The autopsy results of a death row inmate who chose to die by firing squad suggests the execution didn't go to plan.
Mikal Mahdi was sentenced to death for his killing spree in Windston-Salem, North Carolina, in July 2004, where he took the life of a 29-year-old convenience store clerk, Christopher Jason Boggs, and gunned down 56-year-old off-duty police officer, James Myers, two days later in South Carolina.
The then-21-year-old shot Myers as many as eight times before attempting to burn his body.
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On April 11, Mahdi was executed by firing squad at the age of 42 for his crimes committed two decades ago at the Broad River Correctional Institution.
Mahdi's legal team said he opted to be executed by state marksmen as opposed to lethal injection or electrocution, believing it would be quicker and the least painful method.
However, an independent autopsy has now revealed the three gunmen likely missed Mahdi's heart, instead striking him above the abdomen and piercing his liver and pancreas.
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The results showed Mahdi suffered two gunshot wounds to his body, despite three gunmen being tasked with the execution.
Documents filed to the Supreme Court on Thursday (May 8) allege the convicted murderer endured a prolonged painful death beyond the '10-to-15 second' margin that was anticipated, reports Daily Mail.
Witnesses claim Mahdi cried out once he was shot and could be heard groaning and still breathing for at least a minute afterwards.
He wasn't officially declared dead for four minutes, with his lawyers finding he likely lost consciousness some 30 to 60 seconds after being shot, two to four times longer than it should've been.
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Doctor Jonathan Arden, a pathologist hired by Mahdi's legal team, said: "The shooters missed the intended target area and the evidence indicates that he was struck by only two bullets, not the prescribed three."
Dr Arden said Mahdi probably experienced intense pain for 'air hunger,' as his lungs tried to expand against his broken ribs and sternum and created a suffocating sensation as they failed to draw in enough oxygen.
David Weiss, an attorney for Mahdi, also told the news outlet: "The autopsy confirms what I saw and heard.
"Mikal suffered an excruciating death. We don’t know what went wrong, but nothing about his execution was humane.
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"The implications are horrifying for anyone facing the same choice as Mikal. South Carolina’s refusal to acknowledge their failures with executions cannot continue."
The attorneys believe the execution was 'botched' as either the prison firing squad missed or the target over Mahdi's chest wasn't accurately aligned.
The independent result also comes as South Carolina's Corrections Department had issued its own autopsy which suggested three bullets had struck him, with two hitting the same mark on Mahdi's body.
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Yet Mahdi's lawyers described the state autopsy as 'incredibly sparse, with far fewer details and photographs than normally issued.'
They claim there is a lack of evidence that two bullets entered the same place, such as a lack of X-rays and close-up photographs of Mahdi's body or clothing.
"Mr. Mahdi elected the firing squad, and this Court sanctioned it, based on the assumption that SCDC could be entrusted to carry out its straightforward steps: locating the heart; placing a target over it; and hitting that target," their letter to the court read. "That confidence was clearly misplaced."
Dr Arden also said in his 40-year career, he had never encountered two bullets entering the exact same spot on a human body before.
LadBible group has contacted South Carolina Department of Corrections for comment.
Topics: Crime, Death Row, Gun Crime, South Carolina, US News
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