Moore, who was sentenced to death for the murder of a convenience store employee in 1999, is due to be executed on April 29. In a court appearance Friday, Moore chose to die by firing squad, but added in a statement that he would not lose hope in two pending lawsuits over the constitutionality of the state’s death penalty. “I believe this election forces me to choose between two unconstitutional methods of execution and I do not intend to give up any provocation of electrocution or shooting by holding elections,” he said in the statement. He had no choice but to opt for the lethal injection, as South Carolina did not have the necessary medication, according to the deposition. The department previously told CNN that the state has not had a usable dose of lethal injectable drugs since 2013. Lindsay Van, one of Moore’s lawyers, told CNN on Friday that they had asked the state Supreme Court to adjourn the execution to give them time to appeal his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. Last year, the South Carolina Legislature passed a law that made electric shock the state’s main method of execution, although death row inmates have the option of choosing an execution quote or lethal injection if options are available. On April 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court rejected Moore’s appeal, arguing that his death sentence was disproportionate to the sentences imposed in similar cases. Moore’s lawyers have filed a motion to suspend his execution in 2020, arguing that the state was trying to execute him under a “veil of secrecy amid a global pandemic” and pointing to other states that have delayed executions due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was refuted. South Carolina is one of four states, including Oklahoma, Mississippi and Utah, that allow executions by executive order.

The state is preparing for a new method of execution

Executions in South Carolina stopped last June until the state could establish a protocol on how it would carry out executions in the executive branch. Last month, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) announced that it could now carry out executions with an executive order after it “renewed” its death sentence, allowing the executions to resume in the state. The SCDC presented its new protocols in detail in a press release, noting that the facility had installed a metal chair for the executed person and a bulletproof glass in the control room. During the execution, three members of the execution squad will stand in an opening in the wall of the death chamber, facing the executioner, the correction department explains in the announcement. Once taken to the ward, the detainee will have the opportunity to make a final statement before being tied to a chair and a hood placed over his head, according to protocol. Once a small “target point” is placed over the individual’s heart, the execution squad – which will not be visible to witnesses – will shoot. The SCDC says the members of the executive squad will be SCDC volunteers who “must meet certain qualifications”. CNN’s Travis Caldwell, Mallika Kallingal and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.