02 November 2024 :
November 1, 2024 - South Carolina. Richard Moore, 59, Black, was executed on November 1
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 was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m.
Moore was sentenced to death in 2001 (see HoC 22/10/2001) for the September 16, 1999, murder of James Mahoney, a convenience store clerk, in Spartanburg.
Moore went into the store unarmed, took a gun from the victim when it was pointed at him and fatally shot him in the chest as the victim shot him with a second gun in the arm.
Moore’s lawyers asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole because of 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 did not 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 U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to restart them nearly 50 years ago.
Unlike in previous executions, the curtain to the death chamber was open when media witnesses arrived. Moore’s last words had already been read by Lindsey Vann, his lawyer of 10 years.
Moore had his eyes closed, and his head was pointed toward the ceiling. A prison employee announced the execution could begin at 6:01 p.m. Moore took several deep breaths that sounded like snores over the next minute. Then he took some shallow breaths until about 6:04, when his breathing stopped. Moore showed no obvious signs of discomfort.
Vann cried as the employee announced the execution could start. She clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross. Sitting beside her was a spiritual advisor, his hands on his knees, palms up.
Two members of the victims’ family were also present, along with Solicitor Barry Barnette, who was on the prosecution team that convicted Moore. They all watched stoically.
Afterward prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain read his last words at a news conference.
“To the family of Mr. James Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sorrow I caused you all,” he said. “To my children and granddaughters, I love you and am so proud of you. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. To all of my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”
Three jurors who condemned Moore to death in 2001, including one who wrote Friday, sent letters asking McMaster to change his sentence to life without parole. They were joined by a former state prison director, Moore’s trial judge, his son and daughter, a half-dozen childhood friends and several pastors.
They all said Moore, 59, was a changed man who loved God, doted on his new grandchildren the best he could, helped guards keep the peace and mentored other prisoners after his addiction to drugs clouded his judgment and led to the shootout in which Mahoney was killed, 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. “By killing Richard, the State also created more victims. Richard’s children are now fatherless, and his grandchildren will have to grow up without their ‘Pa Pa.’”
In 2022, Moore's case received international attention when he was scheduled for execution and opted to be executed by firing squad under the state's new controversial capital punishment laws. Moore was set to become the first person to be executed in South Carolina in 13 years, as well as the first person in the state to be executed via firing squad. However, his execution was stayed by the South Carolina Supreme Court on April 20, 2022 (see HoC April 26, 2022).
Ultimately, South Carolina resumed executions in September 2024, and Freddie Eugene Owens became the first person to be executed by the state in over thirteen years. He was executed by lethal injection. On October 18, 2024, Moore chose lethal injection as his method of execution.
Moore is the second inmate executed in South Carolina since it resumed executions. Four more are out of appeals, and the state appears ready to put them to death in five-week intervals through the spring. There are now 30 people on death row.
Moore becomes the 2nd inmate executed this year in South Carolina, the 45th since the state resumed executions in 1985, the 21st of the year in the US, and No. 1603 since the US resumed executions in 1977.
