The state of South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi by firing squad – the state’s second execution by this method in the last 35 days.
David Weiss, Assistant Federal Public Defender at the Capital Habeas Unit for the Fourth Circuit, which is part of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina, issued the following statement on behalf of Mikal’s legal team:
“Mikal Mahdi was a smart, creative, intellectually curious person who could have done so much more with his life. He just never got the chance. Tonight, the state of South Carolina executed him by firing squad – a horrifying act that belongs in the darkest chapters of history, not in a civilized society.
Mikal died in full view of the system that failed him at every turn – from childhood to his final breath. He faced struggles the rest of us could hardly imagine. Mikal’s life was a testament to systemic neglect, and his death was its final, cruel punctuation mark. His childhood was stolen by his mentally ill father, who ripped him from school and reared him with paranoia, violence, and neglect. As a traumatized teenager, Mikal needed stability and mental health care. He spent his teenage years in solitary confinement – isolation so extreme it would break most adults and is literal torture for children.
Facing death, Mikal advocated for life. In his final days, Mikal sought a measure of peace and purpose: to donate life-enhancing organs and tissue in the hope of saving others, showcasing his humanity that the state refused to ever recognize.
We mourn the life and death of Mikal Mahdi. We love Mikal and will miss him deeply. We condemn the violence done to him as a child, as an adolescent in prison, and as an adult. Mikal’s story of abuse and neglect by the state is sadly not unique – but for the state to condemn a man who they broke as a child is not only a tragedy, it’s a collective failure of empathy by our society and by our entire system of justice.”
