Ah, okay your response makes more sense out of the tape. In my previous post I wasn't trying to make you feel worse about the situation (although it likely did by reading your response), I was trying to figure out what was going on, warning you of the danger, and the successful methods keepers use. Either way don't blame yourself, everyone starts somewhere and if you read something trying to help him out, it was only out of kindness. Even with the best care possible there is not always a happy ending, it happens to us all.
No, I have not heard of any success of a mantid molting that was not hanging properly (but have if it was assisted to hang properly). A mantid has to hang in order to pull itself free, allowing gravity to help, and letting the exoskeleton dry before any weight is applied to prevent deformities/problems.
If a mantid is unable to hang by itself many keepers feel the most humane thing to do is place them in the freezer. As you are trying to help him, read on. If however you feel freezing is the only option (freezing is considered the best way to put a mantid down), leave him in there for 24 hours. I say 24 as I've removed some that I had to freeze that were in there for 4-8 hours, and they moved around after thawing out.
I would recommend you do not use any kind of tape/glue remover, as the chemicals (non-toxic to humans or not) will likely do more harm than the tape itself. As the tape is already on, just cut the tape as close as possible (safely) to the abdomen and let it be. And pulling the tape could easily damage the mantid more, no matter how gentle, as mantids are so small compared to us, any force could be enough to do major damage.
For a mantid that is unable to hang itself to molt, tape has been used at that point to secure them to a safe location to molt. I've read where member mantidbro has done it, and actually had success once. He though applied it to the mantids tarsi (across the bottom of the "feet" of the walking legs) to hang it as they normally would, and was careful as possible to ensure no taped edges were reachable by the mantid, and the tape was removed completely as soon as the mantid molted.
Personally for me the only experience with tape I've had was some nymphs that escaped found a roll of tape on my desk. Sadly, I was unable to save any of the five that got stuck.
I'm really sorry to hear he is/may be dead. He may survive, I've had a few trick me before; however, if he crosses his walking legs (like a dead spider) he is dead or in the process of dying.
Indeed if he was/is able to molt successfully he would survive, and recover. It sounds like you found him after a mis-molt in his current condition to start with though, and would easily explain the problems he has.
When they molt their new exoskeleton is extremely soft/wet and if it touches anything while wet it is easily deformed (as it can not spring back). They have to let the new exoskeleton air harden, usually 15-30 minutes in mid-molt (halfway out of the old exoskeleton), then they will finishing pulling themselves free. Once free they usually hang 1-2 hours near the old exoskeleton to further dry their new exoskeleton before doing anything. It takes 24 hours to get full hardness though, and when feeding is recommended.
If a mantid falls in the molting process the damage can range from completely deformed or dead, to bowed/bent legs. It just depends how long it was able to dry before falling. In your case it sounds like he was able to dry about 20 minutes or so before he fell.
Usually leg issues are partially healed in one molt (if it happens early enough), usually a tiny/short thin leg forms. After a second molt it should be nearly back to normal in size and fully functional.
That said if a walking leg is at a extreme angle, it is best to clip off the affected leg. As such leg issues can cause a molting mantid to become stuck during the molt and kill them. It seems cruel, but saves their life and in 2 molts it is back to normal.
If your boy is still alive, continue to hand feed him and give him a chance to molt - as he was/is eating and trying to make it. When was his last molt? If it is nearing two weeks, I would suggest "mounting" him in a molting position (upside down on the lid) that way he is ready, and hand feed until he does molt.
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