A South Carolina death‑row inmate who mocked investigators with a victim’s blood‑stained notes, chose firing squad as his preferred way of execution. Stephen Bryant, forty‑four, will be third man this year to die by South Carolina newest execution method, therefore the death count climbs. His execution is set for November 14th.
Bryant killed a man in his own house: investigators claim he set Willard “TJ” Tietjen eyes on fire with a cigarette then, after shooting him, drenched the wall in the victim’s blood and wrote “catch me if u can”. Prosecutors say he also shot and killed two other males he was driving, while they lingered by the road to relieve themselves. The violent streak was short but those dark weeks put dread into the residents of Sumter County in October 2004.
Since Bryant chose three volunteers to shoot him from about fifteen feet, the courts don’t have long to argue over the execution with it due in just two weeks. Lawyers for the second, most recent victim Mikal Mahdi say the shooters almost missed his heart, therefore it could have hit another organ. They suggested Mahdi was in agony (about three or four times longer than experts think he'd feel if his heart took a straight hit); therefore, they suuggest he died in a cruel way.
Based on photos from the autopsy, they asked why only two entry wounds show when three people fired? Witnesses heard Mahdi’s moans and groans. However, during an earlier execution of Brad Sigmon by firing squad there were not any groans. They claim Mahdi needed about eighty seconds to breath his last breath. Prison officials said the execution ran smoothly; therefore shooters only need a simple hit on the heart—no destruction required.
During practice volunteers often notice two bullets end up hitting the exact same spot inside a person. The expert witnesses Mahdi’s lawyers hired examined the autopsy, and said the bullet hole wasn’t jagged enough to be from two bullets. It's now the newest way South Carolina carries out executions, added after a thirteen‑year break when the state simply couldn’t get the drugs for lethal injection. Since 1977, only three other inmates show up in the U. S. got executed by firing squad.
Bryant's execution will be the seventh in South Carolina since the state restarted executions in September 2024. All the others? They’ve settled on lethal injection to carry out the execution. Moreover, the state, still possesses an electric chair.
Investigators say Bryant terrorized Sumter County in 2004; later he admitted killing Willard “TJ” Tietjen after pulling up to the man’s secluded rural home, claiming his car had trouble.
Tietjen was shot multiple times and his body encircled by candles. His daughter’s hand‑stitched potholder, was the doused in blood and used to scribble “catch me if u can” on the wall. She called him over and over, didn't get answer, worry growing each time. On the 6th call she testified: a strange voice answered, saying he'd killed Tietjen. Who was that? Prosecutors say—Bryant took two lives; one before Tietjen, one after.
His attorneys said he was uneasy in the months before the murder; he begged his probation officer and his aunt for help. He couldn't stop replaying the abuse by four male relatives he endured as a child. Bryant, his defense attorneys say, therefore turned to meth and even smoked joints coated in bug‑killer to dull the pain.
At least eighteen more criminals are slated to be put to death in the United States before 2025 ends and again the following year. Bryant’s death, is the 50th execution in South Carolina since they brought back the death penalty about forty years ago.
Mikal Mahdi is seen in the photo.
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In the case of Mikal Mahdi, the defense called a small number of expert witnesses. Here are the names and roles that are publicly documented:
• James Aiken — a “prison adaptability” expert, who testified regarding Mahdi’s ability to adapt to prison life.
• Marjorie Hammock — a clinical social worker, who provided mitigation-type testimony and prepared reports about Mahdi’s background.
• Jonathan Arden — a pathologist hired by Mahdi’s attorneys in relation to the execution proceedings, to assess whether the bullet placement in the firing squad execution was proper.
• There are also references to mental health experts called by the defense: “Dr. Martin” and “Dr. McKee” are noted in appellate filings.
By Eddie Price
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikal_Mahdi
https://witnessdirectory.com/signup.php
