An autopsy report into a death row inmate who became the fifth person to be executed by firing squad in 50 years has revealed he may have suffered a prolonged death.
Execution via firing squad is controversial in the US and legal in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
The rarely used method made headlines earlier in the year after convicted killer Brad Sigmon chose to die by this method back in March, with reporters later giving a minute-by-minute breakdown of his death.
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Following the death of Sigmon, 42-year-old Mikal Mahdi was executed by this method in the state of South Carolina.
He was sentenced to death in 2006 after being convicted of various murders, including the killing of off-duty police officer James Myers.
Mahdi was put to death on by firing squad on 11 April, 2025, with his attorneys stating that he chose the rarely-used method as an alternative to either being 'burned and mutilated in the electric chair' or 'suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney'.
However an autopsy report has since revealed his execution may have been botched, meaning that he experienced 'prolonged suffering' in the final moments of his life.
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According to records published by MailOnline, Mahdi's autopsy suggests his death did not follow protocol.
In documents filed by Mahdi's legal team, his attorneys reveal that they believe he was shot lower than expected, with the bullets missing his heart and instead striking just above his abdomen.
His team claim this is backed up by the fact that only two distinct bullet holes were found on his torso, despite each of the three executioners having live rounds in their weapon.
South Carolina's Department of Corrections has since stated that two of the bullets had entered the body in the same spot - a claim which Mahdi's team disputes.
In a typical firing squad execution, the condemned is expected to succumb to their wounds within 10 to 15 seconds after bullets make contact with the heart, however, Mahdi's team claims their client wasn't pronounced dead until four minutes after being shot.
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Sharing his reaction to the autopsy findings, Mahdi's attorney David Weiss, told MailOnline that it corresponded to what he had seen and heard.
"The autopsy confirms what I saw and heard," Weiss said in a written statement. "Mikal suffered an excruciating death. We don’t know what went wrong, but nothing about his execution was humane.
"The implications are horrifying for anyone facing the same choice as Mikal. South Carolina’s refusal to acknowledge their failures with executions cannot continue."
Responding to the allegations of Mahdi's execution being 'botched', South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) told The Guardian that they 'strongly refuted' Mahdi’s lawyers’ claims, stating that all 'three weapons fired simultaneously and that no fragments were found in the room'.
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The statement added that all three bullets had 'struck Mahdi’s heart' before hitting other organs, and it is 'believed that gunshot wound labeled (A) represents two gunshot wound pathways'.
LADbible Group has contacted SCDC for comment.
Brenna Cooper