SC’s McMaster points to Moore’s previous criminal record in decision not to grant clemency
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said he did not spare Richard B. Moore’s life Friday because of his criminal record of violence before the murder of James Mahoney.
Despite calls for clemency from three of the jurors and trial judge in Moore’s case, and the former state corrections director, McMaster Friday declined to reduce Moore’s sentence to life in prison without parole from the death penalty.
The state of South Carolina executed Moore Friday evening shortly after McMaster announced his decision.
Leading up to the execution McMaster spoke to Mahoney’s family, but he declined to give specifics of what was said.
Prosecutors have said that Moore, who was unarmed, robbed the store to pay for his addiction. Over the years, Moore maintained that he was there to buy beer and cigarettes. He came up 12 cents short, and an argument ensued over whether he could use coins from the change cup.
Mahoney drew a gun, which the larger Moore wrenched from his hand. A witness claimed Moore fired a shot at him, while Moore’s attorneys say forensics support that it was the clerk who fired the first shot. Mahoney drew a second gun and the two men opened fire on each other at nearly point blank range.
Moore was hit in the arm; Mahoney was shot fatally in the heart.
McMaster said he went through Moore’s thorough clemency petition, the court transcripts and court opinions.
“The perception, the picture painted of Mr. Moore, that most people are familiar with from reading stories about it is, in my estimation, is not the same one that’s presented by the facts in that record which I read,” McMaster told reporters after voting in Tuesday’s election.
McMaster pointed to Moore’s previous convictions for violent strong arm robberies and assaults in Spartanburg and in Michigan. Moore, however, had not been previously charged with murder.
“Well, that’s why you have to read those things, is to see what’s been exaggerated, what’s been minimized, what’s been left out to try to get a complete picture, which you often can’t get from stories on television or in the newspaper,” McMaster said. “You have to have to do a little bit of reading, a little bit of digging.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 1:29 PM.
