Serial Killer of the Month: The Meanest Man in America
Donald Henry Gaskins (sometimes called “Pee Wee”) managed the neat trick of being a horrifying human being with the most hilariously anodyne serial killer nickname: The Meanest Man in America. Look, with a handle like that, you sort of expect a guy who kicks the occasional puppy and is a lousy tipper. But Pee Wee Gaskins was a prolific, long-lived serial killer and rapist, who murdered more than a dozen people and also, just for variety, enjoyed many prison sentences for a prolific string of crimes including assault and rape. His decades-long criminal activities were finally put to a stop when the police picked him up in connection with the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl. Their search led them to multiple graves near Pee Wee’s home. Oops. A jury found him guilty in record time and he was sentenced to death. He got lucky and his sentence was overturned and he ended up with a mere 10 life sentences. But then, in prison, he murdered a fellow inmate and got a second death sentence for his troubles! The second one stuck — South Carolina could only execute him once, but execute him it did, on September 6, 1991. (This piece comes from my newsletter, which goes out monthly. For more stuff like this, and to get it first, sign up here!)