A DEATH row inmate set to be executed in just weeks has been asked to make a chilling choice of how he would like to die.
Richard Moore, 59, has been sentenced to death next month for brutally shooting a store assistant dead in South Carolina in 1999.
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A letter from the state’s prison authorities asked Moore whether he would prefer to get executed by firing squad, lethal injection or electric chair.
And he must choose before October 18, the letter said.
If he fails to make a decision, he will be electrocuted to death as per the state laws.
South Carolina’s electric chair, which was built more than a century ago in 1912, was tested last month – and was found to be working properly.
The state also permits execution by firing squad, a method that was introduced by the government in 2021.
Bryan Stirling, South Carolina’s Corrections Director, said that the prison has trained and instructed three volunteers on how to shoot a person directly in the heart.
The appropriate guns and ammunition have also been stocked, he added.
In 1999, an unarmed Moore entered a shop run by James Mahoney in a bid to rob it.
The shopkeeper was initially not hurt, but a brawl between the two led to a shootout where Moore was able to grab hold of a gun and shoot the store clerk in the chest.
Mahoney later died from the fatal bullet wounds.
Moore was also linked to a series of crimes, including habitual traffic offences, unlawful weapon possession, purse snatching, robbery and physical assault, Post and Courier reports.
He was also a regular consumer of crack cocaine, Daily Mail reports.
The convicted killer has been sitting on a death penalty sentence for more than 23 years now.
He is the first person ever to be given a death sentence in a murder case where the killer was initially unarmed.
Moore has pleaded to the US Supreme Court to stop the execution – and has asked the state governor Henry McMaster for a mercy petition.
But a South Carolina governor has never granted mercy to an inmate on the death penalty in recent times.
If the execution – set to take place on November 1 – goes ahead, Moore will only be the second person to be put to death by authorities after the state resumed death penalties following a 13-year pause.
The first person to be executed in recent years was Freddie Owens who was convicted of murdering a convenience store worker in 1997 following a failed robbery attempt in Greenville.
But he was sentenced to death when he killed Christopher Lee, a fellow prisoner, at a county jail during his trial.
His final moments saw his face twitching for five minutes as he was executed in a South Carolina prison last month.
The cold-blooded killer uttered a single “bye” to his attorney before he was given a lethal injection.
U.S. death penalty laws
THE death penalty in the United States is governed by both federal and state laws.
Its legality and application can vary depending on the jurisdiction.
The federal government allows the death penalty for certain crimes such as terrorism, espionage, treason, large-scale drug trafficking, and murder of a federal official or law enforcement officer.
The Federal Death Penalty Act (1994) provides the legal framework for death penalty procedures in federal cases, outlining offenses that are eligible for capital punishment and procedural protections for defendants.
As of now, 24 states permit the death penalty, while 23 have abolished it or have moratoriums.
Each state has its own laws regarding which crimes are punishable by death, usually limited to first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances (e.g., multiple murders, killing a police officer, or murder during a violent crime like robbery).
Lethal injection is the most common method of execution across the U.S., but some states have alternative methods, such as the electric chair, gas chamber, hanging, or firing squad, as secondary options or by choice of the condemned.
Some states have imposed moratoriums (temporary halts) on executions, such as California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, even though the death penalty remains legal in those states.
There has been a growing trend toward abolition, as public opinion has shifted, concerns about wrongful convictions have arisen, and the costs of death penalty cases have increased.
Death penalty cases involve a complex and lengthy appeals process, which includes automatic appeals to higher courts.
This process is designed to ensure that convictions are accurate and that no constitutional rights were violated during the trial.
Defendants in capital cases are afforded specific protections, such as the right to effective legal counsel and mental health evaluations.
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