Under the state's execution protocols, the firing squad will put a hood over Mahdi's head and shoot him in the heart simultaneously with three bullets.

Mikal Mahdi was sentenced to die 20 years ago for the ambush killing of an off-duty police officer. He will be the fifth inmate executed by South Carolina in less than eight months as the state makes its way through prisoners who ran out of appeals during an unintended 13-year pause on the death penalty.

A South Carolina man on death row prepares to be put to death by firing squad, as his lawyer says the case is a matter of "appropriate punishment" rather than guilt.