Richard Moore was executed by lethal injection in South Carolina on Friday for the 1999 murder of convenience store clerk James Mahoney, despite appeals for clemency from jurors, his trial judge, and others citing his rehabilitation.

Moore, 59, was convicted of shooting Mahoney after an altercation over a short payment.

His lawyers argued for a life sentence without parole, highlighting his clean prison record and positive influence on fellow inmates, as well as questioning the fairness of his trial, which had no Black jurors despite a significant Black population in Spartanburg County, NBC News has reported.

Governor Henry McMaster denied clemency, and Moore was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. after a lengthy legal battle that included previous execution delays.

Written by B.C. Begley