A second South Carolina death row inmate has chosen execution by firing squad. 

Mikal Mahdi, 41, will be put to death on April 11 after pleading guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004.  

“Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils,” one of his lawyers, David Weiss, said in a statement. “Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney.” 

Brad Sigmon chose to be shot to death in South Carolina on March 7, becoming the first prisoner executed by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years. A doctor pronounced Sigmon dead less than three minutes after three bullets struck him. 

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Only three other inmates in the U.S. have been executed by this method since 1976, and all were in Utah. 

Mahdi stole a gun and a car in Virginia on July 14, 2004, when he was 21, arrest records show. The next day, he shot and killed a North Carolina store clerk as the clerk was checking his identification. A couple of days later, he carjacked someone at an intersection in Columbia, South Carolina. 

On July 18, 2004, while on the run after those crimes, Mahdi hid in Orangeburg, South Carolina, public safety officer James Myers’ shed. Mahdi ambushed Meyers when the officer returned from a birthday celebration for his wife, sister and daughter, prosecutors said. 

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This photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state’s death chamber in Columbia, S.C., including the electric chair, right, and a firing squad chair, left.  (South Carolina Department of Corrections/AP)

Myers, 56, was shot eight or nine times, including twice in the head after falling to the ground. A pathologist testified that at least seven of the shots would have been fatal. 

Mahdi then set Myers’ body on fire and ran away. Myers’ wife discovered her husband’s dead body in the shed, which they had used for the backdrop of their wedding. 

Brad Sigmon was convicted of beating to death his estranged girlfriend’s parents in Greenville County in 2001. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

On July 21, 2004, Mahdi was taken into custody in Florida. 

Fox News’ Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

MARTINSBURG, W.V. – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., spoke Friday in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, as Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed the first letters of intent seeking waivers to allow the Mountain State to eliminate soda from SNAP benefit eligibility.

“We have a public health crisis in this country, and, unfortunately, West Virginia is leading the way,” Kennedy said, surrounded by children and local dignitaries at a Catholic school in Martinsburg. Morrisey also signed landmark legislation banning food dyes in West Virginia in support of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

“I’m very, very grateful to Governor Morrisey for his visionary leadership and getting West Virginia to lead the way in transitioning off of processed foods. When my uncle was president, 3% of Americans had chronic disease, and we spent zero dollars on chronic disease in this country. There were no medications [for it].”

Kennedy claimed that, by contrast, the government spends more on Americans’ health issues than the entire defense budget.

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He said that Congress usually debates how to pay for these increased costs, not how to eliminate the health risks and systemic issues that lead to Americans’ globally-low-ranked collective health.

Morrisey praised Kennedy for attending the ceremony, remarking that it proves the “MAHA” movement started “right here in West Virginia.” He signed HB 2354 on Monday, which bans the preservative butylated hydroxyanisole, as well as food dyes, from schools, beginning in August and for general sale, starting in 2028.

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“We’re cleaning up our foods, promoting exercise, and putting nutrition back into SNAP. I’m committed to Secretary Kennedy’s vision for America and raising health standards here in the Mountain State,” he said Friday from Berkeley County.

Morrisey also plans to implement work requirements for most SNAP recipients, stating that able-bodied applicants must work—citing West Virginia’s last-place ranking in workforce participation as justification.

State Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Martinsburg, who also helped to spearhead the food dye legislation in Charleston, thanked Kennedy for his leadership on the federal level on the issue of Americans’ deteriorating diets and health.

RFK Jr. speaks in Martinsburg, W.V.

“Our country is in debt to you for doing that.”

Barrett said that when he and Del. Evan Worrell, R-Barboursville, began working on the food dye ban and other legislation, they were warned that food and beverage special interests would be coming after them politically.

“My response to ‘big food’ and ‘big drink’ is: Big deal – the people of West Virginia are worth it.”

One senator’s pooch is digging up “bipawtisan” goodwill on Capitol Hill this week.

Babydog Justice, famous sidekick to West Virginia Republican Sen. Jim Justice, visited the Senate Thursday, and senators across the political spectrum couldn’t hold back their appreciation.

Rolled along in her soft-sided wagon, the English bulldog canine ambassador is a welcome sight in the Senate chambers.

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Babydog took to X to share a post meeting four senators who work with her famous dad, saying, “Loved getting some bipawtisan pets by the Senate floor today!”

Babydog was photographed with Republican and Democratic senators alike, including Democrats Ruben Gallego of Arizona and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

One eager commentator wrote, “The real senate majority leader.”

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Sen. Jon Hustsed, R-Ohio, also posted a photo of the lovable pooch, writing, “Just another day at work for Ohio’s four-footed neighbor, Baby Dog.”

“Babydog is happy to be pet by anyone that comes along – she shows no political bias, especially if treats are involved,” Justice told Fox News Digital. 

Babydog Justice was the top dog Thursday with senators John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. (@BabydogJustice via X)

“She loves coming with me over to the Senate floor, where senators can walk off and immediately come to visit with her. I think if Babydog moderated spending discussions going on around here, we might get more across the finish line. There is no doubt in my mind that both sides of the aisle agree Babydog as Senator No. 101 is the most popular member in Congress.”

Babydog sparked headlines nationally last year at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she took the Fiserv Forum stage with Justice, who was West Virginia’s governor at the time.

“I know that a lot of you want to meet my little buddy. So, if Babydog could come on out here,” Justice said before the crowd erupted in cheers.

Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith posted this photo to X with the caption, “Almost Heaven….our Washington DC staff is living the dream with a visit from @BabydogJustice today!” (@SenHydeSmith via X)

The 5-year-old pooch was a fixture on the campaign trail with Justice and has shown no signs of ending her support for her dad now that he’s in the Senate.

Her official X account bio says, “My favorite things are @JimJustice_WV, Wendy’s nuggets, riding shotgun in dad’s Suburban, and napping.”

Justice successfully flipped his seat for the GOP after longtime Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced he would not seek re-election last year.

Justice received 68.8% of the vote after gaining a key endorsement from President Donald Trump.