Mikal Mahdi would have been executed by firing squad in South Carolina on April 11. Now, shocking discoveries from his autopsy have produced new evidence that raises important questions about the integrity of the process itself. Recent reports document alarming differences in the execution protocol. This has led to fears over the professional competency of the execution team and whether their chosen method would work.
On the day of execution, Mahdi was taped into a chair with a large red bullseye target marker pasted right over his heart. His team of executioners, three state prison employees, were about 15 feet from him. Members of the public, including one local reporter, were banished behind bullet-proof glass in order to view the event.
When the bullets hit, Mahdi said, he screamed in shock and his arms involuntarily jerked up. Witnesses reported that he groaned twice after about 45 seconds, and his respiratory effort lasted for about 80 seconds after the execution began. Within a minute of the shooting, a physician would take a cursory look at Mahdi. Sadly, he was pronounced dead nearly four minutes after that.
According to a copy of the autopsy report, Mahdi had been shot in the chest with two approximately half-inch-wide gunshot wounds. Dr. Jonathan Arden, a well-known forensic pathologist, did the autopsy. He determined that Mahdi suffered “severe agonizing aware pain and distress for up to 30 to 60 seconds.” These vents were often made to the lower chest, just above the abdomen, Dr. Arden noted. As you can see, they all had a downward trajectory and largely missed the center of the heart.
Mahdi’s attorneys consider his execution got a goof. The shooters shrank emotional target practice, missing its intended target area on his heart. They have ruled on the merits of issuing autopsy records and reports to the State of South Carolina Supreme Court. These new documents question both the legality and the morality of firing squads as an execution method.
“Among the questions that remain: 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 attorneys
Perhaps that’s why the autopsy findings have raised such eyebrows and called for greater inspection into the protocol used by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). Dr. Arden explained that if the procedure is done properly, the heart needs to be shattered right away, defeating all circulation. But even then, he did not sugar coat it, stating, “The shooters have completely missed the intended target zone.”
In reaction to these conclusions, Mahdi’s lawyers released the following statement detailing the state of their discontent. For their part, the defense attorneys contend that their client made the decision to be executed by firing squad. Their client– the federal government– thought it was going to be done right. They claim this confidence turned out to be misplaced as well.
“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,” – Mahdi’s attorneys
The state supreme court has weighed in on the issue, highlighting concerns regarding the risk of “unnecessary and excessive conscious pain.” That every major failing in carrying out the procedure would result in an utterly horrific result was key to the court’s ruling. In other words, should the firing squad miss the inmate’s heart entirely, this outcome should never be permissible.
“Unless there is a massive botch of the execution in which each member of the firing squad simply misses the inmate’s heart,” – state supreme court
Dr. Bradley Marcus further clarified the autopsy’s findings, stating: “It is believed that gunshot wound labeled (A) represents two gunshot wound pathways.” This quote suggests that there was misunderstanding or miscalculation within the execution team as to their goal.
Mahdi’s attorneys have described this incident, at least in part, as a “massive botch.” On one hand, they tell jurors that grave mistakes in day-to-day thoughts led to their customer excessive agony.
“A massive botch is exactly what happened,” – Mahdi’s lawyers
While this case continues to develop, it raises wider issues about the optics of capital punishment within South Carolina. Are they enough to guarantee people will be treated humanely before they’re killed through these executions? The legal and ethical implications of using firing squads—especially after such a botched execution—are now facing a largely unseen spotlight.