Richard Bernard Moore was born on February 20, 1965, and raised in Detroit, Michigan. His early life was not marked by violent crime but by a gradual descent into substance abuse. Moore struggled with drug addiction for many years, which significantly impacted his choices and lifestyle. To support his habit, he resorted to robbery and petty crimes.

By the 1980s, Moore had accumulated several convictions, including charges for burglary and weapons possession. In 1991, he moved with his partner, Lynda Byrd, to Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the couple would have two children together. Despite trying to rebuild his life, Moore’s addiction and criminal behavior persisted.

That same year, Moore violently attacked a woman named Michelle Crowder while attempting to steal her purse. After punching her in the neck, he continued to kick her in the head and back once she fell. When her fiancé intervened, Moore severely beat him as well. Crowder would later testify against Moore at the sentencing phase of his murder trial.

His criminal record grew throughout the 1990s. Another local resident, Valerie Wisniewski, reported that Moore had robbed her while she worked at a shoe store. In 1997, he pled guilty to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in a separate incident involving a female victim. These episodes painted a portrait of a man plagued by addiction and prone to dangerous outbursts—one who would soon be accused of a deadly encounter during a robbery attempt.

On September 16, 1999, Richard Bernard Moore entered Nikki's convenience store in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was unarmed and planned to rob the store to buy cocaine. Inside the store, James Mahoney, a 42-year-old clerk, was working. An eyewitness, Terry Hadden, was playing on a video poker machine when he noticed Moore walking toward the cooler. Mahoney confronted Moore, leading to a struggle between them. During the fight, Mahoney pulled out a gun.

Moore managed to grab the weapon from Mahoney, and then he pointed it at Hadden, who pretended to be dead on the floor. Mahoney then drew a second gun, resulting in several shots being fired. Mahoney shot Moore in the arm, while Moore shot Mahoney in the chest. After the shooting, Moore left the store, leaving behind a trail of blood. He stole $1,408 from the cash register.

Moore fled in his pickup truck but crashed into a telephone pole about a mile and a half away from the store. A nearby deputy, Bobby Rollins, found Moore bleeding in the truck. Moore confessed to the crimes when Rollins ordered him to surrender. Police later found the stolen money in a bag covered in blood inside the truck. The gun that Moore had taken from Mahoney was located on the highway nearby.

Moore was taken to the hospital for treatment. Once he recovered, he was sent to jail and charged with several crimes, including armed robbery and murder. He stood trial in October 2001. The jury found him guilty of all charges. Following the verdict, the jury recommended a death sentence, which he received on October 22, 2001.

Moore claimed he acted in self-defense, arguing that Mahoney drew his gun first. His legal team contended that since he entered the store without a weapon, he did not plan to kill anyone. After exhausting his appeals, Moore was scheduled for execution on December 4, 2020, but it did not happen because the state lacked the necessary drugs for lethal injection. He was given a choice of execution methods but did not choose one.

A new law allowed inmates to be executed by firing squad or electrocution if lethal injection drugs were unavailable. Moore chose the firing squad for his scheduled execution on April 29, 2022. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a stay on his execution shortly before the date. On July 31, 2024, the court ruled that firing squad executions were constitutional. Moore and four other inmates were ordered for execution on staggered dates starting weeks apart.