South Carolina sets date for 5th execution in under 7 months

South Carolina has scheduled the execution of Mikal Mahdi, a 41-year-old inmate convicted of murdering an off-duty police officer, marking the fifth execution in the state since it resumed carrying out the death penalty in September 2023. This follows a 13-year hiatus due in part to challenges in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Mahdi is set to be executed on April 11 at 6 p.m. at a prison in Columbia. He has the option to choose between lethal injection, the electric chair, or a firing squad, but must make his decision by March 28; otherwise, the default method will be the electric chair.

Mikal Mahdi’s story is one of profound tragedy and missed opportunities. His attorney, David Weiss, describes him as a “wounded child” who was failed repeatedly by his family and the justice system. Mahdi’s struggles began early in life, with signs of mental distress as early as the second grade, including discussions of self-harm. By his teenage years, he already had a criminal record, spending time in solitary confinement for breaking and entering and assaulting a police officer in Virginia. Weiss argues that Mahdi’s life was shaped by trauma, neglect, and a lack of compassion, which ultimately led to his violent actions.

The case that led to Mahdi’s death sentence was the brutal murder of public safety officer James Myers in July 2004. Myers, a 56-year-old father and husband, was ambushed and shot multiple times, including twice in the head, after returning from a family birthday celebration. Mahdi then set Myers’ body on fire. This crime occurred during a violent spree that also included the fatal shooting of a store clerk in North Carolina and a carjacking in South Carolina. Mahdi was eventually apprehended in Florida and has since exhibited violent behavior while incarcerated, including stabbing a guard and possessing makeshift weapons.

South Carolina’s resumption of executions has drawn significant attention, particularly due to the controversial methods available to inmates. In March, Brad Sigmon became the first person in the U.S. in 15 years to be executed by firing squad, a method he chose due to concerns about the prolonged suffering associated with lethal injection. Three other inmates have been executed in the state since September 2023, all by lethal injection. However, the execution of a sixth inmate, Steven Bixby, has been postponed pending a mental competency evaluation. Bixby, convicted of killing two police officers in 2003, believes that blood on his clothes from the night of the killings contains the DNA of Jesus Christ, raising questions about his mental state.

The resumption of executions in South Carolina has reignited debates about the death penalty and its implementation. The state had paused executions for 13 years, largely due to difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical companies were reluctant to supply the drugs, fearing public backlash and legal challenges. In response, South Carolina passed a shield law to protect the identities of drug suppliers and legalized the use of firing squads as an alternative method. Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S., South Carolina has executed 47 inmates, with the state once being one of the busiest for executions, averaging three per year in the early 2000s.

Mikal Mahdi’s case serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and moral dilemmas surrounding capital punishment. While some argue that the death penalty is a just punishment for heinous crimes, others point to the inherent cruelty and finality of the practice. Judge Clifton Newman, who sentenced Mahdi to death, expressed his own ambivalence about the death penalty, stating that he strives to balance justice with mercy. Yet, in Mahdi’s case, Newman felt that the defendant lacked any discernible humanity, leaving him no choice but to impose the ultimate punishment. As South Carolina continues to carry out executions, the debate over the ethics of capital punishment—and the humanity of those sentenced to die—will undoubtedly persist.