South Carolina is planning to execute Richard Moore - a Black man who entered a convenience store unarmed with no intent of killing someone - on November 1, 2024 unless we implore Governor McMaster to halt this egregious and excessive punishment.

Richard Moore’s crime does not, by any fair standard, warrant the death penalty. If he is executed, it will be because of racial bias.

The death penalty is disproportionate: Richard was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting death of convenience store clerk James Mahoney. Richard entered the store unarmed and defended himself when Mahoney pulled two guns on him. Moore wrestled one of the guns away and both Moore and Mahoney were shot. Mahoney died from his injuries. No other South Carolina death penalty case has involved an unarmed defendant who defended himself when the victim threatened him with a weapon. For more about how Richard’s death sentence is disproportionate, see “As firing squad looms, man facing execution shares his SC death row story” (Jennifer Berry Hawes, The Post and Courier).

Richard’s death sentence is the product of racial bias: Prosecutors struck all eligible African Americans from the jury that sentenced Richard to death. He is the last person on South Carolina’s death row sentenced by an all-white jury. Richard is Black and the victim was White. Former South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Hearn called Richard’s death sentence “a relic of a bygone era” as a result. For more on the issue of race in Richard’s case, see “Attorneys for Richard Moore levy human rights group in push for relief from SC death row” (Kathryn Casteel, The Greenville News).

Election politics led to Richard’s death sentence: After Richard’s arrest, an intense primary took place for the Spartanburg County Solicitor. The incumbent, Holman Gossett, sought the death penalty almost exclusively in cases involving white victims and accused challenger, Trey Gowdy, of being weak on the death penalty. Between the time Gossett lost the primary and Gowdy’s installation as Solicitor, Gossett decided the State would seek the death penalty against Richard despite it being a weak case for death. This put Gowdy in the position of having to continue to press for the death penalty or dropping the death penalty and appearing soft as predicted by Gossett.

Richard is not the same person the jury sentenced to death: Richard is a 59-year-old, loving father and grandfather. He has spent more than 20 years on death row trying to make up for the tragic mistakes he made before his arrest. Former Director of the SC Department of Corrections, Jon Ozmint, says Richard would be a “powerful force for good” if he were granted clemency and resentenced to life without parole.

Richard is a loving father and grandfather: Killing Richard will create more victims by taking him away from his daughter Alexandria, son Lyndall, and two granddaughters (ages 5 years old and 3 months old). Despite his incarceration, Richard has maintained a close, loving relationship with his children. They recall him helping them with their school work while they were younger and offering fatherly support and advice throughout their lives. With his love and support, Alexandria joined the Air Force, married a fellow member of the Air Force, and is the mother of two. Lyndall graduated as the valedictorian of his high school, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and now works in Detroit. For more on the impact of Richard’s sentence and possible execution on his children, see Daughter of death row inmate talks new SC firing squad execution bill (Craig Melvin, MSNBC), and shareable video clips of Alexandria and Lyndall.

Now, South Carolina intends to execute Richard on November 1, 2024. It’s on us to #SaveRichard. Richard’s punishment does not fit his crime.