In a small office off of Elmwood Avenue in Columbia, South Carolina, a handful of Cornellians are working tirelessly to stop a series of gruesome, unjust executions. This office, Justice 360, needs your help. Justice 360 was founded by Cornell Law Professor John Blume, and our work has been deeply intertwined with the work of Cornell’s renowned Capital Punishment Clinic. Today, each of Justice 360’s four attorneys are Cornell graduates.
More importantly, Richard Moore needs your help. He is a Justice 360 client to be executed today, Nov. 1st. Richard is a truly resilient and inspiring person, who has had a positive impact on countless lives while incarcerated, including ours. Additionally, Richard’s case exemplifies everything wrong with the death penalty, as his death would cause no benefit to anyone or anything.
In 1999, Richard entered a convenience store with no weapons of any kind. After a store employee, James Mahoney, discovered Richard stealing, Mr. Mahoney pulled a gun on Richard. Richard was eventually able to take control of the gun from Mr. Mahoney. After Mr. Mahoney pulled out a second gun, a shootout occurred. Tragically, Mr. Mahoney’s life was lost.
Richard is the only person on death row in South Carolina who was sentenced to death for a crime that was partially in self-defense, and the only person sentenced to death by an all-white jury. His trial and sentence were poisoned by racism. During each proceeding, Moore was the only Black person in the entire courtroom. Additionally, the prosecutor who decided to pursue the death penalty in Richard’s case essentially sought the death penalty only for defendants who killed white victims for his entire 16-year career, never once pursuing the death penalty for a Black victim. During Richard’s trial, the State struck each and every potential Black juror.The tragic truth of the matter is that if Richard was white, and his victim Black, he would not even have been considered for the death penalty.
In the United States, only defendants who commit crimes that are among the “worst of the worst” are supposed to be executed. Every murder, including the one committed by Richard, is horrible and wrong. But there is no possible argument that Richard’s murder, which he had no intention of pursuing when he entered the convenience store, is among the “worst” murders in South Carolina of the last 25 years. Instead, the primary reason that Richard is scheduled to die is because his trial experienced the worst racism.
Despite this, Richard is the last person to ever make an excuse for himself. He has taken full ownership of his offense, and done his best to repair his relationship with his family, the community, the nation and God every day of his 25 years on death row.
The Richard Moore who committed a tragic murder in 1999 is long gone. Over the past several decades, Richard has been an extraordinary father even while on death row. He video calls his children, and now grandchildren, every chance he gets. He instilled a love of country in his daughter, who now serves in the Navy, and he taught his son his times tables, who is now a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Richard also has the seemingly impossible distinction of having no substantial disciplinary issues in his 25 years incarcerated. He has truly been a model inmate, garnering support from the former Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections Jon Ozmint. Ozmint, a supporter of the death penalty in general noted that Richard “is a giver, not a taker,” and that Richard deserves clemency because of his “exemplary” life while incarcerated.
When I first met Richard, he immediately wanted to give me a hug. I was beyond touched. Despite all that has happened to him, Richard has so much love in his heart. As his attorney, Cornell alum Lindsey Vann says, after losing appeals, Richard has spent more time consoling the team than they have consoling him. Despite all of the challenges he faces, his unwavering desire to live on as the best person he can is inspiring to me. Seeing how he has forgiven others around him, despite the profound racism he has faced, has encouraged me to be a more forgiving person in my own life.
To execute a person like Richard, under the racially charged circumstances under which he was sentenced to death, would only serve the purpose of sacrificing a good human being to an era of profound racism. Several members of the all-white jury who sentenced Richard to death row support his clemency petition today. America must do better than this and respect the lives of our citizens, and our promise of equal protection under the law.
In prison, Richard has turned his life around in a remarkable way. He demonstrates the best of the best of our prison system; he shows that profound, positive life changes in prison are possible. To take his life away would be a callous betrayal of our duty to rehabilitate offenders, and it would show death row inmates that no matter what positive changes they make in their lives, they are utterly helpless.
Please, join us, and others in the Cornell community in opposing the execution of Richard Moore. Please sign the Richard Moore Petition on Action Network and share Richard’s story of hope and change.
Noah Berg graduated from the College of Human Ecology in 2024. He writes on behalf of Justice360, a legal aid organization staffed by Cornell alumni.
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