COLUMBIA, SC — South Carolina executed Richard Moore by lethal injection Friday for the fatal 1999 shooting of a convenience store clerk, despite a broad plea for mercy from parties that included three jurors and the trial judge his, a former prison warden, pastors and members of his family.

Moore, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m

Moore was convicted of killing Spartanburg clerk James Mahoney in September 1999 and sentenced to death two years later. Moore entered the store unarmed, took a gun from the victim when it was pointed at him, and fatally shot him in the chest while the victim shot him with a second gun in the arm.

Moore’s attorneys asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole because of his unblemished prison record and willingness to mentor other inmates. They also said it would be unfair to execute someone for what could be considered self-defense and unfair that Moore, who was black, was the only inmate on the state’s death row convicted by a non-African-American jury .

But McMaster refused to grant clemency. In a letter, he did not give a reason, but said he had reviewed all the articles submitted by Moore’s attorneys and had spoken with the victim’s family.

No South Carolina governor has commuted the death penalty, and 45 executions have now been carried out in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to restart them nearly 50 years ago.

Unlike previous executions, the death chamber curtain was open when media witnesses arrived. Moore’s last words had already been read by Lindsey Vann, his attorney of 10 years.

Moore’s eyes were closed and his head was toward the ceiling. A prison employee announced that the execution could begin at 6:01 p.m. Moore took a few deep breaths that sounded like snores for the next minute. He then breathed a little until about 6:04, when his breathing stopped. Moore showed no obvious signs of discomfort.

Vann cried when the employee announced that the execution could begin. She clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross. Beside her sat a spiritual advisor, hands on knees, palms up.

Two family members of the victims were also present, along with attorney Barry Barnette, who was part of the prosecution team that convicted Moore. They all watched stoically.

Afterward, prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain read his final words at a news conference.

“To the family of Mr. James Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sorrow I have caused you all,” he said. “To my children and grandchildren, I love you and am so proud of you. Thank you for the joy you brought to my life. To all my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”

His final meal was steak done medium, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, green peas, broccoli with cheese, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake, and grape juice.

Three jurors who sentenced Moore to death in 2001, including one who wrote Friday: sent letters asking McMaster to commute his sentence to life without parole. They were joined by a former state prison warden, Moore’s judge, his son and daughter, half a dozen childhood friends and several pastors.

They all said Moore, 59, was a changed man who loved God, loved his new grandchildren as much as he could, helped guards keep the peace and mentored other prisoners after addiction his drug clouded his judgment and led to the shootout in which Mahoney. was killed, according to request for clemency.

“He was not a danger to anyone, and the state has removed a shining example of reform and rehabilitation,” the law firm Justice 360, which represented Moore, said in a statement. “By killing Richard, the state created even more victims. Richard’s children are now fatherless and his grandchildren will have to grow up without their Pa Pa.”

Moore previously had two execution dates postponed as the state ironed out issues that created a 13-year moratorium on the death penalty, including the companies’ refusal to sell the state’s lethal injection drugs, a hurdle that was resolved by passing a law on secrecy.

Moore is the second inmate executed in South Carolina since executions resumed. Four others have been without appeal, and the state appears poised to put them to death at five-week intervals through the spring. Now there are 30 people sentenced to death.

The governor said before the execution that he would carefully review everything he sent Moore’s lawyers and, as is customary, would wait until minutes before the execution began to announce his decision after hearing that all appeals were completed.

“Clemency is a matter of grace, a matter of mercy. There is no standard. There’s no real law on that,” McMaster told reporters Thursday.

Mahoney’s prosecutors and relatives did not speak publicly in the weeks leading up to the execution and did not speak after. In the past, family members have said they suffered deeply and wanted justice done.

Moore’s attorneys said his original lawyers did not thoroughly review the crime scene and left unchallenged prosecutors’ contention that Moore, who entered the store unarmed, shot a customer and that his initial intent was robbery.

According to their account, the clerk pulled a gun on Moore after the two argued because he was 12 cents short of what he wanted to buy.

Moore said he took the gun from Mahoney’s hand and the clerk pulled out a second gun. Moore was shot in the arm and fired back, hitting Mahoney in the chest. Moore then went behind the counter and stole approximately $1,400.

No one else on South Carolina’s death row began their crime spree unarmed and without intent to kill, Moore’s current attorneys say.

Jon Ozmint, a former prosecutor who served as director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections from 2003 to 2011 and who has added his voice to calls for clemency, said Moore’s case is not the worst of the worst. of crime which would ordinarily cause. a death penalty case.

There are plenty of people who haven’t been sentenced to death but have committed far more heinous crimes, Ozmint said, citing the example of Todd Kohlhepp, who was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering seven people. including a woman he raped and tortured for days. .

Lawyers for Moore, who is Black, also said his trial was not fair. There were no African Americans on the jury, even though 20 percent of Spartanburg County residents were black.

“This execution underscores the flaws in South Carolina’s death penalty system. Who is executed versus who is allowed to live out their lives in prison seems to be based solely on chance, race, or status. It is intolerable for our state to impose the ultimate punishment in such a haphazard manner,” Justice 360 ​​said.

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