Overview

• Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed by firing squad in South Carolina on April 11, 2025, for the 2004 murder of police officer James Myers and a convenience store employee.
• This execution is the second instance of a firing squad being used in the U.S. since 2010, with Mahdi opting for the method over the state's default electric chair.
• South Carolina law permits death row inmates to choose between the electric chair, lethal injection, or firing squad as their execution method.
• Mahdi's attorneys highlighted his traumatic childhood, marked by abandonment and exposure to violence, as part of their plea for clemency, which was denied.
• The execution is part of a broader context this year, with 12 executions carried out across the U.S., reflecting ongoing national debates over capital punishment practices.