South Carolina carried out the execution of death row inmate Richard Moore for the 1999 murder of a convenience store clerk, despite pleas for clemency from some of his trial’s former jurors, the judge at his trial original, pastors, a former state prison warden and members of his family.

On Friday, November 1, Moore, 59, was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. local time, according to The mail and the messenger.

Moore’s execution took place 23 years after he was convicted of the murder of employee James Mahoney. According to the Associated PressMoore entered the store unarmed, grabbed a gun that the victim pointed at him, and fatally shot him in the chest when Mahoney shot him in the arm.

The fatal shooting took place at Nikki’s Speedy Mart in Spartanburg County. Moore himself argued that he had no intention of robbing the place before a confrontation with Mahoney, according to The mail and the messenger.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster decided not to grant clemency after Moore’s lawyers asked him to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole, even though Moore’s legal team cited a clean prison record and argued it would be unfair to execute someone for an act that could be considered self-defense, according to the outlet.

McMaster, according to the AP, did not give a reason for refusing to grant clemency, but said he spoke with the victim’s family and reviewed materials Moore’s attorneys had provided him.

By The mail and the messengerwhich cited the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, the victim was white and Moore’s jury was made up of seven white women, four white men and one Hispanic man.

According to the AP, his lawyers argued that an execution would be unjust given that Moore was the last person on death row in South Carolina to be sentenced by a jury that did not include a black person, and that 20% of the residents of Spartanburg were black. .

Three former jurors wrote letters to McMaster asking him to change the sentence to life in prison without parole, as did a former state prison warden, Moore’s trial judge, friends, pastors and the son and daughter of Moore, AP reported.

“He’s a human being who made mistakes,” Moore’s son, Lyndall Moore, told the outlet. “And this particular mistake caused the death of another human being. But his sentence is completely disproportionate to the actual crime.”

Among those present at the excitement were Moore’s attorney of 10 years, Lindsey Vann, members of the victim’s family and attorney Barry Barnette, who was part of the prosecution team.

Prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain read his final words aloud at a news conference after his execution. “To the family of Mr. James Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sadness I caused you all,” he said. “To my sons and granddaughters, I love you and I am very proud of you. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. To all my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”

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By The mail and the messengerMoore is the second inmate executed in South Carolina since the state resumed the process in September after 13 years. He was executed with a lethal dose of the depressant drug pentobarbital, according to the outlet.

Justice 360, which represented Moore, said South Carolina “unnecessarily took the life of Richard Moore, a loving father and grandfather, a loyal friend and a devoted follower of Christ.” They also argued that the state “eliminated a shining example of reform and rehabilitation,” according to Mail and Messaging.

“This execution highlights the flaws in South Carolina’s death penalty system. Who is executed and who gets to live out the rest of their life in prison seems to be based solely on chance, race, or status. “It is intolerable that our state would impose the maximum punishment in such a haphazard manner,” Justice 360 ​​said, according to the AP.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Moore’s request to review the jury question in his case one day before his execution, according to Mail and Messaging.

Moore’s execution in South Carolina comes a month after the execution of Freddie Owens, which marked the first execution carried out in the state in 13 years.