decision as choosing “the lesser of three evils” among South Carolina’s available execution methods.
This will be the second firing squad execution in South Carolina following Brad Sigmon’s execution on March 7, the first such execution in the US in 15 years.
Only three other inmates have been executed by firing squad in the United States since 1976, all in Utah.
Mahdi’s lawyers have filed a final appeal citing inadequate defense during his original trial, though he still faces execution unless granted clemency.

The Crime and Conviction

Mahdi’s violent crime spree in July 2004 included stealing a gun and car, killing a store clerk, and carjacking before his fatal encounter with Officer Myers. On July 18, 2004, Mahdi ambushed public safety officer James Myers in Orangeburg, South Carolina, shooting him multiple times and then setting his body on fire. Authorities captured Mahdi three days later in Florida. The 41-year-old subsequently pleaded guilty to the murder and received the death sentence that he now faces.

Mahdi’s execution would mark the fourth inmate put to death in South Carolina in the past seven months, signaling the state’s renewed commitment to carrying out capital punishment after a nearly decade-long hiatus. The revival of executions follows South Carolina’s 2021 decision to implement firing squad as an alternative method when lethal injection drugs became increasingly difficult to obtain due to pharmaceutical companies’ reluctance to supply them for executions.

Execution by Firing Squad

The execution will be carried out by three prison employees who have volunteered for the duty. These volunteers will use rifles loaded with live ammunition, following a protocol similar to that used in Brad Sigmon’s execution earlier this year. South Carolina’s firing squad procedure involves the condemned prisoner being strapped to a chair with a hood placed over their head. A target is placed over the prisoner’s heart, and the volunteer marksmen fire from behind a partition.

The firing squad remains one of the rarest execution methods in modern America. Prior to Sigmon’s execution this March, the last prisoner executed by firing squad was Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah in 2010. Utah remains the only other state to have used this method since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, with only three such executions carried out there during that period.

Final Legal Efforts

Mahdi’s legal team has filed a last appeal arguing he received grossly inadequate representation during his original trial. His lawyers claim the defense presentation was superficial and brief, stating it “didn’t even span the length of a Law & Order episode, and was just as superficial.” They also cite Mahdi’s traumatic childhood and extended time in solitary confinement as factors that should be considered in evaluating his case and mental state at the time of his crimes.

Prosecutors remain firm in their position that Mahdi’s violent history justifies the death sentence. They point to his string of crimes leading up to Officer Myers’ murder as evidence of his dangerous nature. Mahdi’s final chance to avoid execution lies with Governor Henry McMaster, who could grant clemency. However, history suggests this is unlikely, as no South Carolina governor has granted clemency in a death penalty case since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.