1 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: those of the authors and participants and do not necessarily 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: represent those of I Heart Media, Stuff Media, or its employees. 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: Listener discretion is advised from my Heart Radio and Tenderfoot TV. 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: Monster presents Insomniac. I'm Scott Benjamin and everything I'm about 6 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: to tell you is real. This is Insomniac. It was 7 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: now the early nineteen seventies. Donald Henry pee Wee Gaskins Jr. 8 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:43,599 Speaker 1: Was still killing for recreation to satisfy his bothers emerges, 9 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: but now he had moved on to something new. In 10 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: addition to his recreational kills, Peewee was now committing a 11 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: different type of murder altogether. He was killing people he knew, 12 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: or even those that were related to him for personal reasons. 13 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: He called these his serious murders, and he handled them 14 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: in an entirely different way. Peewee was known to keep 15 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: his coastal kills alive for an extended period of time, 16 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: in fact, keeping them alive as long as possible, cruelly 17 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: torturing them in a variety of ways. Before killing them. 18 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: He would mutilate, stab, suffocate, and according to Gaskins would 19 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: even eat some of his victims. You'll find graphic descriptions 20 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: of these acts and his autobiography Final Truth. By at 21 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: age two, pee Wee claimed to have killed over eighty 22 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: young girls and boys he found along the Carolina highways, 23 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: and that number was still growing. His first serious murder 24 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: victims were taken in November of nineteen seventy his niece, 25 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: fifteen year old Janice Kirby and her friend, seventeen year 26 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: old Patricia Ann Alsbrook, both of Sumter, South Carolina. He 27 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: was angry with them for attempting to run away from home, 28 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: and when he found them, both girls were high on 29 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: some sort of drug or possibly drunk. He offered the 30 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: two girls a ride home from the bar where he 31 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: found them, but instead drove them to an abandoned tenant house. 32 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: There he raped, beat, and drowned the girls in separate locations. Typically, 33 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: there was no torture or mutilation involved in his serious murders. Instead, 34 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: Gaskins would typically shoot his victims and then bury the 35 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: bodies around South Carolina's coastal areas. In the years to follow, 36 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: his other serious murder victims would be killed for a 37 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: variety of reasons. If anyone mocked Peewee, he'd killed them. 38 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: If anyone attempted to blackmail him, he'd killed them. If 39 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: someone owed him money or if they stole from him, 40 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 1: that was another reason to kill. It was also known 41 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: among others in town, particularly his criminal associates, that Peewee 42 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: could be paid to kill someone. In the year Peewee 43 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: Gaskins pulled off what many thought to be an impossible murder. 44 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: Another inmate on death row named Pop told Peewee that 45 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: there was a man on the outside that had good 46 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: money and good connections and he wanted a romance shanked. 47 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: His name was Tony Simo, and he was looking for revenge. 48 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: The Roman was Rudolph Tyner, and he had killed both 49 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: of Semo's parents during the hold up of a little 50 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: store they owned. Tyner was caught on the scene and 51 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: sentenced to death by electric chair in the state of 52 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: South Carolina. Seemo was tired of waiting for Tyner's many 53 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: appeals to be heard or the possibility of a sentence 54 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: being overturned or commuted to life, so we decided to 55 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 1: hire a man on the inside, another death row inmate, 56 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: to kill Tyner as soon as possible and That's how 57 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: Tony Siemo was introduced to Peewee Gaskins. Because security was 58 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: so tight and the condemned inmates were kept in solitary confinement, 59 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 1: a death row murder by another inmate was virtually impossible, 60 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: so this one would take a lot of planning and 61 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: time to lay the groundwork. Peewee studied his prey by 62 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 1: getting his hands on Tyner's prison file and finding out 63 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: from the kitchen trustees what kind of foods and drinks 64 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: Tiner ordered. He then started to gain Tyner's trust by 65 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: having drugs delivered to his cell, marijuana, heroin, pills of 66 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: all kinds, whatever he could get his hands on. That 67 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: progressed to visits with Tyner. Since pee Wee could prepare 68 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: almost anything, He was initially asked to repair a leaking 69 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 1: pipe in Tyner's cell, and the two began a conversation. 