The son of a death row inmate, who had previously requested execution by firing squad, and is now currently slated to die by lethal injection next week is pleading with the governor of South Carolina to spare his life.
"He's not some sort of monster," Lyndall Moore, 30, told The State in an interview Wednesday. "He's not some sort of 'worst of the worst' kind of guy. He's just a dad who struggled with drug addiction, and that led to a lot of poor decision-making and just the bad situations that led up to where we are now."
Lyndall's dad, Richard Moore, 56, was convicted by a nearly all-white jury of the 1999 murder of 42-year-old store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Moore went into the store unarmed and got into an argument with Mahoney over change, court documents stated, according to the paper. Mahoney drew a gun and Moore disarmed him, prompting the clerk to draw another firearm. Both men shot each other, but Mahoney died from his injuries.
Prosecutors argued Moore was motivated to rob the store so he could buy cocaine.
"He's just a guy who struggled, but always a guy with a good heart, you know, a normal guy trying to be a good father," explained Lyndall, who was 7 years old when his father was sentenced to death.
Over the years, Moore has gained notable supporters rallying for his death sentence to be commuted to life in prison, including former director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections Jon Ozmint, who vows two decades in prison have turned Moore into a changed, rehabilitated man.
In a letter to Gov. Henry McMaster pleading for Moore's clemency, Ozmint described Moore as "one of several reliable and respected inmates on the row" who has "continued to live an exemplary life," the outlet reported. "In that regard, our criminal justice system has already achieved its highest and most lofty purpose in the life of Richard Moore," Ozmint wrote.
With just eight days left to live, Lyndall is hoping the public will realize his dad doesn't deserve to die and that McMaster will move to spare his life.
"Understand the context of what kind of person he is and if this sort of sentence is really justified given what happened and the upbringing and history that led him to that situation," said Lyndall. "Really understanding that he's just a guy who struggled with addiction but he's not not a monster, no, he's not a bad person."
Back in 2022, Moore had previously chosen to die by firing squad after South Carolina passed a law giving death row inmates the option, according to the Associated Press.
