COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Richard Moore , who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Friday in South Carolina for the fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk in 1999, has one final chance to have his life spared.
Moore’s lawyers have asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster for clemency, which no governor in South Carolina has granted in the previous 44 executions in the state since the death penalty restarted in 1976. Governors in 24 other states have done so.
Two jurors who condemned Moore to death in 2001 also have sent letters asking McMaster to change his sentence to life without parole. They are joined by a former state prison director, Moore’s trial judge, his son and daughter, a half-dozen childhood friends and several pastors.
They all say Moore, 59, is a changed man who loves God, dotes on his new grandchildren the best he can, helps guards keep the peace and mentors other prisoners after his addiction to drugs clouded his judgement and led to the shootout in which James Mahoney was killed, according to the clemency petition .