70 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: After that, Tyner would intentionally break the pipe over and 71 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: over just to he and pee Wee could talk while 72 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: the repairs were made. The two even discovered they could 73 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: talk between their cells via shared heating duct. Once he 74 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: had gained Tyner's trust, pee Wee began to put his 75 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: plan into action. He made several attempts to kill Tyner 76 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: by slipping poison into his food and drinks whenever he 77 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: had the opportunity, poison provided by Tony Simo. The poison, 78 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: which Seemo described as strong enough to kill a horse, 79 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: was not enough to take down Tyner. After five failed attempts, 80 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: with each one of them merely making Tyner ill but 81 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: not even sick enough to be sent to the infirmary, 82 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: pe We had enough of the poison and told Tony 83 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: Siemo that he needed something stronger. He needed explosives. Tony 84 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: Siemo was able to smuggle in or to have smuggled 85 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: in for him. Everything pe We needed a piece of 86 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: C four plastic explosive about the size of a baseball, 87 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: a length of electrical wire, and screw connectors and plugs 88 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: he needed to set it off. All of this was 89 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: brought in piece by piece and delivered to pee Wee 90 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 1: in his cell. He claimed he had helped from prison 91 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: officials to make this happen, but that was never proven. 92 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 1: On his next visit to Tyner's cell, pee Wee told 93 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: him that he had found a way that they could 94 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: communicate easier between their cells. He would rig up an 95 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: electric homemade telephone using speakers made of plastic cups from 96 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: the mess hall, similar to the ones made by kids 97 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: using tin cans and string, but instead of making a speaker, 98 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: pee Wee stuffed the bottom of the cup with the explosive, 99 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: covered it with speaker cloth, and had it delivered to Tyner. 100 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: Pee we then lowered the power chord through the shared 101 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: heating duct into Tiner's cell and instructed him to connect 102 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: the two wires to the screws in the bottom of 103 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: the cup. The two had earlier planned a specific time 104 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: to test the communication device, where Tyner would say loud 105 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: and clear into the speaker, this is Tyner over to you, 106 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: and then put the device up to his ear to 107 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: hear the response. At the agreed upon time, pee Wee 108 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: listened through the ductwork for Tyner to say the phrase 109 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: pee we waited just long enough for Tyner to move 110 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: the cup to his ear, and he plugged in his 111 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: end of the power chord. The explosion shook the entire 112 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: cell block. M Peewee then pulled the end of the 113 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: power cord back into his own cell, coiled it up 114 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: under his mattress to dispose of later, and then joined 115 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: the rest of the inmates on the tier, asking what 116 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: had just happened. Tyner was dead, there was no doubt 117 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: about that, but Peewee didn't get to see the gory 118 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: result of his efforts, at least not on that day. 119 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: At his resulting trial, pee Wee was able to see 120 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: the crime scene photos of Tyner's body in his cell, 121 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: As pee Wee said in his book, there was bits 122 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: and pieces of him stuck all over the walls and 123 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: ceiling and floor. Peewee had accomplished the impossible, the murder 124 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: of another death row inmate, and he had gone about 125 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: it in a way that no one ever imagined he could. 126 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: The jury handed down a guilty verdict for Peewee and 127 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: for Tony Simo too. Pee Wee was given the death penalty, 128 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: and Simo received a sentence for twenty five years in prison, 129 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: but was eligible for parole after just thirty months. Pee 130 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: Wee didn't feel justice was properly served in his case. 131 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: Instead of being sentenced to die in the electric chair, 132 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: pee Wee said that he felt he should have been 133 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: paid for killing Tyner, as he put it, for doing 134 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: the state's job, since they was going to murder him theyselves. 