Former SC Gov. David Beasley weighs in on a plea for clemency for death row inmate Richard Moore

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – As his execution approaches, a decision on a clemency appeal for death row inmate Richard Moore has not yet been made.

Moore is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Friday at 6 p.m.

In an exclusive interview with WIS News 10, former Gov. David Beasley commented on the challenges that come with a clemency decision.

“I know that my most difficult decision was the execution, because even if you look through the record and the file and know that the person is guilty, it may well be that that person begged for forgiveness and changed their whole heart and life . You have to make the system work, but it’s difficult,” Beasley said. “In the final months of each execution, I ensured that each individual had access to each other in terms of faith and family to put their lives in order. It’s hard, it’s heartbreaking.”

Beasley served as governor of the Palmetto State from 1995 to 1999. During his time as governor, 16 people were executed.

In five decades, no governor in South Carolina has granted clemency.

“It’s a heartbreaking decision, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Beasley told WIS.

The United States Supreme Court on October 21 rejected a request to stop Moore's execution.

Concerned activists headed to the State House Thursday morning in hopes of saving Moore's life. They delivered petitions with thousands of signatures to Governor Henry McMaster, urging him to grant clemency.

Moore was sentenced to death for the September 1999 death of James Mahoney in a shooting at a Spartanburg supermarket.

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.

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.

No governor has granted clemency in the last 44 executions in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Governor McMaster will decide whether or not to grant clemency minutes before Moore's execution.

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