A man who was put to death last month in South Carolina's second firing squad execution was conscious and likely in extreme pain for as long as a minute after the bullets, meant to quickly stop his heart, struck him lower than expected, according to a pathologist hired by his attorneys. An autopsy photo of Mikal Mahdi's torso showed only two distinct wounds from the three volunteer prison employees who all had live ammunition in the April 11 execution, according to the pathologist's report, which was filed Thursday with a letter to the state Supreme Court titled "notice of botched execution."
"The shooters missed the intended target area and the evidence indicates that he was struck by only two bullets, not the prescribed three. Consequently, the nature of the internal injuries from the gunshot wounds resulted in a more prolonged death process," said Dr. Jonathan Arden, a pathologist hired by attorneys for condemned inmates.
- Arden said that likely meant Mahdi took 30 to 60 seconds to lose consciousness—two to four times longer than the 15 seconds that experts, including Arden and ones hired by the state, predicted for a properly conducted firing squad execution, the AP reports.
- During that time, Mahdi would have suffered excruciating pain as his lungs tried to expand and move into a broken sternum and ribs, as well as from "air hunger" as the damaged lungs struggled and failed to bring in needed oxygen, Arden said.
- Witnesses to the execution heard Mahdi cry out as the shots were fired, groan again some 45 seconds later, and let out one last low moan just before he appeared to draw his final breath at 75 seconds.
- Prison officials have given no indication that there were problems with Mahdi's execution. A shield law keeps many details private, including the training and methods used by the firing squad.
- "I noticed where the target was placed on Mikal's torso, and I remember thinking to myself, 'I'm certainly not an expert in human anatomy, but it appears to me that target looks low,'" said David Weiss, an attorney for Mahdi who was also a witness at his death.
- The autopsy found damage in only one of the four chambers of Mahdi's heart—the right ventricle. There was extensive damage to his liver and pancreas as the bullets continued down. In contrast, the autopsy on Brad Sigmon, the first man killed by firing squad in the state, showed three distinct bullet wounds, and his heart was obliterated, Arden said
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