Spartanburg Man Set for Execution as South Carolina Resumes the Death Penalty
In Spartanburg, South Carolina, an important date approaches as the life of Richard Bernard Moore teeters on the balance. The South Carolina Supreme Court has scheduled Moore’s execution for November 1st – a stark signal that executions are returning to the state after over a decade of dormancy.
Moore, convicted in 1999 of a Spartanburg convenience store shooting, faces death as the second person in only five weeks to be executed in South Carolina. An eerie silence had pervaded the death chambers of the state, with no execution taking place for more than a decade until 2025 when the state Supreme Court re-greenlighted this grim practice.
A Controversial Case Draws Global Attention
Moore, a black man, stands out from the crowd of those on death row. He’s the only one amongst them convicted by a jury that did not include any African Americans. This fact attracted the attention of Columbia-based nonprofit, Justice 360, who petitioned the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) to investigate Moore’s case on grounds of racial bias in jury selection, an allegedly disproportionate death sentence, and potential racial discrimination in prosecution. Though the IACHR granted “precautionary measures” in 2023, urging South Carolina to hold off his execution until adequate investigation, its resolutions aren’t legally binding.
More Executions on the Horizon
But it seems Moore’s case doesn’t stop the gears of death from turning again in South Carolina, as four more executions are likely for 2025. Out of 31 inmates on death row who have exhausted their appeals, Spartanburg’s Moore is just one case.
In 2002, Marion Bowman, was convicted for murdering 21-year-old KanDee Louise Martin. He was given the death sentence a year later in 2003. Bowman didn’t just murder young Martin; chilling court documents revealed he attempted to destroy the evidence by setting a car, with Martin’s body inside, on fire.
Brad Sigmon of Greenville was sentenced to death in July 2002 after brutally killing his girlfriend’s parents, David and Gladys Larke, a year before. Although his execution was scheduled in May 2022, it was temporarily stayed.
Then, there’s the Bixby family case. Given the death penalty in 2007, Steven Bixby along with his parents murdered a sheriff deputy and state constable after a feud over property with the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
Lastly, Mikal Mahdi on an East Coast murder spree took a life of a South Carolina deputy and pled guilty to the murder and robbery of a North Carolina store clerk. Though the beginning of his spree was in 2004, it wasn’t until 2006 that he was caught and sentenced to death.
The Return of the Death Penalty: A Grim Sight
With a history clouded by murder convictions and upcoming death penalties, the reality at Spartanburg is clear – the gears of justice in South Carolina do not halt on the issue of death penalty. The multiple lifetimes spent behind bars and the anticipation of the ultimate punishment reflect the state’s unwavering stance to serve justice in its most severe form.
