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A Reckoning on Death Row: The Case of Richard Moore and the Death Penalty in South Carolina

South Carolina’s death penalty system stands at the precipice of profound moral and political failure.

By Javar Juarez (CUBNSC) Columbia, S.C. - South Carolina’s death penalty system stands at the precipice of profound moral and political failure. Richard Moore’s impending execution on November 1st is not merely a tragic consequence of one man’s fate but emblematic of a justice system that continues to be marred by racial bias, political manipulation, and the refusal to align with national and global progress. South Carolina’s conservative leadership, especially those seated in the statehouse and the Governor’s Mansion, must understand the consequences of pursuing this unjust course.


Richard Moore’s story is one of survival that has been grotesquely misinterpreted as premeditated malice. In 1999, Moore entered a convenience store without a weapon. When James Mahoney, the clerk, pulled two guns, the confrontation escalated into a tragic exchange of gunfire. Moore acted out of self-defense, yet he became the target of capital punishment. The prosecutorial decision to seek the death penalty reveals the embedded racism in our judicial system—where Black men accused of killing white victims are disproportionately sentenced to death. Moore’s trial, overseen by an all-white jury, further underscores that bias.


Even retired South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Kay Hearn characterized Moore’s case as one from “a bygone era.” Yet the era is not bygone if the practices persist. If Richard Moore’s sentence is carried out, South Carolina will have failed once more to shed the yoke of racial injustice—a yoke worn too long by Black citizens across generations.


A Death Penalty Built on Prejudice


South Carolina Alternatives to Death Penalty Organize at the South Carolina Statehouse to Demand Clemency for Richard Moore Scheduled to be executed on November 1st, 2024

Holman Cleveland Gossett, Jr, age 75, died Tuesday, July 18, 2023

The death penalty in South Carolina, especially in cases like Moore’s, is not about justice but about political maneuvering. The case was used as a tool by solicitor Holman Gossett, who sought Moore’s death sentence not out of concern for public safety but as a political gambit to pressure his successor, Trey Gowdy, into maintaining the state’s harshest punishments. If Gowdy dropped the case, he risked being labeled as “soft on crime” during his campaign for solicitor—a label that could have ended his political career. Thus, Moore’s life was not valued as that of a human being but as a political bargaining chip in a prosecutor's game.





Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is an American television news presenter, former politician and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2019. His district included much of the Upstate region of South Carolina, including Greenville and Spartanburg.

This trend of leveraging the death penalty for political gain is not unique to South Carolina, but it is acutely felt here. A 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a steady decline in support for the death penalty across political lines, with growing opposition even among conservatives. Yet, the South Carolina government clings to this outdated form of punishment, prioritizing optics over reform. If conservative values demand limited government intervention and fiscal prudence, then conservatives must recognize that state-sanctioned killing is neither small nor cost-effective government. It is, instead, a brutal overreach, tainted with racial bias and political opportunism.


The Death Penalty as a Political Relic


Since 1976, nearly all death penalty cases in Spartanburg County, where Moore was tried, involved white victims. Meanwhile, the only case involving a Black victim saw the death sentence overturned once it became clear that race played an impermissible role in the prosecution. These patterns reveal a deep-seated racism within South Carolina’s justice system—a racism that cannot be ignored.


As conservative politicians in South Carolina claim to value life, they must confront the contradiction of endorsing a racially biased death penalty. If Richard Moore dies on November 1st, his blood will not wash away the stains of this inequity—it will deepen them. And it will awaken a righteous anger among the very communities conservatives have tried to suppress.


Warnings from History: The Power of Resistance


The economic boycotts of the civil rights movement, from Greenwood, Mississippi, to Birmingham, Alabama, forced meaningful change by hitting those in power where it hurt most: their wallets.

History teaches us that marginalized communities do not remain silent indefinitely in the face of injustice. The economic boycotts of the civil rights movement, from Greenwood, Mississippi, to Birmingham, Alabama, forced meaningful change by hitting those in power where it hurt most: their wallets. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The political power structure listens to the economic power structure.” Today, we are on the cusp of a similar reckoning.


South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster

If Governor Henry McMaster and South Carolina’s Republican led house of zealots continue down this path, they will encounter formidable resistance. Already, Black religious leaders are organizing against the Governor’s administration. The Black church, a cornerstone of resistance during the civil rights era, is mobilizing its congregants once again. And while religious leaders still call for nonviolence and democratic change, the frustration in the streets is growing. Many Black South Carolinians view the state government’s actions, especially regarding Moore’s case, as a direct assault on their lives and dignity.








A Dangerous Brink


The urgency of the moment cannot be overstated. South Carolina’s conservative leadership must confront the growing frustrations within communities that have endured systemic injustices for far too long. Ignoring or dismissing these deeply rooted inequities risks widening societal divides and further eroding public trust in the state’s justice system. Meanwhile, the Freedom Caucus—a hardline faction within the statehouse notorious for obstructing bipartisan efforts and targeting moderate Republicans—finds itself entangled in scandal, with co-founder R.J. May III under federal investigation for child exploitation. This glaring hypocrisy has not gone unnoticed by the public, and the mounting frustration within communities is becoming increasingly difficult to contain.


If the Governor proceeds with Moore’s execution, he will not only be complicit in a grave injustice but will also set in motion a wave of resistance that could have far-reaching consequences. It is no secret that many Black men in South Carolina are on the brink of resorting to more aggressive measures, viewing the government’s actions as an intolerable threat. When justice is denied, when lives are deemed expendable for political gain, unrest becomes inevitable.


The Call to Action


Conservative leaders have an opportunity—perhaps their last—to change course. By commuting Richard Moore’s sentence from death to life, they can signal a willingness to reform and a recognition that the death penalty is an anachronism that has no place in a modern justice system. They must listen to the voices of the religious leaders, the activists, and the families who have been touched by the death penalty’s cruelty.


The time for reckoning is now. South Carolina must end its dependence on capital punishment, or it will face the full weight of organized resistance—resistance rooted in the righteous anger of a people who have been wronged for far too long. The Governor and his allies in the statehouse should not mistake patience for passivity. The Black community has mobilized before, and it will do so again, with the full force of history behind it.


Injustice cannot stand. And if Richard Moore’s execution is carried out, South Carolina’s leaders will bear the burden of knowing they have chosen cruelty over compassion, and power over principle. They have been warned—history does not look kindly on those who stand on the wrong side of justice.




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