South Carolina Executes Mikal Mahdi by Firing Squad

Mikal Mahdi, a 42-year-old inmate, was executed by firing squad in South Carolina on Friday, marking the state's second such execution in just over a month. Mahdi was sentenced to death for the 2004 murder of off-duty police officer James Myers and the murder of a convenience store clerk. He chose the firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair due to concerns about the latter methods causing suffering. The execution was carried out by three volunteers who fired from a distance of about 15 feet, with Mahdi pronounced dead less than four minutes after the shots were fired. This execution is part of South Carolina's recent resumption of capital punishment after a 13-year hiatus, with five executions occurring in less than eight months. Mahdi is the 12th inmate executed in the U.S. this year, amidst ongoing debates about the ethics and methods of capital punishment.