South Carolina Executes Mikal Mahdi by Firing Squad for Officer's Murder

Mikal Mahdi, a 42-year-old inmate, was executed by firing squad on April 11, 2024, marking the second such execution in South Carolina in less than two months. Mahdi was sentenced to death for the 2004 murder of off-duty police officer James Myers, whom he shot multiple times before burning his body. He had also previously killed a convenience store clerk just days before the officer's murder. Choosing the firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair, Mahdi's execution involved three shooters firing at a target placed over his heart. This method of execution has a controversial history, but South Carolina lawmakers consider it a more humane option amid challenges in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Mahdi’s final appeals were denied, and he was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. EDT.