S.C. Man Convicted of Killing a Cop Selected Upscale Last Meal Earlier than Firing Squad Dying

• Mikal Mahdi selected an upscale remaining meal earlier than he was executed by a firing squad on April 11
• He was beforehand convicted of two 2004 murders, together with the dying of an off-duty cop he shot and set on hearth
• Mahdi is the second South Carolina man to have been killed by a firing squad inside a number of months

A South Carolina man — who was convicted of two 2004 murders, together with the dying of an off-duty cop — opted for a lavish remaining meal earlier than his execution.

Mikal Mahdi, 42, selected to be killed by a firing squad over a deadly injection or the electrical chair, which his legal professional, assistant federal public defender David Weiss, referred to as the “lesser of three evils,” in response to Related Press, on Friday, April 11.

On the night of Wednesday, April 9, he ate his final meal: a nice eating supply made up of a rib eye steak, mushroom risotto, broccoli and collard greens, with cheesecake for dessert and a candy tea drink, in response to a press launch from the South Carolina Division of Corrections.

Mahdi gave no remaining assertion within the moments main as much as his execution, which was carried out by correctional volunteers on the Broad River Correctional Establishment in Columbia.

In accordance with the AP, Mahdi cried out as the primary bullets hit him, earlier than flexing his arms and groaning. A health care provider then declared him lifeless at 6:05 p.m. native time.

Mahdi’s execution was carried out in entrance of 9 witnesses, together with his legal professional and a member of the deceased cop’s household, in addition to representatives from the First Circuit Solicitor’s Workplace and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Workplace, which prosecuted and investigated his case, respectively.

His execution befell after his remaining enchantment was rejected by the U.S. and South Carolina Supreme Courtroom, the AP reported.

Mahdi’s attorneys argued that his authentic trial attorneys weren’t ready to deal with the dying penalty trial and ignored the impression that months spent in jail solitary confinement had on him as an adolescent after witnessing traumatic occasions in his childhood.

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Mahdi was convicted of a multi-state crime spree in July 2004, which started in Virginia and led to Florida, in response to courtroom paperwork obtained by PEOPLE. 

On July 14, 2004, Mahdi stole a .380 caliber pistol, a set of Virginia license plates and a station wagon from his neighbor earlier than heading for North Carolina.

When he arrived, he entered a gasoline station and positioned a can of beer on the counter, however when the shop clerk requested for identification, Mahdi fatally shot him, in response to courtroom paperwork summarizing the case.

Mahdi then took the beer and headed in direction of South Carolina the place, at a visitors mild, he stole a person’s automobile and changed it with the plates he had beforehand stolen in Virginia.

Courtroom paperwork stated he then drove southeast, stopping at a gasoline station in Columbia, earlier than fleeing on foot after a retailer clerk turned suspicious of him.

Mahdi later ended up at a farm owned by Captain James Myers, a legislation enforcement officer, in response to authorities.

He waited on the man’s home till he got here dwelling, after which shot him 9 instances with a .22 rifle. He additionally poured diesel gasoline on Myers’ physique and set him on hearth, per the courtroom paperwork.

Mahdi then fled to Florida, the place he was noticed by police in Myers’ automobile. He was subsequently taken into custody. 

Mahdi’s execution got here after Brad Sigmon was put to dying in South Carolina on March 7, throughout what marked the primary U.S. firing squad dying in 15 years and the fourth since 1976.

The one different states to authorize dying by a firing squad are Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah.