10 h. ago Revealed: Autopsy suggests South Carolina botched firing squad execution

Records obtained by the Guardian indicate shooters did not hit Mikal Mahdi according to protocol, which lawyers say caused prolonged sufferingA South Carolina firing squad botched the execution of Mikal Mahdi last month, with shooters missing the target area on the man’s heart, causing him to suffer a prolonged death, according to autopsy records and his attorneys.Mahdi, 42, was shot dead by corrections employees last month in the second firing squad execution this year in South Carolina. The state has aggressively revived capital punishment over the last seven months and brought back the controversial firearm method that has rarely been used in the modern death penalty era. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Lawyers for man executed by firing squad in South Carolina say bullets mostly missed his heart

A pathologist hired by attorneys for death row inmates says a South Carolina man executed by firing squad was conscious and likely in extreme pain for as long as a minute

Politics

3 w. ago The return of the firing squad is a defeat for death penalty supporters | Austin Sarat

The method is a vivid reminder of the brutality of state killing. That undermines the pro-capital-punishment narrativeOn 11 April, South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi by firing squad. Mahdi had been convicted and sentenced for the 2004 killing of an off-duty law enforcement officer.One month before his execution, South Carolina put Brad Sigmon to death using the same method. He was the first person since 2010 to be killed by the firing squad. Both Mahdi and Sigmon chose the firing squad from a menu of three ways to die, the others being lethal injection and the electric chair. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Cop killer's final act of defiance before being shot dead by prison firing squad in violent execution

Mikal Mahdi, with a hood over his head, cried out as the three bullets to the heart hit him and his arms flexed. A red bull's-eye that was placed over his heart was pushed into the bullet wound in his chest.

Events

3 w. ago Mikal Mahdi killed by firing squad as South Carolina pushes execution spree

Mahdi, who killed an officer in 2004, endured torture in his childhood and argued he was denied a fair trialA prison firing squad in South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi on Friday, the second recent death row killing in the state by authorized gunfire.Mahdi, 42, was shot dead by corrections employees inside the execution chamber, where authorities have carried out a rapid spree of killings as South Carolina aggressively revives capital punishment. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Lawyers fight to stop South Carolina man’s execution by firing squad

Mikal Mahdi, who killed a man in 2004, endured prolonged torture as child and didn’t receive a fair trial, lawyers argueA 42-year-old man on South Carolina death row is fighting to stop his execution by firing squad, with his attorneys arguing he endured prolonged torture as a child and did not receive a fair trial.Mikal Mahdi is due to be killed on Friday, nearly 20 years after he was sentenced to death for the 2004 killing of James Myers, a 56-year-old off-duty public safety officer. Continue reading...

Sport

4 w. ago Previous execution reveals how South Carolina will put 2nd inmate to death by firing squad

A few more details are known about South Carolina's firing squad as the state prepares to carry out its second execution by that method

Events