SC cop killer Mikal Mahdi chose upscale final meal before he was executed by firing squad

A convicted cop killer who became the second death row inmate in South Carolina to die by firing squad chomped on a ribeye steak, mushroom risotto, broccoli, collard greens and cheesecake before he was executed on Friday night. Mikal Mahdi, 42, had three slugs fired into his heart by trained correctional volunteers at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia and was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m.for the ambush killing of Orangeburg Public Safety Captain James Myers in 2004. Mahdi, who washed down his hearty last meal with a sweet tea, did not make a final statement before his execution, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.Mahdi was then hooded and strapped to a metal chair that sat on top of a catch basin inside the prison’s death chamber with a white target and red bullseye placed over his chest. Three members from the state’s corrections department stood behind a wall 15 feet away and simultaneously opened fire through openings in the partition at 6:01 p.m.

Each shooter fired one round, with Mahdi flexing his arms and crying out as the bullets struck him. The bullseye was also pushed into the wound in his chest.Mahdi continued to groan and take deep breaths for about two minutes before taking one final gasp – with a doctor affirming his death four minutes after the shots rang out. Nine witnesses were seated in a room separated from the chamber by bulletproof glass. One member of the victim’s family, Mahdi’s attorney, a representative from the First Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and three reporters were among those who witnessed Mahdi’s final moments. Mahdi, who personally chose the violent punishment over the electric chair or lethal injection, became the second death row inmate executed by the Palmetto State’s new firing squad after double murderer Brad Sigmon became the first person in 15 years be shot to death last month.“Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal...