South Carolina executes Richard Moore despite widely supported plea to commute life sentence

South Carolina executed Richard Moore by lethal injection Friday for the fatal 1999 shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad plea for mercy from parties that included three jurors and the judge in his trial, a former prison warden , pastors and his family.

Moore, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m

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Moore was convicted of killing the Spartanburg convenience store clerk in September 1999 and sentenced to death two years later. Moore entered the store unarmed, took a gun from the victim when it was pointed at him, and fatally shot him in the chest while the victim shot him with a second gun in the arm.

Moore’s attorneys asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole because of his unblemished prison record and willingness to mentor other inmates. They also said it would be unfair to execute someone for what could be considered self-defense and unfair that Moore, who is Black, was the only inmate on the state’s death row convicted by a non-African-American jury.

But McMaster refused to grant clemency. No South Carolina governor has commuted the death penalty, and 45 executions have now been carried out since US Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions nearly 50 years ago.

Unlike previous executions, the death chamber curtain was open when media witnesses arrived. Moore’s last words had already been read by Lindsey Vann, his attorney of 10 years.

Moore’s eyes were closed and his head was toward the ceiling. A prison employee announced that the execution could begin at 6:01 p.m. Moore took a few deep breaths that sounded like snores for the next minute. He then breathed a little until about 6:04, when his breathing stopped. Moore showed no obvious signs of discomfort.

Vann cried when the employee announced that the execution could begin. She clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross. Beside her sat a spiritual advisor, hands on knees, palms up. Vann clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross on it.

Two family members of the victims were also present, along with attorney Barry Barnette, who was part of the prosecution team that convicted Moore. They all watched stoically.

Afterward, prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain read his final words at a news conference.

“To the family of Mr. James Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sorrow I have caused you all,” he said. “To my children and nieces, I love you and am so proud of you. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. To all my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”

His final meal was steak done medium, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, green peas, broccoli with cheese, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake, and grape juice.

Three jurors who sentenced Moore to death in 2001, including one who wrote Friday, sent letters asking McMaster to commute his sentence to life without parole. They were joined by a former state prison warden, Moore’s judge, his son and daughter, half a dozen childhood friends and several pastors.

They all said Moore, 59, was a changed man who loved God, loved his new grandchildren as much as he could, helped guards keep the peace and mentored other prisoners after his addiction of drugs clouded his judgment and led to the exchange of fire in which James. Mahoney was killed, according to the clemency petition.

Moore previously had two execution dates postponed as the state ironed out issues that created a 13-year moratorium on the death penalty, including the companies’ refusal to sell the state’s lethal injection drugs, a hurdle that was resolved by passing a law on secrecy.

Moore is the second inmate executed in South Carolina since executions resumed. Four others have gone without appeal, and the state appears poised to put them to death at five-week intervals through the spring. Now there are 30 people sentenced to death.

The governor said before the execution that he would carefully review everything Moore’s attorneys submitted and, as is customary, wait until minutes before the execution begins to announce his decision once he hears through phone that all appeals are completed.

“Clemency is a matter of grace, a matter of mercy. There’s no standard. There’s no real law on it,” McMaster told reporters Thursday.

In an interview for a video that accompanied his clemency petition, Moore expressed regret for killing Mahoney.

“This is definitely a part of my life that I wish I could change. I took a life. I took someone’s life. I broke up the family of the deceased,” Moore said. “I pray for that family’s forgiveness.”

Mahoney’s prosecutors and relatives did not speak publicly in the weeks leading up to the execution. In the past, family members have said they have suffered deeply and want justice to be served.

Moore’s attorneys said his original lawyers did not thoroughly review the crime scene and left unchallenged prosecutors’ contention that Moore, who entered the store unarmed, shot a customer and that his initial intent was robbery.

According to their account, the clerk pulled a gun on Moore after the two argued because he was 12 cents short of what he wanted to buy.

Moore said he took the gun from Mahoney’s hand and the clerk pulled out a second gun. Moore was shot in the arm and fired back, hitting Mahoney in the chest. Moore then went behind the counter and stole approximately $1,400.

Nobody else in South Carolina sentenced to death they began their killing spree unarmed and without intent to kill, Moore’s current attorneys say.

Jon Ozmint, a former prosecutor who served as director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections from 2003 to 2011 and who has added his voice to calls for clemency, said Moore’s case is not the worst of the worst. of crime which would ordinarily cause. a death penalty case.

There are plenty of people who haven’t been sentenced to death but have committed far more heinous crimes, Ozmint said, citing the example of Todd Kohlhepp, who was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering seven people. including a woman he raped and tortured for days. .

Lawyers for Moore, who is Black, also said his trial was not fair. There were no African Americans on the jury, even though 20 percent of Spartanburg County residents were black.

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Moore’s son and daughter said he remained committed to their lives. He once asked them about their schoolwork and gave them advice through letters. Now he had grandchildren that he saw on video calls.

“Even though my dad was gone, that still didn’t stop him from having a big impact on my life, a positive impact,” said Alexandria Moore, who joined the Air Force at her father’s encouragement.