S.C. lawmakers ask for investigation into alleged ‘botched’ execution of death row inmate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Two state representatives in South Carolina are requesting an investigation into a recent execution that was allegedly mishandled by the state.

Reps. Justin Bamberg (D-Bamberg) and Neal Collins (R-Pickens) sent a letter Monday addressed to Gov. Henry McMaster as well as leaders of both State House chambers and Joel Anderson, Acting Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

The letter concerns the April execution of 42-year-old Mikal Mahdi. Mahdi was sentenced to death after being convicted of a 2004 crime spree that resulted in the deaths of 29-year-old Christopher Boggs and 56-year-old James Myers, a captain with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.

After Mahdi’s death in April, his legal team filed a complaint with the South Carolina Supreme Court that argued his execution was mishandled. According to the complaint, this was because the shooters allegedly missed Mahdi’s heart, which was the intended target area.

“In this execution, instead of being hit with three rounds directly in his heart, Mikal Mahdi was shot twice just above his abdomen, with neither round directly impacting his heart,” the request from Bamberg and Collins reads.

The two bullet wounds also conflict with the Department of Corrections’ protocol for execution by firing squad, which states a firing squad should be comprised of three people. Mahdi’s attorneys argue that one of the shooters’ weapons misfired during the execution or missed him entirely.

The document also states witnesses at the execution said they heard Mahdi “moan in agony for approximately one minute” after being shot, and he was not pronounced dead until around four minutes later.

Bamberg and Collins also expressed concern about the autopsy following Mahdi’s death, saying it was “significantly less thorough than the recent autopsy of Brad K. Sigmon,” a death row inmate who was executed by firing squad on March 7.

The lawmakers said Sigmon’s autopsy included several photographs, evidence of his clothing and x-rays of the gunshot wounds while Mahdi’s autopsy “only resulted in two photographs (one of his chest and one of a bottle with fragments)”, no x-rays and no evidence of his clothing.

The two lawmakers released a list of critical questions they hope a formal investigation would be able to answer:

• Why was there evidence of only two bullets striking Mikal Mahdi?
• Did one executioner misfire, miss, or fail to discharge their weapon?
• Was the target inaccurately placed on Mikal Mahdi’s chest?
• Why did the autopsy fail to meet established forensic standards?
• Why was the clothing, a key piece of evidence, not analyzed or documented?

“Depriving a citizen of his life is the most drastic and gravest measure the State can take,” Bamberg and Collins’ request reads. “It is our responsibility to do it in accordance with the law and our values.”

You can read Bamberg and Collins’ full request below:

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