South Carolina executed Richard Moore for the 1999 shooting death of a convenience store clerk. Moore, 59, was put to death Friday after making unsuccessful arguments to Gov. Henry McMaster and the U.S. Supreme Court, reports USA Today. He was the last Black man on South Carolina's death row to be convicted and sentenced by an all-white jury. Moore was unarmed when he walked into the store and wasn't even there to rob it, said his attorney, Lindsay Vann, who added, "This isn’t the premeditated cold-blooded killing you think of when you think of the death penalty." His legal team at Justice 360 said the execution "underscores the flaws in South Carolina’s death penalty system." The team said, "Who is executed versus who is allowed to live out their lives in prison appears to be based on no more than chance, race, or status."
Moore was convicted of fatally shooting James Mahoney on Sept. 16, 1999, at Nikki’s Speed Mart in Spartanburg. Prosecutors told jurors that Moore confronted Mahoney with the intent to rob Nikki's, even though he was unarmed. Mahoney drew a gun, after which Moore overpowered and disarmed him. Moore then shot a customer, Mahoney drew another gun, and a shootout ensued, prosecutors said. Mahoney was killed and Moore was hit in the left arm, the Greenville News reported. Moore ended up leaving the store with $1,400 in cash after dripping blood on Mahoney while stepping over him, and then tried to buy crack cocaine at a nearby home, prosecutors said.
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