Condemned Sc Man's Case About 'appropriate Punishment' As He Awaits 'inhumane' Firing Squad Execution: Lawyer

EXCLUSIVE: As a South Carolina man connected decease statement prepares to beryllium put to decease by firing squad, his lawyer argues that nan lawsuit is simply a matter of "appropriate punishment" alternatively than guilt arsenic he seeks to extremity his client's execution.

Mikal Mahdi, 42, is group to beryllium executed connected Friday astatine 6 p.m. astatine a situation successful Columbia aft pleading blameworthy to nan 2004 sidesplitting of an off-duty constabulary officer.

In an question and reply pinch Fox News Digital, Mahdi's lawyer, David Weiss, said his client's lawsuit raises questions astir "appropriate punishment" fixed nan inmate's life struggles and maturation arsenic a personification successful nan years since nan crime was committed.

"It's a mobility of what's nan due punishment, fixed nan life experiences of nan person, everything they went done and nan reasons why things ended up arsenic they did, pinch really tragic crimes being committed," Weiss said. "But almost without exception, what you spot is erstwhile tragic crimes are committed, nan personification who committed them besides went done incredibly difficult life experiences that led them down that path. And that's what happened here."

SECOND SOUTH CAROLINA INMATE CHOOSES EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD

Mikal Mahdi, 42, is group to beryllium executed connected Friday astatine 6 p.m. astatine a situation successful Columbia. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

Mahdi is simply a "much different person" now than erstwhile he committed nan superior crimes astatine property 21, Weiss said, saying that his customer was a "confused, angry kid" astatine nan clip who has since grown up and matured a lot. Weiss explained that Mahdi is now an "intelligent, thoughtful personification who spends arsenic overmuch clip arsenic he tin reference and learning astir nan world."

Weiss said Mahdi accepts work for what he did and knows what he did was horrible. He said Mahdi understands that he must beryllium punished for his crimes and that he could beryllium executed.

But Weiss warned that if South Carolina carries retired nan execution, it will beryllium sidesplitting personification who is simply a "very different personification from nan personification who committed nan superior crimes successful nan first place."

Mahdi would beryllium nan 5th personification to beryllium executed by firing squad successful nan U.S. since 1976 – pinch nan first 3 carried retired successful Utah – and nan 2nd successful South Carolina aft Brad Sigmon, 67, was put to decease utilizing that method past month. Sigmon was nan first personification to beryllium executed by firing squad successful 15 years.

Given nan prime of lethal injection, electrocution and firing squad, Weiss said Mahdi chose nan lesser of 3 evils. He noted that lethal injection was antecedently believed to beryllium much humane earlier it was later wished to beryllium "quite torturous" and that electrocution is sadistic since a personification is being "cook[ed] from nan wrong out."

"If nan execution goes through, they're going to occurrence 3 high-powered rifles astatine our client's chest," Weiss said. "It's a horrible point for him to spell through. It's a horrible point to person to witnesser for everybody involved, from nan ineligible squad to witnesses to situation unit who person to transportation it out."

In nan decease chamber, Mahdi will beryllium strapped to a chair and person a hood complete his caput and a target complete his heart. Three shooters will occurrence astatine him done a mini opening astir 15 feet away.

Bo King, a lawyer who represented Sigmon, elaborate what he witnessed erstwhile his customer was put to decease connected March 7.

"Seeing really he was restrained, he was tied to nan chair pinch his arms pulled backmost acold enough, almost arsenic if personification had him successful a wrestling hold, holding his arms down his back. And past pinch his chin and jaw secured to nan chair pinch immoderate benignant of strap," King told Fox News Digital.

SOUTH CAROLINA SETS DATE FOR 5th EXECUTION IN UNDER 7 MONTHS

Brad Sigmon was executed successful March for beating to decease his estranged girlfriend’s parents successful Greenville County successful 2001. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

"What has stayed pinch maine and continues to problem maine is really he reacted aft being shot, specifically watching his correct limb propulsion truthful frantically connected nan straps, tying it to nan chair," he continued. "And each musculus successful his limb popped out, and it looked for illustration an anatomical drawing. It conscionable looked for illustration he was trying truthful desperately to propulsion his limb free and screen nan spread successful his chest."

King said he remembers watching nan coiled unfastened successful nan mediate of Sigmon's chest.

"It's a difficult show to reconcile successful existent time," he said. "You're watching it happening. You're thinking, I conscionable saw a spread unfastened up successful that person."

King besides explained that he believes it is inhumane to necktie personification down to termination them, emphasizing that "the magnitude of harm that I saw done to Brad's assemblage is beyond thing that I would consider."

Three different prisoners person been put to decease successful South Carolina since nan authorities resumed executions successful September. Freddie Owens connected Sept. 20, Richard Moore connected Nov. 1 and Marion Bowman Jr. connected Jan. 31 each died by lethal injection. Sigmon chose nan firing squad owed to concerns astir nan prolonged suffering nan 3 different inmates had faced erstwhile they were killed by lethal injection, King said.

In Mahdi's case, Weiss expressed interest that his customer would beryllium executed "even though he ne'er had nan adjacent proceedings that nan Constitution is expected to guarantee."

"The full mobility astatine his proceedings was what reward did he deserve? In bid to make a reasoned determination astir that, nan proceedings judge needed to beryllium fixed each nan accusation astir who Mikal was, what he went done successful his life, tragically," Weiss explained.

Earlier this week, South Carolina's highest tribunal rejected a last entreaty from Mahdi's lawyers. His lawyers based on that his original attorneys made a mediocre lawsuit successful attempting to spare his life and grounded to telephone connected relatives, teachers aliases different group who knew him successful his sentencing defense, but nan authorities Supreme Court ruled that galore of those aforesaid arguments had been made successful erstwhile unsuccessful appeals.