135 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: If I hadn't got to him first, following the November 136 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: murder of his niece and her friend. Gaskin's next serious 137 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: murder was a twenty year old named Martha Dix. Pee 138 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: Wee had discovered she was the one who had sold 139 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,959 Speaker 1: his niece the drugs. Dix was attracted to pee Wee 140 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: and often hung around him at his part time job 141 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: at a car repair shop, but apparently pee Wee didn't 142 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: feel the same attraction. He killed her with a strong 143 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: us of acid he had stolen from a photographer. He 144 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: poured it into a Coca cola and she unknowingly ingested 145 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: the fatal dose. The acid worked fast, and she died 146 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: a relatively quick but painful death right in front of 147 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: him in Another young woman who considered Gascons a friend 148 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: was twenty three year old Doren Dempsey. Doreen was a 149 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: mother of a two year old baby girl named Robin Michelle, 150 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 1: and she was pregnant with a second child at the time. 151 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: She felt comfortable enough around Peewee to accept a ride 152 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: to the bus station, after all, pee Wee was an 153 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: old friend. Instead, Gascon's drover to a secluded wooded area, 154 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: raped and killed her in the backseat of his Hearse 155 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: and then raped and sodomised two year old Robin Michelle 156 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: before killing her too. Peewee provided a graphic description of 157 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: this pair of rapes and murders in his book, and 158 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: the details are as as horrific as you might imagine. Again, 159 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: this book isn't for everyone. At the time, no one 160 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: suspected pee Wee Gaskins was capable of such statistic killings, 161 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: but word was getting around about Peewee, and there were 162 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:17,200 Speaker 1: a few people in town who knew that he would 163 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: do it if the price was right. In a year 164 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: that pee Wee would later call his killingist year, Gaskins 165 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,679 Speaker 1: got a little careless and murdered three people whose van 166 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: had broken down on the side of the highway. Gaskins 167 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,199 Speaker 1: suddenly found himself in need of a favor. He needed 168 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: help getting rid of the trio's van, and he enlisted 169 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 1: the help of an ex con, Walter Neely. Neely and 170 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: Gaskins went about their own criminal business, but would occasionally 171 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:51,440 Speaker 1: help out each other if they were in need of 172 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: some sort of assistance disposing of stolen cars, stolen goods, 173 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: and occasionally bodies. Also in Peewee was hired by Suzanne 174 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: Kipper Owens to kill a man by the name of 175 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: Silas Barnwell Yates. He was her ex boyfriend. Yates was 176 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: a wealthy farmer in Florence County, South Carolina. Gaskins and 177 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: a pair of accomplices were successful in kidnapping and murdering Yates, 178 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: and he collected the one thousand, five hundred dollars Susan 179 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: Owens had promised him. But things went wrong soon after, 180 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: and Peewee realized that he had to kill two additional 181 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: people to cover up the Yates murder. His accomplices were 182 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: twenty nine year old Diane Neely and thirty five year 183 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: old Avery Howard. Diane Neely was the wife of Walter Neely, 184 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: and she and Howard an ex con we're having an affair. 185 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: The pair attempted to blackmail Gaskins for five thousand dollars 186 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: in hush money after assisting in the abduction and murder 187 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: of Silas Yates. The two were quickly killed by Gaskins 188 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: after they agreed to meet Peewee at the payoff location. 189 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: In the meantime, Gaskins was busy killing and torturing more 190 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: coastal kills as well as other people. He knew, including 191 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: a thirteen year old named Kim Gilkins, who sexually rejected him. 192 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 1: All leads in the investigation of the disappearance of Kim 193 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: Gelkins pointed to Gaskins, but there was nobody yet, so 194 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: there was no arrest. The authorities eventually did find evidence 195 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 1: implicating Peewee, so he was indicted for contributing to the 196 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: delinquency of a miner and kept in jail until his trial. 197 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: Walter Neely was also being held, but during that time 198 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: he began to speak with a local preacher and they 199 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: began to pray together. They prayed for forgiveness, and when 200 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: Walter Neely was ready to confess his sins to God, 201 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:11,439 Speaker 1: he was also ready to speak to the authorities. Neely 202 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: claimed he saw Gaskins killed two young men, twenty eight 203 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: year old Dennis Bellamy and fifteen year old Johnny Knight. 