COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — South Carolina has executed Richard Moore, the second death row inmate to die at the hands of the State this year.Moore, 59, was executed by lethal injection at approximately 6:24 p.m. on November 1 at the Broad River Correctional Institution.His death occurred despite pleas from anti-death penalty groups, who called on Governor Henry McMaster to intervene. On Thursday, 50,000 signatures were delivered to the governor, urging him to grant clemency to Moore.RELATED |...
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — South Carolina has executed Richard Moore, the second death row inmate to die at the hands of the State this year.
Moore, 59, was executed by lethal injection at approximately 6:24 p.m. on November 1 at the Broad River Correctional Institution.
His death occurred despite pleas from anti-death penalty groups, who called on Governor Henry McMaster to intervene. On Thursday, 50,000 signatures were delivered to the governor, urging him to grant clemency to Moore.
RELATED |Activists submit 50,000 signatures to Governor, seek clemency for Richard Moore
Moore was sentenced to death for the 1999 killing of Spartanburg County store clerk James Mahoney. Authorities say a shootout occurred after Moore, who was unarmed, took one of the guns from the store clerk during an attempted robbery.
The prosecution argued that Moore's blood was found on Mahoney's body after he leaned over him to search for cash, with the blood resulting from a gunshot wound to Moore's arm.
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Moore, who is Black, was sentenced to death without a jury of his peers, as there were no other African Americans on his jury. His lawyers argue that he has become the first person in modern history to be executed for initially being unarmed and then defending himself when threatened with a weapon.
Moore had no violations on his prison record and worked to rehabilitate other inmates. He has also remained active in his children's lives, with his son, Lyndall Moore, describing his father's sentence as "disproportionate."
Governor McMaster, like his predecessors, has never granted clemency to an inmate on death row. South Carolina is now looking to execute an inmate every six weeks.
Just weeks ago, Freddie Owens was executed by lethal injection, marking South Carolina's first execution in over 30 years. Despite last-ditch efforts to halt the execution, Owens was put to death on September 20 for the shooting of Greenville County convenience store clerk Irene Graves in 1997. Days before his execution, new details emerged that challenged whether he was ever at the scene.
RELATED | South Carolina executes Freddie Owens, first in 13 years
Currently, there are 30 other inmates on death row in South Carolina.