Jurors, judge and former prison director all ask for mercy for condemned South Carolina inmate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina decease statement inmate Richard Moore has much than 20 group asking nan politician to spare his life successful a clemency petition revenge Wednesday, conscionable 2 days earlier he is scheduled to dice by lethal injection for nan 1999 sidesplitting of a shop clerk.

There are 2 jurors and nan judge from his original trial. There is simply a erstwhile head of nan authorities situation strategy who says Moore profoundly regrets his crime and is simply a unit for bully down bars some for chap inmates and his children and grandchildren.

Also asking for clemency are six puerility friends, 5 relatives, respective erstwhile attorneys who said Moore still checks connected their families aft they couldn’t support him disconnected decease row, and nan partner of a scientist whose introspection of Moore led to a heavy relationship for them both, according to Moore’s petition.

“I person often wondered why Richard would alternatively walk his life successful a situation compartment than extremity this hellhole he must brushwood each day. When I asked him, he told maine that he finds that he now has thing to connection nan world,” Ravi Walsh wrote successful 42 pages of letters sent to Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, nan sole personification pinch nan powerfulness to return Moore disconnected decease row.

No politician has offered clemency to immoderate of nan 44 inmates executed successful South Carolina since nan U.S. Supreme Court allowed nan decease punishment to resume successful 1976. No different authorities has put truthful galore inmates to decease without sparing anyone.

McMaster has promised to review Moore’s petition thoroughly. As is customary, nan politician has said he won’t denote his determination until minutes earlier Friday’s scheduled 6 p.m. EDT execution.

Moore’s lawyers said clemency is an enactment of grace and mercy and should mostly attraction connected what Moore, 59, has done since he changeable and killed James Mahoney successful a shootout astatine a Spartanburg convenience shop successful September 1999.

Moore is simply a born-again Christian who mentors his chap inmates connected isolated decease row, and if his condemnation is reduced to life without parole, his bully power tin dispersed to galore much prisoners, said Jon Ozmint, who was head of nan South Carolina Department of Corrections from 2003 to 2011.

“His communicative and mode of surviving would let him to beryllium an influential unit for bully successful nan wide organization pinch an expertise to person a affirmative effect connected nan astir recalcitrant and hopeless of young offenders,” wrote Ozmint, adding he supports nan decease punishment and has ne'er advocated for different inmate for clemency.

The petition includes a video pinch segments of an question and reply pinch Moore.

“This is decidedly portion of my life I wish I could change. I took a life. I took someone’s life. I collapsed nan family of nan deceased,” Moore said. “I believe for nan forgiveness of that peculiar family.”

Prosecutors and nan family of Mahoney person not spoken publically successful nan weeks starring up to nan execution. In nan past, Mahoney’s family person said they suffered profoundly and want justness to beryllium served.

Moore’s clemency petition said his attorneys didn’t supply him pinch nan champion defense astatine his 2001 trial. They see a different study of nan crime segment on pinch Moore’s type of what happened that shows nan clerk pulled a weapon connected Moore aft nan 2 based on because he was 12 cents short for what he wanted to buy.

Moore said he wrestled that weapon from nan clerk’s manus and Mahoney pulled a 2nd weapon. Moore was changeable successful nan limb and fired back, sidesplitting Mahoney pinch a slug to nan chest. Moore past went down nan antagonistic and stole astir $1,300.

No 1 other connected South Carolina’s decease statement started their crime unarmed and pinch nary volition to kill, Moore’s existent attorneys said.

Ozmint and others said nan decease punishment should beryllium reserved for nan worst crimes and not sought arbitrarily. Current Solicitor Barry Barnette, who was an adjunct charismatic connected Moore’s case, didn’t activity nan decease punishment respective years agone for Todd Kohlhepp, who killed 7 group including a female he raped and tortured for days.

Lawyers for Moore, who is Black, besides person asked nan U.S. Supreme Court to halt nan execution to fto a little tribunal reappraisal whether it was adjacent that nary African Americans were connected nan assemblage that considered Moore’s destiny successful Spartanburg County, which was 20% Black successful nan 2000 U.S. Census.

Moore’s boy and girl said he has remained engaged successful their lives. He now has grandchildren whom he sees connected video calls. Several missive writers mentioned nan harm to them if Moore is removed from their lives.

“He does not make excuses for his actions -- his only liking is staying live truthful he tin service arsenic an illustration to get those astir astatine consequence of going down a akin way and truthful he tin play arsenic overmuch of a domiciled arsenic imaginable successful nan lives of his family,” boy Lyndall Moore said,

In a video pinch nan clemency petition, Ozmint said erstwhile he paid his past sojourn to inmates earlier their executions he would show them that he would “see them connected nan different side.” He said nan astir compelling logic to springiness Richard Moore mercy is that he will beryllium astatine bid pinch immoderate is decided — whether he is successful eden aliases near connected Earth to do bully deeds.

“I cognize I’ll spot Richard connected nan different side. I conscionable don’t cognize erstwhile that will be,” Ozmint said. “I dream that Gov. McMaster will springiness Richard nan remainder of his life to move into nan lives of others.”