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RACIAL BIAS AS SOUTH CAROLINA EXECUTION SET

UA: 89.24
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This action ended on November 1, 2024

Richard Moore, a 59-year-old Black man, is scheduled to be executed in South Carolina on November 1, 2024 for the murder of a white convenience store clerk. Richard Moore was unarmed when he entered the store, demonstrating a lack of premeditation that raises serious questions as to whether the crime rose to the level for which the death penalty is reserved in US constitutional law. Both men were shot, the clerk fatally, after the clerk pulled two firearms on Richard Moore. At the 2001 trial, the prosecutor dismissed the only two prospective Black jurors, resulting in an all-white jury. We urge the South Carolina governor to grant clemency and commute Richard Moore’s death sentence.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: November 1, 2024

take action:

  • Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  • Click here to let us know the actions you took on Second Urgent Action 89.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

Governor Henry McMaster

State House, 1100 Gervais Street

Columbia, South Carolina 29201, USA

Fax: +1 803.734.5167

Email: https://scgovernorcontact.force.com/constituents/s/contact-the-governor

sample letter:

Dear Governor McMaster,

Richard Moore is scheduled to be executed in South Carolina on November 1, 2024. I am appealing for his clemency.

Justice Hearn concluded that Richard Moore’s death sentence was disproportionate. He was unarmed when he entered the store – the clerk was shot by a gun (as was Moore) already on the premises. This alone raises questions about a lack of premeditation. Under US constitutional law, “capital punishment must be limited to those offenders who commit a narrow category of the most serious crimes, and whose extreme culpability makes them the most deserving of execution.” Moreover, the prosecution’s use of peremptory strikes against Black prospective jurors ensured an all-white jury.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has issued precautionary measures calling for a stay of execution for Richard Moore to give the IACHR time to consider his full petition. As a constituent part of the USA, South Carolina is required under international law to heed the IACHR’s call.

I note that former Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Jon Ozmint, has described Richard Moore as an “exemplary” prisoner who would continue to be a “powerful force for good” if allowed to live. 

I urge you to grant executive clemency to Richard Moore and to commute his death sentence.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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