A South Carolina death row inmate is being required to choose between a firing squad, lethal injection and the electric chair for his Nov. 1 execution.
Richard Moore, 59, was convicted of the murder of James Mahoney, a convenience store worker, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in September 1999.
In 2001, Moore was found guilty of murder, aggravated assault with the intent to kill, armed robbery, and a violation involving a handgun.
The 59-year-old now has until Oct. 18 to decide the way to end his life. If he does not choose, he will be electrocuted.
SOUTH CAROLINA INMATE DIES BY LETHAL INJECTION, ENDING STATE’S 13-YEAR PAUSE ON EXECUTIONS
South Carolina’s high court on Friday set a date of Nov. 1 to put to death Richard Moore who killed a store clerk in 1999. (Justice 360 via AP)
According to a certified letter sent to Moore, prison officials said that the state’s electric chair, which was built in 1912, was tested Sept. 3, and was found in working order.
South Carolina formerly used a mix of three drugs but now will use one drug, the sedative pentobarbital, for lethal injections.
BIPARTISAN GROUP OF TEXAS LAWMAKERS DEMAND CONVICTED KILLER’S EXECUTION BE HALTED: ‘SERIOUS DOUBTS’
The firing squad method has been allowed in South Carolina, since 2021. Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho are the only other states that allow the firing squad method.
South Carolina Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said that three volunteers have the training and ammunition needed if Moore chooses this route. The three volunteers were trained to fire at a target placed in the heart from 15 feet (4.6 meters) away.
South Carolina’s death chamber in Columbia, SC. (South Carolina’s Department of Corrections)
South Carolina has put 44 inmates to death since the death penalty was restarted in the U.S. in 1976. In the early 2000s, it was carrying out an average of three executions a year.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Moore plans to ask Republican Gov. Henry McMaster for mercy and to reduce his sentence to life without parole. No South Carolina governor has ever granted clemency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An Arizona man is fighting for his life after he was critically injured after an electrical box exploded at a Read more
A California community college professor was arrested on Thursday in the case of a pro-Israel protester who died after an Read more
A faithful dog who survived after spending more than 10 weeks by her owner who died of hypothermia while hiking Read more
The Republican chairman of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee introduced a resolution on Friday to expel Representative George Santos of Read more