Nov. 1 Execution Set as South Carolina Increases Use of Death Chamber

South Carolina’s Supreme Court has set a November 1 execution date for inmate Richard Moore, marking a significant moment as the state resumes capital punishment after a 13-year hiatus.

Moore, convicted of killing store clerk James Mahoney during a botched 1999 robbery in Spartanburg County, is the second person scheduled for execution in the state over the next six months.

Moore was formally sentenced to death following a guilty verdict in October 2001.

This resumption comes after years of delays linked to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.

Moore’s case has drawn attention because he was unarmed when the robbery began and only used a weapon after taking one of two guns Mahoney had during the encounter.

The 59-year-old’s attorney, Lindsey Vann, argued that this fact makes his case unsuitable for the death penalty.

“Moore’s execution would not be an act of justice; it would be an arbitrary act of vengeance,” she said, adding that his client is not “the ‘worst of the worst’ for whom the death penalty is supposed to be reserved.”

Vann further claimed that racial bias played a role in Moore’s sentencing, pointing out that his jury had no African American members, despite Moore being Black.

South Carolina had once been one of the most active states for executions but has struggled to restart its death chamber due to difficulties in securing lethal injection drugs.

To bypass this, the state passed a policy allowing the identity of drug suppliers to remain confidential. This move enabled lawmakers to resume executions in 2023, beginning with Freddie Owens on September 20.

Four more inmates are set to face execution after Moore, with the state planning to carry out executions every five weeks.

Moore has the option to choose between lethal injection, electrocution, or a firing squad, a method recently reintroduced in South Carolina.

The last firing squad execution in the U.S. occurred in Utah in 2010.

If Moore does not make a decision, he will be automatically assigned the electric chair. In 2022, he had opted for the firing squad, but legal challenges postponed the execution, and lethal injection has since been made available.

South Carolina formerly used a mix of three drugs but now will use one drug, the sedative pentobarbital, for lethal injections in a protocol similar to executions carried out by the federal government.

As Moore’s execution date approaches, his legal team plans to petition Republican Governor Henry McMaster for clemency, seeking to reduce the sentence to life imprisonment without parole.

No governor in South Carolina’s modern history has ever granted clemency in a death penalty case.

Moore’s defense also plans to challenge the fairness of his trial, arguing that prosecutors improperly excluded African American jurors.

Additionally, they emphasize Moore’s good behavior in prison, where he has offered to mentor fellow inmates.

Since reinstating the death penalty in 1976, South Carolina has executed 44 prisoners, and at one point averaging three executions per year.

However, the number of prisoners on death row has decreased significantly in recent years due to successful appeals and natural causes.

Currently, 31 inmates remain on death row, down from 63 in 2011.

Upcoming executions across the U.S. before the end of 2024 include Robert Leslie Roberson III in Texas and Derrick Ryan Dearman in Alabama, both scheduled for October 17, followed by Carey Dale Grayson in Alabama on November 21.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

Correction 10/14/24, 4:39 p.m. ET: This story has been corrected to reflect that Lindsey Vann is female.