A man who pled guilty to murder in Winston-Salem is facing the death penalty in South Carolina for killing an off-duty police officer. Mikal Mahdi is scheduled to be the second man executed by firing squad in that state.
Mahdi chose to be executed by firing squad rather than lethal injection or the electric chair. He also carries a life sentence for the murder of a convenience store clerk in Winston-Salem — a crime he committed days before taking Captain James Myers’ life in South Carolina.
Wake Forest School of Law Professor Mark Rabil represented Mahdi in North Carolina. Rabil says Mahdi’s traumatic childhood and time spent in prisons as an adolescent likely factored into his lethal actions. He questions whether ending Madhi’s life will bring this case to a just resolution.
“My fear is that many people will see execution by firing squad as quote 'justice,' but I don’t believe that," Rabil says. "I think justice is an opportunity to maybe come to a recognition as to what it was that bound you up in the past."
Mahdi’s defense team submitted an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court, arguing that his trial lawyers were ineffective.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors say Mahdi has a violent nature and is possibly connected to other deaths.
Barring an intervention from the court or clemency granted by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Mahdi will be executed at 6 p.m. Friday, April 11.