South Carolina sets the date for its fifth run in under 7 months
South Carolina Following an unwilling 13-year suspension, the resumption of execution in the fall, when the nation became the fifth person to be sentenced to death, scheduled the execution of inmates convicted of shooting a police officer who would not retire.
Mikal Mahdi, 41, is scheduled to be executed in a Columbia prison at 6pm on April 11, the state Supreme Court announced Friday.
Mahdi can choose to die by a fatal injection, an electric chair, or a shooting squad. He must make a decision by March 28th or be killed in an electric chair.
On March 7, Brad Sigmon became the first prisoner by firing a squad in the United States after being murdered in South Carolina. Since 1976, only three other inmates in the United States have been executed this way, all of whom were in Utah.
Convicted double murderer executed by firing a squad in South Carolina
Mikal Mahdi, 41, is scheduled to be executed at Colombia’s prison on April 11 at 6pm. (Correctal Department via the AP of South Carolina)
Three other inmates have been killed in South Carolina since the state resumed executions in September. Freddie Owens on September 20th, Richard Moore on November 1st, and Marion Bowman Jr. on January 31st, all died from fatal injections. Sigmon chose the shooting squad due to concerns about the long-term suffering he faced when three other inmates were killed with a fatal injection.
The court postponed the potential sixth execution of Stephen Bixby, who was convicted of killing two police officers in a land dispute in Abbeville County in December 2003. Bixby was scheduled to be killed in May, but the court ruled that he must first determine whether he is mentally capable.
Psychologists say they understand what led to the death sentence, but believe blood was found in his clothes on the night of the murder.
Mahdi’s lawyer David Weiss said his client has a long history of problematic behavior that begins as a child.
As early as a sophomore, Mahdi suffered from mental despair and discussed self-harm, Weiss said. By the time he was a teenager he had a criminal history. He spent several weeks in solitary confinement after being convicted of destroying, attacking and attacking Virginia police officers.
“He repeatedly failed by his family and the judicial system. He failed to see him about who he was. “Michal’s story is one of trauma, neglect, and many people missed the opportunity to provide him with the safety and compassion that every child should have.”
Mahdi stole a gun and car in Virginia on July 14, 2004, when he was 21 years old, arrest records show. The next day he shot and killed a North Carolina store clerk as the clerk had confirmed his identity. A few days later, he carjacked someone at the intersection of Columbia, South Carolina.
On July 18, 2004, during the run after these crimes, Mahdi hid in Orangeburg, South Carolina, hiding the shelter James Myers hut. According to prosecutors, Mahdi ambushed Myers when he returned from a birthday celebration for his wife, sisters and daughter.
The potential sixth execution of Stephen Bixby, convicted in the murder of two police officers in 2003, has been postponed. (Correctal Department via the AP of South Carolina)
Myers, 56, was shot eight or nine times, and twice in his head after falling to the ground. The pathologist testified that at least seven shots were fatal.
Mahdi then burned Myers’ body and escaped. Myers’ wife discovers her husband’s body in the shed he used as the background of their wedding.
On July 21, 2004, Mahdi was Detained In Florida. When one of the officers involved in his arrest learned what he wanted in South Carolina, he thanked Mahdi for not shooting him. Mahdi said the only reason he didn’t do that was because he was skeptical that he could successfully shoot two officers and their K-9s and escape.
While behind the bar, Mahdi was caught three times with a tool he could use to escape. One was an Allen wrench and the other was a homemade handcuff key, including one found under his tongue at his trial.
In the death line, Mahdi stabs a security guard and attacks another worker with a block of concrete. Three times, prison staff discovered dense metal in their cells that could be used as a knife.
During his trial, Mahdi’s lawyer said their client was the second son of a woman who was married in an arranged marriage at the age of 16. His family did not testify about abuse or mental illness, but described his confused childhood.
Mahdi pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced by Judge Clifton Newman. Judge Clifton Newman told the Post and Courier at the time that he was not sure he believed in the death penalty, but the case became greater than his belief.
South Carolina schedules run again after vacation pause
This photo, provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections, shows the death room in the state of Columbia, South Carolina. (Correctal Department via the AP of South Carolina)
“My challenge and my commitment throughout my career in judicial life was to temper justice with mercy and seek to find the human race of all the accused I declare,” Newman said when handing over Mahdi’s punishment. “That human sense doesn’t seem to exist in Mikal Dean Mahdi.”
South Carolina resumed executions in September after being partially suspended by a state that made it difficult to obtain fatal injection drugs due to concerns that it had to disclose that it had sold the drug to state officials after it was one of the busiest in execution.
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State Legislature It then passed a Shield Act that allowed authorities to keep deadly injectable drug suppliers private. Congress also approved the shooting squad as another method of execution for difficult drug acquisition.
South Carolina has executed 47 prisoners since the death penalty was resumed in the United States in 1976. In the early 2000s, the state carried out an average of three executions a year. Only nine states have killed more prisoners.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.