South Carolina to put prisoner to death after reinstating firing squad
New York PostApr 08, 2022
On Wed., South Carolina's Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of execution for death row inmate Richard Moore, who was set to be the state's first execution by firing squad.
Moore was scheduled to be put to death on Apr. 29 for the 1999 murder of a store clerk during a robbery gone wrong. He had chosen firing squad, over the electric chair, as the method of execution.
Moore fatally shot store clerk James Mahoney during a fracas in a botched robbery; he didn't intend to commit murder. Even a dissenting Supreme Court justice has questioned whether capital punishment, which is supposed to be reserved for the most heinous crimes in American society, is appropriate.
Moore robbed a store with the intention of stealing money to support a cocaine habit. He shot an innocent man in the chest and stepped twice over his lifeless body, claiming, at the time, that he acted in self-defense. The punishment here is proportionate to the crime.
Capital punishment is a barbaric affair that compounds violence with violence. It eliminates any possibility of rehabilitation, drains tax dollars, and revictimizes a murder victim's loved ones. The death penalty is no more effective at ensuring a safe society than a life sentence - it needs re-examining.