Court halts South Carolina plan for firing squad execution

(South Carolina Dept. of Corrections via AP)

South Carolina’s highest court has issued a temporary stay blocking the state from carrying out what was set to be its first-ever firing squad execution.

The order by the state Supreme Court puts on hold at least temporarily the planned April 29 execution of Richard Bernard Moore, who drew the death sentence for the 1999 killing of convenience store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg.