Current:Home > InvestFederal judge is skeptical about taking away South Carolina governor’s clemency power -Financial Clarity Guides
Federal judge is skeptical about taking away South Carolina governor’s clemency power
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:35:51
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge appears unlikely to grant the request of a South Carolina inmate scheduled to be executed in just over three weeks to take away the power of granting him clemency from the governor.
Richard Moore’s lawyers said Gov. Henry McMaster can’t fairly decide whether to reduce his death sentence to life in prison because he was a state attorney general who oversaw prosecutors fighting Moore’s appeals and McMaster told reporters he had no intention of commuting a sentence in 2022 when an execution date was set for Moore and then canceled. They want the judge to instead give clemency power to a parole board, the lieutenant governor or someone else they believe is more likely to be impartial.
But Judge Mary Geiger Lewis said she is averse to take away the constitutionally given right to the governor alone to decide clemency in South Carolina and thinks McMaster will carefully consider Moore’s petition when it is filed. Moore’s execution is scheduled for Nov. 1.
Moore “has access to the process. He just doesn’t think the person who has to exercise the process is going to be favorable to him,” Lewis said at a hearing Tuesday.
She suggested she might rule from the bench at Tuesday’s hearing, but said she would take time to issue a written order because of the case’s importance to Moore, the governor and the law.
“Ever since this came to my desk, it is all I have thought about,” Lewis said.
Moore, 59, is facing the death penalty for the September 1999 shooting of store clerk James Mahoney. Moore went into the Spartanburg County store unarmed to rob it, and the two ended up in a shootout after Moore was able to take one of Mahoney’s guns. Moore was wounded in the arm, while Mahoney died from a bullet to the chest.
State law gives Moore until Friday to decide between dying by lethal injection, a firing squad or the electric chair. His execution would mark the second in South Carolina after a 13-year pause because of the state not being able to obtain a drug needed for lethal injection.
No South Carolina governor has ever granted clemency in the modern era of the death penalty. McMaster has said he decides each case on its merits after a thorough review.
Lewis asked McMaster’s lawyers if the governor would considered making a sworn statement he would consider Moore’s clemency petition fairly. They said they would prefer not to because the power is exclusively given to the executive branch, but if the judge insisted, the governor would do it.
McMaster told reporters outside the Statehouse about 30 minutes after the hearing that he has not made up his mind. He said he will announce his decision minutes before Moore’s execution is set to begin and after he has been told all appeals are exhausted, as is tradition in South Carolina.
“My intention is to study the facts, to understand the facts, to understand whatever is available about the matter and then make a very considered opinion,” McMaster said.
Moore’s lawyers have said he is an ideal candidate for ending up with a life sentence because he is a mentor for his fellow inmates.
“Over the past 20 years, Moore has worked to make up for his tragic mistakes by being a loving and supportive father, grandfather, and friend. He has an exemplary prison record,” they wrote.
veryGood! (271)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Some Caribbean islands see almost 'total destruction' after Hurricane Beryl
- Spain advances to Euro 2024 semifinals with extra time win over Germany
- Martha Stewart posted photos of her beige living room, and commenters took it personally
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- How a unique Topeka program is welcoming immigrants and helping them thrive
- Proof Julia Roberts and Danny Moder Are Closer Than Ever After 22 Years of Marriage
- 2024 Tour de France Stage 7 results, standings: Remco Evenepoel wins time trial
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Federal Reserve highlights its political independence as presidential campaign heats up
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- 4th of July Sales You Can Still Shop: $2 Old Navy Deals, 60% Off Pottery Barn, 85% Off J.Crew & More
- Boxer Ryan Garcia says he's going to rehab after racist rant, expulsion from WBC
- Lynx forward, Olympian Napheesa Collier injures foot
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- National Fried Chicken Day is Saturday: Here's where to find food deals and discounts
- WWE Money in the Bank 2024: Time, how to watch, match card and more
- An electric car-centric world ponders the future of the gas station
Recommendation
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
2 dead and 9 injured after truck strikes group celebrating July 4 in Manhattan park
Football fireworks: Five NFL teams that could be more explosive in 2024
'Attitude just like mine': Serena Williams pays emotional tribute to Andy Murray
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
What's open and closed on July 4th? See which stores and restaurants are operating today.
Dehydrated coyote pup dies after it was rescued by California firefighters
How Texas is still investigating migrant aid groups on the border after a judge’s scathing order