South Carolina’s highest court docket on Wednesday quickly blocked the state from finishing up what was set to be its first-ever execution of a demise row inmate by firing squad.
The order by the state Supreme Courtroom will no less than quickly block the deliberate execution of Richard Bernard Moore, who was given the demise sentence for the 1999 killing of comfort retailer clerk James Mahoney. His execution, which might have been the primary within the US by way of firing squad since 2010, was scheduled for April 29.
The court docket issued a brief keep, and stated that it could launch a extra detailed order later.
Attorneys for Moore, 57, had sought a keep, citing pending litigation in one other court docket difficult the constitutionality of the state’s execution strategies, which embrace the electrical chair.
His attorneys additionally wished extra time to ask the US Supreme Courtroom to assessment whether or not Moore’s sentence was proportionate to his crime.
The state’s final execution was in 2011, largely as a result of bother securing deadly injection medication after the state’s final batch expired in 2013. In 2021, seeking to resolve that downside, a regulation was created that designates the electrical chair the default execution methodology as a substitute. It additionally permits for firing squad as a second choice.
Moore’s execution date was set after officers disclosed final month that that they had made renovations to the state’s demise chamber that may accommodate the firing squad.
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