South Carolina put Richard Moore to death by lethal injection on Friday for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad appeal for mercy by parties that included three jurors and the judge from his trial, a former prison director, pastors, and members of his family. Moore, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:24pm ET, per the AP. His final meal: steak cooked medium, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, green peas, broccoli with cheese, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake, and grape juice. Moore was convicted of killing James Mahoney, the Spartanburg clerk, in September 1999 and sentenced to death two years later. Moore went into the store unarmed, took a gun Mahoney had pointed at him, and fatally shot the victim in the chest as the victim shot him in the arm with a second gun.
Moore's lawyers had asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole due to his spotless prison record and willingness to be a mentor to other inmates. They also said it would be unjust to execute someone for what could be considered self-defense, and unfair that Moore, who was Black, was the only inmate on the state's death row convicted by a jury without any African Americans. But McMaster refused to grant clemency. In a letter, he didn't give a reason why but said he reviewed all the items submitted by Moore's lawyers and spoke to the victim's family. No South Carolina governor has reduced a death sentence, and 45 executions have now been carried out in the state since the US Supreme Court allowed states to restart them nearly 50 years ago.
Three jurors who condemned Moore to death in 2001 sent letters asking McMaster to change his sentence to life without parole. They were joined by an ex-state prison director, Moore's trial judge, his son and daughter, a half-dozen childhood friends, and several pastors. They all said Moore was a changed man who loved God, doted on his grandkids, helped guards keep the peace, and mentored other prisoners, according to the clemency petition. "He was not a danger to anyone, and the state eliminated a glowing example of reform and rehabilitation," the Justice 360 law firm, which represented Moore, said in a statement. Prosecutors and Mahoney's relatives haven't spoken publicly in the weeks leading up to the execution and didn't speak after. In the past, family members have said they suffered deeply and wanted justice to be served. More here.
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