Not even a month ago, South Carolina stated that they were ready to perform executions by firing squad, moving away from lethal injections. Now, the state has set a date for the first execution.
On Thursday, the South Carolina Department of Corrections stated that death row inmate Richard Moore, 57, is set to be executed on April 29.
In 2001, Moore was found guilty of armed robbery and murdering a convenience store worker in Spartanburg County in 1999. Within 14 days, Moore must choose an option to die by electric chair or firing squad.
On Thursday evening, Moore’s lawyer, Lindsey Vann, filed a document in court to postpone the execution. Vann opposes the act because Moore was given the death punishment prior to the firing squad or electric chair being permitted by law in 2021.
Moore will be the first death row inmate to be executed since South Carolina stopped the use of lethal injection drugs in 2011. Now, with a new law, all three methods are options.
During an execution by firing squad, three firing squad participants will be stationed behind a wall. Their weapons will be put through an opening. The inmate will have a hood placed over their head and will be given on last chance to talk.
On Wednesday night, South Carolina’s Supreme Court kept the decision of the death penalty in place after Moore had challenged it.
