IACHR urges the United States to refrain from applying the death penalty on Richard Moore, beneficiary of precautionary measures

October 30, 2024

Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR or Commission) urges the United States of America, to refrain from applying the death penalty imposed on Richard Moore, set for November 1, 2024.

On October 22, 2024, a U.S. District Court Judge refused Moore's request for injunctive relief and declaratory judgment, denying a delay in his execution. His legal defense has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant an emergency stay of execution. A grant of clemency depends on the South Carolina Governor.

Richard Moore has a pending petition with the IACHR through which he alleges, among others, violations of due process in the decisions that culminated in his death sentence. Mr. Moore is beneficiary of precautionary measures granted by Resolution 39/2023 of July 4, 2023, whereby the Commission requested that the United States adopts the necessary measures to protect his life and personal integrity; and refrain from carrying out the death penalty until the IACHR has had the opportunity to reach a decision on his petition.

In granting precautionary measures, the Commission observed that the applicants alleged that Mr. Moore's State appointed council at the time of his trial was ineffective. The applicants indicated the defense counsel's complete failure to exploit the gaps in the prosecution's proof using the collected physical evidence; that the sentence was disproportionate as the facts do not correspond to an "exceptional gravity" that can justify the imposition of the death penalty; and that the State struck jurors from Mr. Moore's capital trial in a racially discriminatory manner.

While the imposition of the death penalty is not prohibited per se under the American Declaration, the Commission has recognized systematically that the possibility of an execution in such circumstances is sufficiently serious to permit the granting of precautionary measures to the effect of safeguarding a decision on the merits of the filed petition.

Accordingly, the Commission urges that the United States of America adopts the necessary measures to protect the life and personal integrity of Richard Moore and refrain from executing the death penalty until the IACHR has had the opportunity to rule on his petition.

The Commission recalls that, as stated in the report The death penalty in the Inter‐American System of Human Rights: From restrictions to abolition, the main concerns identified in relation to the application of the death penalty are the risk of executing innocent people, the arbitrariness and injustice in the application of this penalty, and the inhuman treatment that characterizes the stay on death row.

In addition, the IACHR has established that any deprivation of life resulting from the request of the death penalty requires greater scrutiny. Therefore, in order to protect due process guarantees, States have the obligation to ensure the exercise of the right to a fair trial, the strictest compliance with the right to defense, and the right to equality and non‐discrimination, including a stringent consideration of a reasonable appearance of racial bias throughout the process.

In this sense, the IACHR calls once again to eliminate the death penalty, or alternatively, to impose a moratorium on executions as a step towards its gradual abolition. In the same way, the IACHR reiterates its recommendation to take all necessary measures to ensure compliance with the highest standards of due process.

The IACHR recalls that the precautionary measures granted seek to preserve the legal situation of Mr. Moore while his situation is being considered by the IACHR. The precautionary function aims to safeguard the rights at risk until the petition is resolved, in order to ensure the effectiveness of an eventual decision on the merits, stage in which the Commission decides whether or not there were violations of human rights. In this regard, precautionary measures enable the State concerned to comply with the final recommendations made by the IACHR.

The decision to grant these precautionary measures and its adoption by the State do not constitute a prejudgment of any petition filed with the inter-American system alleging violations of the rights protected in the American Convention and other applicable instruments.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 269/24

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