Richard Moore Executed After Supreme Court Denies Last-Minute Motion, and No Clemency for Governor McMaster.

Columbia, S.C. — Richard Moore, a black death row inmate in South Carolina, was executed at 6:24 p.m. today after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute motion to halt the proceedings. Moore’s attorneys had argued that racial bias marred his 2001 conviction, claiming prosecutors unjustly excluded Black jurors, leading to an all-White jury that sentenced him to death. The high court issued no statement on the denial, and there were no noted dissents from the justices.

Chrysti Shain, Director of Communications with the South Carolina Department of Correction read that Richard Moore’s final meal was a steak, cooked medium, friend fish, fried catfish, man-n-cheese, and various greens.

Reporters that attended the execution described Richard Moore with his eyes closed, strapped to the lethal injection gurney. A statement was read apologizing to the Mahoney family. The injection started at 6:02 PM and he was pronounced dead at 6:24 PM. Moore had his attorney, spiritual advisor, prison officials and 3 reporters attend the execution.

James Mahoney, was a convenience store clerk. He was killed by Richard Moore during a robbery gone bad in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 1999.

CC News Network was live at the Broad River Correctional Institute to broadcast the State carrying out Moore’s sentence, and to talk to protestors. It is also the home to the Kirkland Correctional Institution, which is located within the Broad River Correctional Institution complex in Columbia, South Carolina. Kirkland serves as the primary intake and assessment center for all male inmates entering the South Carolina Department of Corrections system. It also houses the state’s Maximum Security Unit and provides specialized medical and mental health services. It is believed that Alex Murdaugh is being held inside the Kirkland facility.

In the final hours leading up to the execution, Governor Henry McMaster reviewed a clemency petition but ultimately did not intervene. Moore’s case has long been fraught with controversy, particularly surrounding the choice of execution methods after South Carolina legalized the firing squad and reintroduced electrocution as options in 2021. Richard Moore chose lethal injection, a method that had not been used in the state since 2011 due to drug availability issues.

No Clemency for Richard Moore — No Clemency Letter for Richard Moore

Richard Moore execution — SCDC Broad River Facility Staging Area: Photo: CC News Network

A Controversial Case

Richard Moore’s defense argued that he acted in self-defense during a robbery gone wrong in 1999, when a confrontation with convenience store clerk James Mahoney escalated fatally. Moore sustained an arm injury during the altercation, while Mahoney lost his life. Although Moore took cash from the register, his attorneys maintain that his actions were not premeditated murder. Prosecutors, however, argued that the incident constituted armed robbery with a fatal outcome.

South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Kaye Hearn previously dissented on Moore’s death sentence, calling it “disproportionate” in light of the fact that no similar cases in Spartanburg County led to death penalties for unarmed defendants. Hearn cited racial disparities in capital sentencing, pointing to the high rate of executions in cases with white victims compared to cases with Black victims in Spartanburg County from 1985 to 2001. Moore’s all-White jury conviction and his subsequent death sentence have only deepened questions about racial inequities in South Carolina’s criminal justice system.

The Deterrent Question: Does the Death Penalty Reduce Violent Crime?

Moore’s execution has reenergized discussions on whether capital punishment effectively deters violent crime. With South Carolina ranking 8th in the nation for gun violence and 10th for murder per capita, the question of the death penalty’s deterrence remains relevant. Studies have found little evidence linking capital punishment to reduced murder rates, with criminologists citing factors like socioeconomic conditions, mental health access, and education as more influential in reducing crime.

The case has further highlighted inconsistencies in the application of the death penalty. Critics argue that the state’s reliance on capital punishment disproportionately affects marginalized communities, often in cases fraught with procedural or racial biases. Moore’s trial by an all-White jury, after the exclusion of Black jurors, underscores the broader debate on systemic bias within the death penalty framework.

Family and Community Voices: The Push for Clemency

In the days leading up to his execution, Richard Moore received public support from former jurors, judges, and prison officials who advocated for clemency. His legal team maintained that he acted in self-defense and argued that the composition of his all-White jury influenced the severity of his sentence. Moore was the last individual on South Carolina’s death row to have been convicted by an all-White jury, further spotlighting concerns over racial disparities in the capital punishment system.

Governor McMaster, who had previously expressed reluctance to commute death sentences, reviewed Richard Moore’s clemency request but did not grant a reprieve. The decision has intensified ongoing debates over race, justice, and the ethics of capital punishment in South Carolina, particularly given the state’s expansion of execution methods and its history of racial disparities in the judicial system.

Stay with CC News Network as we continue to provide in-depth and live coverage of this case and its implications for South Carolina’s justice system.

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