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By Sonam Sheth
Evening Politics Editor
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Mikal Mahdi was executed on Friday night by firing squad in Columbia, South Carolina, for a pair of murders nearly 21 years ago.
The Context
Mahdi was convicted of the 2004 grisly killing of Captain James Myers, 56, an off-duty police officer. After Myers found Mahdi hiding in a garden shed on his property, the killer shot the officer, who was also a loving father, nine times and set his body on fire in the same place that Myers previously married his wife, according to USA Today.
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The killer also admitted to killing Christopher Boggs, a convenience store clerk in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. According to court records, three days before Mahdi killed Myers, Boggs was shot twice in the head while he was checking Mahdi's identification.
What To Know
Mahdi, 42, did not have any final words before his execution, the Associated Press (AP) reported. His last meal was a rib-eye steak, mushroom risotto, broccoli, collard greens, cheesecake and sweet tea, prison officials said, per PBS.
He was declared dead shortly after 6 p.m., a few minutes after the shots were fired, according to AP.
Mahdi's execution by firing squad was the second time the rare method was used in South Carolina in five weeks but only the fifth time in the U.S. since 1976. His lawyer called the execution "a horrifying act that belongs in the darkest chapters of history, not in a civilized society."
Death row inmates are given the chance to choose their method of execution. Mahdi was executed on Friday by three voluntary staffers from the corrections facility who stood behind a wall with loaded rifles, according to USA Today. The wall had holes for the rifles.
Mahdi's lawyer, David Weiss, told the outlet his client elected to be executed by firing squad because it was "the lesser of three evils" because he could be "burned and mutilated" in an electric chair of suffer "a lingering death" by lethal injection.
Friday's execution moved forward after the South Carolina Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court rejected Mahdi's last-ditch effort to appeal his death sentence. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster also denied Mahdi clemency.
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What People Are Saying
Catholic Mobilizing Network, which advocates for ending capital punishment, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after Mahdi's execution: "We pray for the courage to seek just solutions that are rooted in human dignity, rather than searching for increased methods to kill."
Death Penalty Action, another group pushing to end capital punishment, wrote on X shortly before Mahdi's execution: "At 14, Mikal needed mental health care. Instead, he was locked in juvenile prison and forced to ensure [sic] harsh prison conditions in isolation. At 21, he committed a tragic act — but the state helped create that outcome. Now they want to kill him rather than take responsibility."
Prosecutor David Pascoe said during Mahdi's trial: "His heart and mind are full of hate and malice," adding that he was "the epitome of evil."
What Happens Next
There are 13 more executions scheduled through the end of 2025 in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Ohio.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Update 4/11/25, 9:45 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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