

A South Carolina firing squad failed to strike the heart of convicted cop killer Mikal Mahdi, leaving him conscious for up to 80 seconds in what experts are calling a botched execution.
Mikal Mahdi was shot on April 11 by a three-man squad, but autopsy results revealed only two bullet wounds—neither to the heart.
Pathologists say he bled out in “excruciating” pain.
The state had claimed such deaths would take no more than 15 seconds.
Now lawyers say the state’s firing squad law failed its own test.
The court has yet to respond.