Richard Moore. Image: reproduction
Richard Moore is a 57yearold man who was sentenced to death in the United States. His execution is scheduled for April 29 in South Carolina. However, one decision caught his attention: He would rather die by firing squad than in the electric chair. Moore was convicted of killing a supermarket employee during a 1999 robbery. The information comes from AFP.
The most recent executions in the United States have been carried out by lethal injection, but in South Carolina the method is being abandoned because drug companies refuse to provide the necessary ingredients to administer the punishment. Because of this, he had to choose between the electric chair or the firing squad and chose the second option. The decision was made last Friday (15).
Moore is about to be shot by three volunteers armed with prison department rifles. If the execution is confirmed, it will be the first in South Carolina in nearly a decade.
Lawyers dispute the two methods of execution
Richard Moore’s attorneys allege that the two methods of serving the sentence violate a constitutional veto against “cruel and unusual punishment.” According to AFP, a judge agreed to hear the defense’s arguments.
“The electric chair and firing squad are antiquated and barbaric methods of execution left behind by virtually every American jurisdiction,” said one of the attorneys, Lindsey Vann.