In the lead-up to his planned execution, an inmate currently on death row in South Carolina has submitted a petition for clemency to Governor Henry McMaster. The request seeks to change his sentence from capital punishment to life imprisonment.
Mikal Mahdi is scheduled for execution by firing squad On April 11, at 6 p.m., at a prison in Columbia, for the crime of murdering an off-duty officer from Orangeburg.
Mahdi would become only the second person in the state's history to be executed by firing squad.
On Wednesday, David Weiss, who is part of Mahdi’s legal team, released a statement addressing Mahdi’s request for clemency.
We urge Governor Henry McMaster to consider the full scope of the situation. To acknowledge Mikal Mahdi’s inherent human dignity, profound regret, and evolution into an introspective and eager individual, even after enduring years of childhood trauma and mistreatment.
Mr. Mahdi’s life is a tragic story of a child abandoned at every step. As a young child, he witnessed his father repeatedly and brutally assault his mother. At age four, Mikal’s mother fled the abuse, leaving him and his brother alone with a volatile father battling significant mental illness.
By second grade, Mikal had already developed suicidal feelings. In fifth grade, teachers tried to get Mikal the help he needed, but his dad wouldn’t allow it, instead pulling Mikal from school and subjecting him to conspiracy-laden rants and daily survivalist training in the woods. By 14 years old, Mikal would enter the prison system for committing property crimes, and basically never left. Between the ages of 14 and 21, Mikal spent over 80% of his life in prison and lived through 8,000 hours in solitary confinement, often as punishment for the most minor offenses, like refusing to tuck in his shirt. Today, prison isolation is widely recognized as torture for children.
We acknowledge the anguish, torment, and unjust losses brought about by Mr. Mahdi’s offenses, yet this situation underscores the purpose of mercy. The proceedings for Mikal’s sentence were far from genuine. Despite his age of just 21 when he carried out these horrendous deeds due to significant traumas in his past, he was condemned without having those mitigating factors presented during his trial. At present, now aged 42, Mikal exhibits profound regret and has transformed into an entirely distinct individual compared to the troubled, enraged, and mistreated young man responsible for the capital crimes.
We implore Governor McMaster to take into consideration the complete narrative of Mikal’s life. Acknowledge the profound trauma, abuse, and neglect he experienced. Recognize the scientific evidence demonstrating the detrimental impact of Mikal’s time spent in solitary confinement during his teenage years. Ultimately, understand that delivering justice should be balanced with compassion—particularly since the system has utterly failed Mikal in every aspect.
If Governor McMaster does not grant clemency, Mahdi’s execution will take place within fewer than 40 days. Brad Sigmon , another prisoner sentenced to death, died by firing squad .
Since executions restarted last fall, McMaster has not granted clemency to any inmate on death row.
