The U.S. Supreme Court justices declined to halt the execution of South Carolina inmate Richard Moore on Thursday.
Moore, a Black man, is reportedly the only person on the state’s death row convicted by an all-white jury, as his lawyers pointed out. The court issued a brief order with no noted dissents.
Scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. on Friday by lethal injection in Columbia, Moore’s final chance for clemency rests with Republican Governor Henry McMaster, though no South Carolina governor has granted clemency in the state’s last 44 executions over five decades.
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Moore, now 59, was convicted of the 1999 killing of Spartanburg convenience store clerk James Mahoney. Prosecutors argue Moore entered the store intending to rob it unarmed, took a gun from Mahoney, and fired back after Mahoney drew a second gun, ultimately killing him with a shot to the chest.
Moore, however, claims he had entered to buy cigarettes and beer, arguing with Mahoney when he was a few cents short. Moore said Mahoney then pointed a gun at him, leading him to wrest it away before Mahoney drew and fired with a second weapon.
After Mahoney’s death, Moore took around $1,400 from the store but did not seek help for Mahoney. His lawyers note that no one else on South Carolina’s death row started their crime unarmed or killed someone possibly in self-defense.
Additionally, they highlighted that Moore’s jury was entirely white, despite the fact that about 20% of Spartanburg County’s population was Black at the time of the 2001 trial.
Two previous execution dates were postponed as the state dealt with a 13-year pause in executions due to its inability to obtain lethal injection drugs—a hurdle eventually addressed with a new secrecy law. Should the execution proceed, Moore would be the second inmate executed in the state since South Carolina resumed capital punishment in September, with four others nearing execution in the coming months. If Moore’s sentence is carried out, 30 inmates will remain on the state’s death row.
In a last-minute appeal, Moore’s attorneys submitted a 40-page petition for clemency to the governor, featuring letters from two jurors and the judge from his trial, a former state prison director, six childhood friends, and several former attorneys.
The petition describes Moore as a born-again Christian who mentors other inmates and has remained engaged in the lives of his children and grandchildren, calling on the governor to reduce his sentence to life without parole, arguing he could be a positive influence in prison.
Attorney Lindsey Vann wrote in support of Moore’s clemency, noting, “Through prayer and study, he has become a more faithful Christian; through consistent communication and love, he has become a better father (and now grandfather); and through all of this, he has gained maturity and wisdom that makes him a benefit to the prison system.”
Moore’s son, Lyndall, recently made a public appeal for clemency, calling his father’s punishment “disproportionate to the actual crime” and urging officials to stop his impending execution. With the date set for November 1, supporters continue efforts to save his life.
