South Carolina Three jurors and the judge at the trial executed Richard Moore by lethal injection in the 1999 shooting death of a convenience store clerk, despite widespread appeals for mercy from parties including a former prison warden, priests and his family.

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

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

Moore’s lawyers 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 that it would be unfair for Moore, who is Black, to be the only inmate in the state to be convicted by a jury without any African Americans on death row.

But McMaster refused to grant clemency. No South Carolina governor has commuted the death penalty, and 45 executions have been carried out so far. US Supreme Court nearly 50 years ago allowed states to resume executions.

This photo provided by Justice 360 ​​shows death row inmate Richard Moore at the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia, SC, on August 17, 2018. (Justice 360 ​​via AP)

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

Moore’s eyes were closed and his head was turned toward the ceiling. A prison employee announced that the execution could begin at 18:01. Moore took several deep breaths that resembled snoring in the following minutes. He then took shallow breaths until approximately 6:04 until his breathing stopped. Moore showed no obvious signs of discomfort.

Vann cried as the employee announced that the execution could begin. She held a prayer bracelet with a cross. A spiritual advisor was sitting next to him, his hands on his knees, palms facing up. Vann clutched a cross prayer bracelet.

Two members of the victims’ family were also there, along with Attorney Barry Barnette, who was on the prosecution team that convicted Moore. They all watched patiently.

Later, 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 sadness I have caused all of you,” he said. “To my children and grandchildren, I love you and I am so proud of you. Thank you for the happiness you bring to my life. To all my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”

His last meal was medium rare steak, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, green peas, cheesy broccoli, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake, and grape juice.

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

All told, Moore, 59, is a changed man who loves God, does the best he can for his new grandchildren, helps guards keep the peace and mentors other inmates after drug addiction clouds his judgment and leads to a shootout with James He said it was. According to the pardon petition, Mahoney was killed.

Moore had previously had two execution dates postponed as he resolved issues that led to a 13-year pause on the death penalty, including companies’ refusal to sell lethal injection drugs to the state, a hurdle resolved by the passage of a privacy law.

Moore became the second inmate executed in South Carolina since executions resumed. The appeals of four more men were rejected, and the state appears ready to execute them at five-week intervals throughout the spring. There are currently 30 people sentenced to death.

The governor said he would carefully review everything sent by Moore’s lawyers before the execution and, as is customary, would wait until a few minutes before the executioner was set to announce his decision by phone when he heard that all objections had been resolved.

“Mercy is a matter of grace, a matter of mercy. There is no standard. There is no real law about it,” McMaster told reporters Thursday.

In an interview for a video accompanying the clemency petition, Moore expressed sadness over Mahoney’s killing.

“This is definitely a part of my life. I wish I could change it. I took someone’s life. I hurt the family of the person who died,” Moore said. “I pray for that family’s forgiveness.”

Prosecutors and Mahoney’s relatives did not speak publicly in the weeks before the execution. In the past, family members have stated that they are in deep pain and want justice to be served.

Moore’s attorneys said their primary attorney did not carefully analyze the scene and left unchallenged prosecutors’ claim that Moore, who arrived at the store unarmed, shot at a customer and that his intention all along was robbery.

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

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

There’s no one else in South Carolina death penalty Moore’s current attorneys say they began the murder unarmed and did not intend to kill.

Jon Ozmint, a former prosecutor who served as director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections from 2003 to 2011 and has given a voice to those seeking clemency, said Moore’s case was not the worst type of crime that is often a trigger. a death penalty case.

Özmint said that there are many people who were not sentenced to death penalty but committed much more serious crimes, and gave the example of Todd Kohlhepp, who was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to killing seven people, including a woman whom he raped and tortured for days. .

Lawyers for Moore, who is black, also said his trial was unfair. Even though 20% of Spartanburg County residents are Black, there were no African Americans on the jury.

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Moore’s son and daughter said he was busy with their lives. He once asked them about their schoolwork and gave them advice in letters. He now had grandchildren whom he saw on video calls.

“Even though my father was away, that didn’t stop him from making a huge, positive impact on my life,” said Alexandria Moore, who joined the Air Force at her father’s encouragement.