Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins, also known as "The Meanest Man in America" stood no taller than 5'4" and no more than 130 lb.s. By all accounts, he was a small man who did not seem like the type to commit these atrocious murders. In fact, he joked with people frequently about killing people and about having his own graveyard - of course, no one believed him.
PeeWee GaskinsPhoto by Florence County
He drove a hearse with a sticker on it that read something to the effect of, 'We haul dead people', or 'We haul anything dead or alive.' Some sources say one and some say the other. It was said that he had a skeleton hanging from his rearview mirror.
In all, 11 of his victims were found, but he said to many people, and in his book, that he killed 110. When his daughter was interviewed, she said she could tell when he was lying, and that he wasn't lying about that. No matter whether he killed 11 or 110, his crimes were horrific and the victims suffered terribly at his hands.
He was able to get a plea deal, so he did not receive the death penalty to the dismay of the communities involved from Johnsonville, to Isle of Palms, to his hometown of Prospect. However, he eventually used C4 on an inmate on death row whose cell was behind his. He blew him up with a cup fashioned as a radio. He was on maintenance duty, so he was able to get around the prison easily, and he had the C4 sent to him in the mail in the heel of a shoe. It was this final murder that he received the death penalty for.
He was ultimately executed via electric chair at 1:10 a.m. Sept. 6, 1991, although he tried to kill himself prior to that by slashing his wrists.
Written By: Jennifer jennifer@thelantern.news
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