October 21, 1916 Abbeville, South Carolina Anthony Crawford is lynched following an argument with a shopkeeper over the price of seeds Crawford had visited the shop of W. D. Barksdale to sell some cotton seeds, the price of which was typically 90 cents per bushel, though Barksdale offered Crawford 85 cents a bushel instead. Crawford…
“The Meanest Man in America” executed
September 6, 1991 Columbia, South Carolina Serial rapist and killer Donald Henry “Pee Wee” Gaskins is executed Gaskins had a troubled life starting at birth, punctuated by neglect from his mother. As young as 8, Gaskins began a string of crimes including robbery and rape. He was sent to a reform school where he was…
The Charleston Church Massacre
June 17, 2015 Charleston, South Carolina A gunman later identified as Dylann Storm Roof (21) shoots worshippers at the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing 9 and injuring 1 Roof had initially attended the service but disagreed with some of the church's interpretation of the Scripture. On June 17, pulled a .45-caliber handgun from his…
George Stinney Jr.: youngest person executed in the 20th century in the US
June 16, 1944 Columbia, South Carolina George Stinney Jr. is executed by electrocution at the age of 14, becoming the youngest executed criminal in the 20th Century in the United States Stinney was convicted of the deaths of two girls, ages 8 and 11. The girls had been beaten to death with a piece of…
The murders of two young girls pinned on young boy
March 24, 1944 Alcolu, South Carolina 2 young girls, ages 11 and 8, are beaten to death with a railroad spike and wooden beam The girls had disappeared while looking for flowers on March 23. The following day, their bodies were found in a ditch of muddy water, both having severe blunt force trauma to…
