Revealed: Autopsy suggests South Carolina botched firing squad execution

Lawyers for man executed by firing squad in South Carolina say bullets mostly missed his heart

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man who was put to death last month in South Carolina's second firing squad execution was conscious and likely in extreme pain for as long as a minute after the bullets, meant to quickly stop his heart, struck him lower than expected, according to a pathologist hired by his attorneys.

Revealed: Autopsy suggests South Carolina botched firing squad execution

Records obtained by the Guardian indicate shooters missed the target on Mikal Mahdi, which lawyers say caused prolonged sufferingA South Carolina firing squad botched the execution of Mikal Mahdi last month, with shooters missing the target area on the man’s heart, causing him to suffer a prolonged death, according to autopsy records and his attorneys.Mahdi, 42, was shot dead by corrections employees last month in the second firing squad executi…