THERE ARE ONLY FALSE CHOICES IN THE SYSTEM OF COERCION. From [HERE] Richard Moore, a Black prisoner scheduled to be murdered by authorities on Nov. 1, has chosen to die by lethal injection rather than electrocution or firing squad.

Moore's attorneys have said he never intended to kill anyone, and they've long claimed that capital punishment was not a just punishment for his crime.

Moore, 59, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting James Mahoney, a white store clerk. Moore entered a convenience store in 1999 unarmed and intending to rob the place, but a fight soon broke out between him and Mahoney, who had a gun, that resulted in Mahoney being fatally shot.  

Moore was previously scheduled for execution in 2022, and he'd chosen to die by firing squad. His execution was delayed amid legal challenges over the constitutionality of South Carolina's available murder options at the time: firing squad and electrocution. The state ran out of lethal injection drugs in 2011, effectively suspending executions.

Last year, the state was able to obtain new drugs after a 2021 law allowed officials to shield the source drug manufacturers from public disclosure. This summer, the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that firing squad and electrocution were also constitutional methods of killing the condemned.

Moore indicated his “choice” of death by lethal injection on Oct. 18, his deadline to make such a written election under South Carolina law. The paperwork was filed in the state Supreme Court, which issues execution orders.

The state's current lethal injection protocol involves a dose of the sedative pentobarbital, which is similarly used in federal executions.

With two weeks before Moore's scheduled execution, his legal team is continuing to seek a stay.

At Moore's jury trial in 2001, prosecutors struck all the Black potential jurors, resulting in his conviction and sentencing by an all-White jury. His attorneys have said his case reflects the racial discrimination that still exists in the criminal justice system. 

They've petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, arguing that the removal of Black jurors from his trial was intentional and unconstitutional. The high court has not yet issued a response.

His attorneys have also asked the U.S. District Court of South Carolina to disqualify Gov. Henry McMaster from the decision of whether to grant Moore clemency. They believe McMaster — Moore's last hope outside the courts — can't objectively assess his case given the governor's previous press statements that he had "no intention" of commuting Moore's death sentence.

McMaster submitted a sworn statement with the federal court on Oct. 17, saying he will carefully study the issues presented in clemency applications before making a decision.

On Sept. 20, Freddie Owens became the first S.C. death row inmate to be executed in 13 years. Owens asked one of his attorneys to make the election for reasons of faith, and she chose lethal injection.