SC high court upholds death for VA cop killer

The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence for a Virginia man who pleaded guilty to killing an off-duty police officer and setting his body on fire.
   
The justices said in an unanimous opinion released Monday that 26-year-old Mikal Deen Mahdi was not unduly punished by the judge who sentenced him to death.
   
During his 2006 trial, Mahdi admitted shooting Orangeburg Public Safety Capt. James Myers in July 2004 and setting his body on fire. Prosecutors say Mahdi also killed a Winston-Salem, N.C., store clerk and carjacked a sport-utility vehicle. He was arrested in Florida.
   
Circuit Judge Clifton Newman said Mahdi showed no remorse and only pleaded guilty after a homemade handcuff key was found in his pocket.