South Carolina man becomes state's first death row inmate to choose method of execution

A South Carolina man who has spent more than 10 years on death row was given just eight days to decide how he would like to be executed.

As reported by NBC News, 57-year-old Richard Bernard Moore has spent more than two decades on death row after being found guilty of the 1999 killing of convenience store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg.

Now, a new law introduced last year - which corrections officials put down to an inability to obtain the drugs required to administer lethal injections - has meant that Moore has had to choose his means of execution; the electric chair or a firing squad.

The law states that the electric chair is the default method, but prisoners will also be given the option of facing a firing squad consisting of three prison workers with rifles, who will aim their rifles at the prisoner's heart.

Moore's execution is currently set for April 29, and if it goes ahead as scheduled, he will become the first person to be put to death in South Carolina for more than 10 years.

Credit: South Carolina Dept. of Corrections

He was originally scheduled to be executed back in 2020, but the inability to obtain the lethal injection drugs meant that this was delayed.

Now, according to court documents filed on Friday, it has been revealed that Moore - who is one of 35 men on South Carolina’s death row - has chosen to die by firing squad.

This will make Moore the first person to die by firing squad in the United States in almost half a century.

In a written statement, Moore revealed that he did not believe that either method of execution of legal or constitutional, but that he opted for the firing squad because he was required to choose and opposed death by electrocution.

He wrote: "I believe this election is forcing me to choose between two unconstitutional methods of execution, and I do not intend to waive any challenges to electrocution or firing squad by making an election."

Moore's daughter speaks out on her father's situation last year:

Per ABC News, South Carolina's corrections agency stated last month that firing squad executions in Columbia have recently undergone a $53,600 renovation. A metal chair - with restraints - has been installed that faces a wall with a rectangular opening 15-feet away.

The Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center states that South Carolina is one of only four states to offer the firing squad as a method of execution.

Additionally, only eight states to still use the electric chair, according to the center.

However, Moore's attorneys have appealed to the Supreme Court and asked to delay the execution.

This is due to the fact that another court is deciding on whether or not the two methods of execution available to the inmate are "cruel and unusual", per ABC News. Attorneys are also arguing that prison officials are not doing enough to obtain the drugs needed for a lethal injection - resulting in inmates being forced to choose between the two more barbarous methods of punishment.

Some of Moore's supporters believe that his crime does not warrant the death penalty.

During his 2001 trial, prosecutors stated that Moore attempted to rob a convenience store in order to fund his drug habit.

While inside, clerk Mahoney pulled a pistol on Moore, who was able to unarm him. However, when Mahoney pulled a second gun, the two engaged in a gunfight, which ultimately resulted in the worker's death.

Moore said at his trial that he had acted in self-defense, as it was Mahoney who introduced a gun. His lawyers have since argued in appeals that due to the fact Moore never entered the store with a gun, he never had any intention of killing anybody.

Featured image credit: Mirco Gabriel / Alamy