Federal judge is skeptical about taking away South Carolina governor’s clemency power

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge appears unlikely to grant the request of a South Carolina inmate scheduled to be executed on Nov. 1 to take away the power of granting him clemency from the governor. Richard Moore’s lawyers said Gov. Henry McMaster can’t fairly decide whether to reduce his death sentence to life in prison because he was a state attorney general and told reporters in 2022 he had no intention of commuting a sentence. They want the judge to instead give clemency power to a parole board or someone else they believe is more likely to be impartial. But Judge Mary Geiger Lewis said she is averse to take away the governor’s constitutionally given power.