South Carolina executes Richard Moore for 1999 shooting death of Spartanburg store clerk

Richard Benard Moore has been put to death by the state, making him the second person executed in South Carolina in the past three months. 

Moore, 59, was declared dead by lethal injection at 6:24 p.m. at the Broad River Correctional Facility in Columbia. He was on death row for the Sept. 16, 1999, shooting death of James Mahoney at Nikki’s Speed Mart in Spartanburg. Moore was convicted of murder by an all-white jury on Oct. 20, 2001, and received the death penalty two days later.

Moore apologized to Mahoney's family and thanked his children, grandchildren, and other supporters in a final statement that his attorney, Lindsey Vann of Justice 360, read before the execution.

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

Gov. Henry McMaster denied Moore's clemency minutes before the execution began at 6:01 p.m. No South Carolina governor has granted executive clemency since the state resumed executions in 1976.

More:Richard Moore is set to be executed on Nov. 1; here's a timeline of key events in his case

FoxCarolina reporter Brookley Cromer, a witness to the execution, said the needle that delivered the lethal dose of pentobarbital was connected to Moore's arm. His spiritual advisor kneeled and prayed with Vann as Moore closed his eyes at 6:02 p.m. He began taking shallow breaths and stopped breathing at 6:04 p.m. A physician checked Moore's pulse at 6:23 p.m. and declared him dead a minute later.

Other witnesses included two members of the Mahoney family, who did not speak, according to Cromer, and the Seventh Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette.

"The capital punishment sentence for Richard Bernard Moore was carried out tonight pursuant to the order of the South Carolina Supreme Court and in accordance with state law," South Carolina Department of Corrections spokesperson Chrysti Shain read to the media after Moore was declared dead.

She said his final meal was a medium-cooked steak, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potato, green peas, broccoli with cheese, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake, and grape juice.

Outside the prison, dozens carried signs against capital punishment and prayed for Moore.

Vern Garcia was among the protesters and said if South Carolina wants to be pro-life, they have to be pro-life entirely.

"I've got to fight just as hard for those unborn children as I do for someone who may have done something bad in their life. He can serve his time, he can stay in prison but if we're putting up such a fight for pro-life, life is from conception to death," Garcia said

A day before Moore's execution, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Moore's request for a stay that was filed in September.

His attorneys also filed a complaint on Oct. 7, asking a U.S. District Court judge to delay his execution. The counsel argued McMaster couldn’t be impartial because of his former job as South Carolina attorney general and his role in defending Moore’s death sentence. McMaster was the state's top attorney from 2002-2011.   

Judge Mary Lewis Geiger denied Moore’s complaint after McMaster swore impartiality.  

The list of those who requested McMaster grant Moore clemency included former South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Kaye Hearn and former Circuit Court Judge Gary Clary, who sentenced Moore to death. Also, former SCDC director John Ozmint and two jurors in his murder trial signed the clemency petition.

Moore was the second person the state put to death by lethal injection in last six weeks. Freddie “Khalil” Owens was executed on Sept. 20 at the same facility. Owens was the first person to be executed in South Carolina since Jefferey Motts in 2011.