An independent autopsy has cast doubt on the execution of a death row inmate who chose to die by firing squad, suggesting it may not have gone as planned.
Mikal Mahdi was on death row for a violent crime spree in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, back in July 2004. During this period, he murdered Christopher Jason Boggs, a 29-year-old convenience store clerk, and two days later, he fatally shot 56-year-old off-duty police officer James Myers in South Carolina.
At the time, Mahdi, then 21, shot Myers up to eight times before attempting to set his body on fire.
Mahdi was executed on April 11 at the age of 42 for these crimes at the Broad River Correctional Institution.
His legal team explained that Mahdi chose execution by state marksmen, believing it to be quicker and less painful compared to lethal injection or electrocution.
However, the independent autopsy has revealed that the three executioners likely missed Mahdi’s heart, instead hitting above his abdomen, impacting his liver and pancreas.
The findings indicated that Mahdi sustained two gunshot wounds, despite three marksmen being involved in the execution.
Documents submitted to the Supreme Court on May 8 allege that Mahdi endured a more prolonged and painful death than the ’10-to-15 second’ timeframe initially expected, according to the Daily Mail.
Witnesses reported that Mahdi cried out after being shot and was heard groaning and breathing for at least a minute afterward.
He was officially pronounced dead four minutes later, with his attorneys believing he lost consciousness 30 to 60 seconds after being shot—twice to four times longer than anticipated.
Pathologist Dr. Jonathan Arden, hired by Mahdi’s legal team, stated, “The shooters missed the intended target area and the evidence indicates that he was struck by only two bullets, not the prescribed three.”
Dr. Arden noted that Mahdi likely experienced intense pain and ‘air hunger,’ as his lungs attempted to expand against broken ribs and sternum, causing a suffocating sensation due to insufficient oxygen intake.
David Weiss, one of Mahdi’s attorneys, told the news outlet, “The autopsy confirms what I saw and heard.
“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.”
The attorneys argue that the execution was ‘botched,’ either because the prison firing squad missed or the target over Mahdi’s chest was misaligned.
The independent findings contrast with South Carolina’s Corrections Department’s own autopsy, which suggested three bullets struck Mahdi, with two hitting the same spot.
Mahdi’s lawyers criticized the state autopsy as ‘incredibly sparse,’ lacking the usual level of detail and photographic evidence.
They argue there is no evidence of two bullets entering the same spot, citing a lack of X-rays and close-up photos of Mahdi’s body or clothing.
“Mr. Mahdi elected the firing squad, and this Court sanctioned it, based on the assumption that SCDC could be entrusted to carry out its straightforward steps: locating the heart; placing a target over it; and hitting that target,” their letter to the court read. “That confidence was clearly misplaced.”
Dr. Arden also commented that in his 40 years of experience, he had never seen two bullets penetrate the exact same spot on a human body.