‘Botched’ South Carolina firing squad execution leaves man in ‘conscious pain’: The shot ‘largely missed his heart’

On April 11, 2025, South Carolina conducted its second firing squad execution in over a month, putting to death 42-year-old Mikal Mahdi. However, Mahdi’s autopsy report has labeled the procedure “botched” after bullets missed his heart, causing him to endure excruciating pain before dying.

Mahdi, convicted for a violent 2004 crime spree that included the murder of off-duty police officer James Myers, was strapped to a chair with a target over his chest. According to NPR, three prison staff members fired at him. However, only two bullet wounds were found that damaged organs like the liver, but not the heart. Forensic pathologists concluded he remained alive and in pain for 30 to 80 seconds after the shots were fired.

Mahdi groaned and continued breathing for more than a minute

This challenges the state Supreme Court’s assertion that firing squad deaths occur within 15 seconds unless drastically mishandled. According to eyewitness accounts, Mahdi groaned and breathed for over a minute after the shots were fired. 

Mahdi’s lawyers argued before the state Supreme Court that the execution violated South Carolina’s constitutional ban on cruel or unusual punishment. Experts questioned the state’s claim that two bullets may have passed through a single wound, suggesting a low probability and further supporting the assertion of a mismanaged execution.

Mahdi’s execution was South Carolina’s fifth in eight months

The execution has sparked renewed scrutiny over the humaneness of firing squad executions. South Carolina had ceased executions since 2011 in part because it ran out of lethal injection supplies as pharmaceutical companies faced pressure to stop selling drugs to facilitate state killings. The state resumed executions in 2024, and Mahdi’s execution marks the fifth in eight months. 

Mahdi had chosen the firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair, viewing it as the least torturous option. However, the autopsy findings and witness accounts suggest that the method may not be as humane as intended. The case reignites questions about the reliability and humanity of execution methods, highlighting issues in South Carolina’s resumed capital punishment protocol after a 13-year hiatus. 

This incident has also drawn comparisons to previous botched executions, such as the 2014 execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma, where an untested mixture of drugs led to a prolonged and painful death. These cases underscore the ongoing debate over the methods and ethics of capital punishment in the United States.