During his trial, Mahdi’s lawyers said their customer was nan 2nd boy of a female who was wedded successful an arranged matrimony astatine 16 years old. His family described a chaotic childhood, though cipher testified astir maltreatment aliases intelligence illness.

Weiss told Fox News Digital that nan trial judge who handed down nan condemnation was fixed very small accusation and Mahdi's defense called a azygous witnesser who testified for conscionable a fewer minutes, giving only a wide outline of Mahdi's "extraordinarily traumatic childhood" that began erstwhile he was a toddler and extended done his early teen years.

"When he needed further support astatine school, nan teachers tried to supply it, but his dada pulled him retired of schoolhouse alternatively than allowing him to get that support for his depression, for his suicidal feelings and things conscionable spiraled from location wherever he went into nan juvenile situation strategy for reasonably insignificant crimes, and he ends up spending thousands of hours successful solitary confinement arsenic a kid," Weiss said.

As early arsenic 2nd grade, Mahdi suffered from intelligence despair and discussed self-harm. He already had a criminal grounds by nan clip he was a teenager, spending weeks successful solitary confinement aft being convicted of breaking and entering and attacking a constabulary serviceman successful Virginia.

"We cognize coming successful a measurement that we conscionable didn't admit backmost past erstwhile Mikal was successful nan system, really damaging that is to a person's development," he continued. "And nan judge who decided what condemnation Mikal should person was told almost thing astir his story."

CONVICTED DOUBLE MURDERER EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD IN SOUTH CAROLINA

This photograph provided by nan South Carolina Department of Corrections shows nan state's decease enclosure successful Columbia, including nan electrical chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left. (South Carolina Department of Corrections/AP)

Weiss added: "That's nan existent injustice here, and that's nan existent outrage here."

Mahdi stole a weapon and a car successful Virginia connected July 14, 2004, apprehension records show. The adjacent day, he changeable and killed a North Carolina shop clerk arsenic nan clerk was checking his identification. A mates of days later, he carjacked personification astatine an intersection successful Columbia, South Carolina.

On July 18, 2004, while connected nan tally aft those crimes, Mahdi hid successful nan shed of Orangeburg, South Carolina, public information officer James Myers. Mahdi ambushed Meyers erstwhile nan serviceman returned from a day ceremony for his wife, sister and daughter, prosecutors said.

Myers, 56, was changeable 8 aliases 9 times, including doubly successful nan caput aft falling to nan ground. A pathologist testified that astatine slightest 7 of nan shots would person been fatal.

Mahdi past group Myers' assemblage connected occurrence and ran away. Myers' woman discovered her husband's dormant assemblage successful nan shed, which they had utilized for nan backdrop of their wedding.

On July 21, 2004, Mahdi was taken into custody successful Florida. When 1 of nan officers progressive successful his apprehension learned what he was wanted for successful South Carolina, he thanked Mahdi for not shooting astatine him. Mahdi told him that nan only logic he did not was because he was skeptical that he could successfully sprout 2 officers and their K-9 and get distant pinch it.

While down bars, Mahdi was caught 3 times pinch devices he could person utilized to escape. One was an Allen wrench and nan others were homemade handcuff keys, including 1 that was recovered nether his lingua astatine his trial.

On decease row, Mahdi stabbed a defender and struck different worker pinch a actual block. On 3 occasions, situation unit recovered sharpened metallic successful his compartment that could beryllium utilized arsenic a knife.

After he pleaded blameworthy to murder, Mahdi was sentenced by Judge Clifton Newman, who astatine nan clip told The Post and Courier that he was not judge he believed successful nan decease penalty, but nan lawsuit became bigger than his beliefs.

"My situation and my committedness passim my judicial profession has been to temper justness pinch mercy and to activity to find nan humanity successful each suspect that I sentence," Newman said arsenic he handed down Mahdi’s punishment. "That consciousness of humanity seems not to beryllium successful Mikal Deen Mahdi"

Once 1 of nan busiest for executions, South Carolina resumed executions successful September aft a 13-year region caused successful portion by nan authorities having trouble obtaining lethal injection narcotics owed to pharmaceutical companies' concerns that they would person to disclose they had sold nan narcotics to authorities officials.

The room wherever inmates are executed successful Columbus, South Carolina. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The state legislature past passed a shield rule allowing officials to support lethal injection supplier suppliers private. The legislature besides approved nan firing squad arsenic different execution method complete difficulties obtaining nan drugs.

South Carolina has executed 47 inmates since nan decease punishment was resumed successful nan U.S. successful 1976. In nan early 2000s, nan authorities was carrying retired an mean of 3 executions per year. Only 9 states person killed much inmates.

If Mahdi runs retired of ineligible appeals, including petitioning nan U.S. Supreme Court to reappraisal nan issues successful nan authorities precocious court's ruling, his only remaining action would beryllium for Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to trim his condemnation to life without parole, which Mahdi's lawyers person already requested. But nary South Carolina politician has granted clemency successful nan 49 years since nan decease punishment resumed successful nan U.S.

"I deliberation Gov. McMaster has an opportunity to alteration that, and he should alteration it," Weiss said.

A spokesperson for McMaster's agency confirmed to Fox News Digital that nan politician had received nan petition from Mahdi's lawyers asking for clemency.

"As nan politician has done previously, he will reappraisal and cautiously see nan petition," nan spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital has reached retired to nan South Carolina Department of Corrections for comment.