Activists submit petitions to McMaster in hopes of saving the life of a death row inmate

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – Concerned activists head to the State House Thursday morning in hopes of saving the life of a death row inmate.

At 11 a.m., several activists delivered petitions to Gov. Henry McMaster asking for clemency for Richard Moore, whose execution is scheduled for Friday.

The four petitions have received a total of over 50,000 signatures.

The petitions are sponsored by South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (SCADP), the Catholic Mobilizing Network, Death Penalty Action and Claire McClain.

Those in favor of clemency include two jurors and the judge from Moore's original trial, as well as a former director of the South Carolina prison system who said he believes Moore deeply regrets his actions and is a force for good.

“The world is watching South Carolina right now, waiting to see what Governor McMaster will do next,” said Rev. Hillary Taylor, executive director of South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. “Governor McMaster has a chance to right the wrongs of racism and politicization in Richard’s trial. We hope he listens to our voices and changes Richard Moore’s sentence from death to life in prison.”

Moore was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting death of James Mahoney, a Spartanburg store clerk. The shooting occurred after an altercation at a convenience store when Moore tried to buy something but was 12 cents short.

Moore's clemency petition said Mahoney pointed a gun at him after the argument, prompting him to take the gun out of his hand. After Mahoney pulled out a second gun, the two fired at each other, with Moore being shot in the arm and Mahoney fatally shot in the chest. After the shooting, Moore stole about $1,300.

SCADP said Moore's trial was highly politicized because of the 2000 primary between Holman Gossett and Trey Gowdy, both of whom ran for Spartanburg law firm. Moore was also sentenced to death by an all-white jury.

His case is the only death penalty case in South Carolina history in which the defendant committed the crime without a weapon or intent to kill.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it will not stop Friday's scheduled execution in South Carolina of Richard Moore, who filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in jury selection. According to the verdict, there were no identified disagreements.

The ruling came after Moore's lawyers filed an emergency motion with SCOTUS earlier this week to stay his expected execution on Friday.

McMaster said he planned to carefully consider a clemency request and announce his decision minutes before the execution was scheduled for Friday.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, no South Carolina governor has offered clemency to any of the 44 inmates executed in the Palmetto State.

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