After two decades on death row, Richard Moore faces an unsettling decision between electrocution or a firing squad, but the former prison chief argues that he doesn't deserve to die.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed a new law requiring death row inmates to choose between the electric chair and firing squad after years of execution delays due to the unavailability of lethal injection drugs. Moore may be the first to make the choice.
Moore, 56, was convicted in 2001 for the fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk during a robbery, and has run out of appeals AP News reports. His supporters, including the former head of South Carolina's Department of Corrections, Jon Ozmint, argue that Moore has reformed during his two decades on death row and should receive life without parole instead of the death penalty.
"Circumstances took place inside the store that certainly made him guilty of killing another man, but in most counties in this state, I doubt you could even find a jury to recommend the death penalty on those facts," said Ozmint.
Moore pleaded guilty to shooting store clerk, James Mahoney, in 1999 when Mahoney pulled a gun on Moore, and shot him in the arm. Moore didn't bring a gun into the store, which court documents say he entered hoping to steal money to buy drugs.
Ozmint contrasted Moore's case to other death penalty convictions that involve more violence or premeditation, and described Moore as a remorseful man who's developed faith and worked on relationships with his family during his imprisonment.
"His life in the Department of Corrections has been exemplary. He's a giver, not a taker," Ozmint said.
The state judge presiding over Moore's case, retired state Rep. Gary Clary, expects lawsuits will be brought forth in response to the new execution law, further delaying executions caught up in court battles.
Moore's legal team continues to challenge the court and is preparing a case for clemency.
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