Stop the Execution of Mikal Mahdi in South Carolina

Governor Henry McMaster

Mikal Mahdi is scheduled for execution in South Carolina on April 11, 2025 for the 2004 murder of James Myers.

Join the Virtual Sit In

Call Governor McMaster at 803-734-2100 with the following message:

"Hi. My name is [your name]. I am calling to ask that Gov. McMaster grants clemency to Mikal Mahdi, who is scheduled to be executed on April 11, 2025. Mikal's crimes were the product of untreated mental illness and childhood trauma exacerbated by years in solitary as a juvenile. Mikal can be held accountable without killing him."

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The following comes from our allies at South Carolinians for Alteratives to the Death Penalty .

Mikal Mahdi was a 14 year old boy who needed mental health treatment. Instead, he was sent to juvenile prison and locked away in solitary confinement.

While most teenagers are playing sports or making their way through school, Mikal endured years of extreme prison conditions Most teenagers struggling with depression are taken to the doctor, Mikal was strapped down and isolated in prison.

Now, the State of South Carolina wants to execute Mikal for tragic crimes he committed when he was only 21.

But Mikal Mahdi is a smart, intellectually curious person who could have done so much more with his life if given the chance. He just never got the chance. And everyone deserves a chance.

Share this 3-minute video about Mikal's life.

Under South Carolina law, Mikal has to make a choice to die by lethal injection, electrocution or by firing squad.

South Carolina is making itself an outlier in its use of the death penalty. The majority of other states are on a downward trend of executions, and increasingly, states are abolishing the practice altogether, including the southern state of Virginia.

Please sign the petition asking Governor Henry McMaster to do everything within his power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.

Petitions will be delivered on your behalf in advance of the execution.

Sponsored by

Death Penalty Action

To: Governor Henry McMaster
From: [Your Name]

We are writing to ask that you to stop the April 11, 2025 execution of Mikal Mahdi for the 2004 murder of James Myers.

As a nine-year-old boy, Mikal had severe depression after years of abuse in his family. He went into the juvenile prison system at only 14, where he suffered through hundreds of hours of solitary confinement. In his late teens, Mikal was sent to an adult prison well known for abuse and human rights violations. His capital crimes happened soon after, when Mikal was only 21 years old. Our justice system already failed Mikal Mahdi when he was a teenager.

We are concerned that while the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, and states like Virginia have abolished the practice altogether, South Carolina has resumed executions at a disturbing pace after a 10 year hiatus. It is especially cruel and unusual that the state also is forcing prisoners to choose between the electric chair and firing squad for their execution.

We, the undersigned, believe the justice system should not execute Mikal after mistreating him for so many years when he was a teenager struggling with trauma and mental illness. We ask that you do everything within your power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.

Thank you for time and attention to this urgent and serious matter.