Judge rules only the governor can grant clemency to a South Carolina death row inmate

A federal judge has rejected the request of a South Carolina man scheduled for execution next week to remove the governor's power to grant clemency and allow someone else to consider his case.

Richard Moore’s lawyers argued that Gov. Henry McMaster could not fairly decide whether to reduce Moore’s death sentence to life in prison because he was a state attorney general who oversaw prosecutors fighting Moore’s appeals. McMaster also told reporters that he had no intention of commuting Moore's sentence in 2022 when an execution date was set and then canceled.

Moore has exhausted all appeals available to him and is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Nov. 1.

Moore's lawyers said because of McMaster's prior involvement in his case that the power to grant Moore clemency should be given to a parole board or another entity.

But Judge Mary Geiger Lewis ruled Monday that the governor is the only person who has the right to grant clemency under the state constitution.

Lewis said Moore’s lawyers made too much of McMaster’s comments in 2022, especially after the governor voluntarily gave her court a sworn statement saying that under his oath of office — which he has taken three times — he swore to protect and defend the state and U.S. constitutions and fulfill his obligations under the law with capital punishment.

“Governor McMaster’s statement was made nearly two-and-a-half years ago. At the time, Moore had yet to file a petition proposing any grace-oriented grounds for clemency, and the only basis upon which Governor McMaster could evaluate Moore’s sentence was through his knowledge of Moore’s exhaustive legal proceedings,” Lewis wrote.

Nine states, including South Carolina, are run by former attorneys general. Among the top prosecutors cited by the state who later become governors and made decisions on clemency is former President Bill Clinton in Arkansas.

“Moore’s claims are based on the underlying assumption that the Governor will not commute his death sentence. Whatever the Governor ultimately decides, that decision is his alone,” McMaster’s attorneys wrote.

Moore, 59, was sentenced to death for fatally shooting a store clerk, James Mahoney, in September 1999. Moore entered the Spartanburg County store unarmed to rob it, and the two ended up in a shootout after Moore was able to take one of Mahoney’s guns. Moore was wounded in the arm, while Mahoney died from a bullet to the chest.

His lawyers plan to ask for clemency, saying the sentence was too harsh since he didn’t go into the store with a gun and may have fired in self-defense. There is no surveillance video of the shootout. Moore’s attorneys say he has no violations on his prison record and has offered to continue to help rehabilitate other prisoners as long as he is behind bars.

Moore’s supporters said his willingness to mentor fellow inmates and his clean prison record make him an ideal candidate for mercy from the governor.

No recent South Carolina governor has granted clemency to anyone facing the death penalty. McMaster has said he decides each case on its merits after a thorough review.

McMaster plans to make his announcement about Moore, as is customary, just minutes before the execution is set to start after he has been informed that all Moore's appeals have been exhausted. McMaster said it is critical to let an entire case run its course.

“I really don’t decide until we get right to the end. That’s when you have to announce it. And there’s always a chance that something may change a governor’s mind," McMaster told reporters last week.

Moore has a request pending before the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, saying a lower court should review whether it was fair that no African Americans were on the jury that considered Moore’s fate in Spartanburg County, which was 20% Black in the 2000 U.S. Census.

Moore is as involved as he can be in the lives of his children and grandchildren, Moore’s son Lyndall said. “He’s mentored other young people. He’s a God-fearing man,” he said.

Moore’s execution would be the second in South Carolina after a 13-year pause when the state was unable to obtain one of the drugs needed for lethal injections.