
Photo: Richard Moore - Defense Team
Richard Moore: a CC News Network Exclusive – Supreme Court Denies Last-Minute Motion to Halt Execution of Richard Moore, Igniting Debate on Racial Justice in South Carolina.
Columbia, S.C., — In a crucial decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to stop the scheduled execution of Richard Moore, a Black death row inmate in South Carolina, despite his claims that racial bias influenced his 2001 conviction. Moore’s attorneys argued that prosecutors unjustly excluded Black individuals from the all-White jury that sentenced him to death, an action that the state denies. The high court issued no statement regarding the decision, and there were no noted dissents from justices.
Governor Henry McMaster is still reviewing Moore’s clemency petition, with a final decision expected just minutes before the scheduled execution at 6 p.m. on Friday. If the execution proceeds, Moore will be the second person executed in South Carolina since a 13-year hiatus on capital punishment due to drug availability issues for lethal injections. Moore, sentenced for the 1999 killing of a convenience store clerk during a robbery in Spartanburg, chose lethal injection over other state-sanctioned options like electrocution and firing squad, both newly legalized by South Carolina in 2021.

A Controversial Case
Moore’s legal team argues that he acted in self-defense after Mahoney pulled a gun on him during a confrontation. Both men were injured in the struggle; Moore was shot in the arm, while Mahoney was fatally wounded. After the shooting, Moore took cash from the register, leading prosecutors to categorize the incident as an armed robbery with a fatal outcome.
South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Kaye Hearn dissented from the court’s ruling, calling Moore’s death sentence “disproportionate.” She highlighted the “stunning admission” from prosecutors, who failed to identify any similar case where an unarmed person was sentenced to death for a robbery. Hearn noted racial disparities in capital sentencing within Spartanburg County, where Moore was tried. Records show that between 1985 and 2001, 43% of death penalty cases involving white victims led to executions, while none of the cases with Black victims did.
The Deterrent Question: Does the Death Penalty Reduce Violent Crime?
The impending execution has raised a critical question: is the death penalty an effective deterrent to violent crime in South Carolina? With South Carolina ranking 8th in the nation for gun violence, and 10th in the nation for murder per capita, there’s scant evidence to suggest that capital punishment has curbed violent crime. Research across multiple studies has consistently found little to no correlation between the death penalty and reduced murder rates. Criminologists often cite that factors like socioeconomic status, access to mental health care, and education play more significant roles in reducing crime.
Richard Moore’s case has sparked public discussion on the death penalty’s impact on preventing crime. Critics argue that capital punishment is applied inconsistently and disproportionately affects marginalized groups, as demonstrated in cases like Moore’s. His conviction by an all-white jury and the exclusion of Black jurors from his trial have fueled claims of systemic bias in the judicial process.
Family and Community Voices: The Push for Clemency
Supporters of Moore, including jurors, judges, and former prison officials, argue for clemency, citing concerns over the fairness of his trial and the proportionality of his punishment. His attorneys maintain he acted in self-defense and question the all-White jury’s impact on his sentence. They highlight that Moore is the last person on South Carolina’s death row convicted by an all-White jury—a situation raising fresh concerns about racial disparities in the application of the death penalty.
Governor McMaster has previously voiced a reluctance to commute death sentences, yet he insists that he will carefully consider Moore’s clemency request. The case has reignited debates over race, justice, and the ethics of capital punishment, especially given South Carolina’s expansion of execution methods and the broader history of racial inequities in the state’s criminal justice system.
Stay tuned to CC News Network as we go live in Columbia, S.C., tomorrow at Broad River Correctional Institute to cover the possible execution of Richard Moore by the State of South Carolina.