Final meal of death row prisoner executed by method only used five times in 50 years

A death row prisoner who was put to death on Friday (11 April) had a hearty selection of food for his final meal.

Mikal Mahdi, 42, was sentenced to death after he was convicted of murdering two men during a crime spree in July 2004.

He robbed and killed shop worker Christopher Jason Boggs, 29, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before going on to take the life of an off-duty police officer two days later.

Mahdi fatally shot James Myers, 56, with his own gun in Calhoun County, South Carolina, before dousing his body in diesel and setting it alight.

He then stole his victim's truck and fled to Florida, where he spent four days on the run before he was apprehended by authorities.

Mahdi was also the prime suspect in another murder case, although he was never formally charged.

Nearly two decades after he was sentenced to death for his crimes, the 42-year-old was executed by a firing squad at the Broad River Correctional Institution.

Mikal Mahdi, 42, had a hearty final meal before his execution on Friday (South Carolina Department of Corrections)

He was given the choice between lethal injection, the electric chair or the firing squad, and opted for the latter - making him the fifth death row inmate to die this way in 50 years.

It's also the second time that this method has been used in South Carolina in the last 15 years, following on from Brad Sigmon's execution at the same prison five weeks ago on 7 March.

Mahdi did not utter any final words and also did not glance towards the nine witnesses who were watching the execution from behind bulletproof glass, according to AP.

Three prison employees fired the fatal shots at him from around 15 feet away and Mahdi is said to have 'cried out' as they struck him.

He was declared dead by a doctor under four minutes later, at 6.05pm local time.

According to prison officials, Mahdi revealed that the inmate had eaten a ribeye steak cooked medium, mushroom risotto, broccoli and collard greens for his last meal, PBS reports.

This was followed by a cheesecake, while Mahdi washed it all down with sweet tea.

Mahdi's last ditch appeal against his execution was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier this week, despite his lawyer arguing that the system had 'failed him at every turn - from childhood to his final breath'.

The killer opted to be put to death by the firing squad, who shot at him from around 15ft away (South Carolina Department of Corrections)

Federal public defender David Weiss described his execution as a 'horrifying act that belongs in the darkest chapters of history, not in a civilised society'.

"Mikal Mahdi was a smart, creative, intellectually curious person who could have done so much more with his life," Weiss said in a statement. "He just never got the chance.

"Tonight, the state of South Carolina executed him by firing squad – a horrifying act that belongs in the darkest chapters of history, not in a civilised society. We love Mikal and will miss him deeply.

"Mikal’s life was a testament to systemic neglect, and his death was its final, cruel punctuation mark."

Discussing why Mahdi opted for the firing squad, Weiss said: "Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils.

"Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney."