A federal judge in South Carolina is considering a request from an inmate, Richard Moore, who is scheduled to be executed on November 1, to transfer the power of granting him clemency from the governor to a parole board or another impartial entity. Moore's lawyers argue that Governor Henry McMaster, who previously served as state attorney general, may not be able to fairly decide on Moore's clemency petition due to potential biases. However, Judge Mary Geiger Lewis expressed reluctance to strip the governor of his constitutional right to decide on clemency and believes McMaster will carefully consider Moore's petition.
Moore, 59, is facing the death penalty for the 1999 shooting of store clerk James Mahoney during a robbery in Spartanburg County. State law requires Moore to choose between lethal injection, a firing squad, or the electric chair by Friday. If executed, Moore would be the second person put to death in South Carolina after a 13-year hiatus due to drug procurement issues.