204 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: He also said Gaskins told him about other kills additional 205 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: folks that have been reported as missing over the past 206 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: few years. Nearly said he even knew where Gaskins had 207 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 1: buried the bodies. Soon after, in December of nineteen, Walter 208 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: Neely followed through in his word and took police out 209 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: of Prospect, South Carolina, where Peewee owned property. It was 210 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: there police found eight more dead bodies. By the time 211 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: of peewee scheduled execution, he had been sitting on South 212 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: Carolina his death row for nearly a decade. In that time, 213 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: he witnessed a lot of men slowly make their way 214 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 1: to the electric chair, and as he waited his own turn, 215 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: he learned a lot about the process. In fact, he 216 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: learned everything about the process. The introduction section of Final Truth, 217 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: Peewee's book shows he knew exactly what to expect him 218 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: the day he was scheduled to die. According to Peewee, 219 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: this is how his final day would go. First, the 220 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: warden would move him to a new building called the 221 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: Capital Punishment Facility, also known as the Death House, and 222 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: he would be locked in a cell right next to 223 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 1: the death chamber, the room that contained the electric chair. Well. 224 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: There he would have twenty four hour guards supervision to 225 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: make sure he didn't attempt to kill himself or take 226 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: any drugs to help ease the pain of the execution 227 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: in any way. On the day prior to his execution, 228 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: he would place an order for his final meal, which 229 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: pee Wee thought might be pizza, a strange thought since 230 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: he didn't even like pizza, but he was pretty sure 231 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: he wouldn't be able to eat it anyway. He would 232 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: be allowed to take a final shower, and that's when 233 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: the guards would shave his head as well as the 234 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: calf on his right leg. Then he would be given 235 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: a clean, new green prison uniform for the occasion. Soon after, 236 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: the prison chapelain would stop by his cell to speak 237 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: with him and to see if he had any final 238 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: confessions to make. Then there was time to write, maybe 239 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: a couple of letters, or talk to his daughter on 240 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: the phone one last time, but the rest of the 241 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: time would be spent just waiting, waiting for the time 242 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: when they would lead him into the death chamber around 243 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 1: midnight on the night he was to die. In his cell, 244 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,080 Speaker 1: the paramedics would instruct him to empty his bladder and 245 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: his bowels, and then they would begin to prepare him 246 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: for the chair. A rubber band would be tightly wrapped 247 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: around his penis, and cotton balls would be forced up 248 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:13,920 Speaker 1: his rectum so that he didn't urinate and defecate all 249 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: over himself in the chair. When the electricity began flowing 250 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: through his body. After he was dressed once again, prison 251 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: guards would lead him into the chamber, where they would 252 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 1: sit him down in the sturdy, old oak chair and 253 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 1: secure a leather strap around his waist as well as 254 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,679 Speaker 1: over his lap and around his wrists and ankles so 255 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: he wouldn't arch up from the seat as a result 256 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: of the lethal current. A wet electrode would be taped 257 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: to his right calf in the place where they had 258 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: shaved earlier. Two guards would then tilt his head back 259 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: and strap it in place well. A third guard would 260 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: fit the metal headpiece, make an adjustments to the wet 261 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,360 Speaker 1: sponge in the electrode at the top to ensure its 262 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: position just right to send the first charge of electricity 263 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: directly to the center of his rain. A black hood 264 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: would then be positioned over his head so the witnesses 265 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 1: couldn't see exactly what happens to his face. When the 266 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: garden charge was sure that everything was just right, he 267 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: would signal the warden, who would then turned the key 268 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,680 Speaker 1: on the power panel. Three buttons on the panel will 269 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 1: light up, but only one of the buttons is wired 270 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: to actually deliver the death charge. Three men will simultaneously 271 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: push one button each and that way, none of them 272 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 1: knows who actually pushed the button that killed the inmate 273 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,119 Speaker 1: in the chair. The power sent to the chair is 274 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: controlled automatically, so it delivers an exact charge for an 275 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:45,439 Speaker 1: exact amount of time. The first is a five second 276 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: charge that delivers two thousand volts at five amps. That's 277 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: followed by a second surge of one thousand volts for 278 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: eight seconds. Here's how Peewee describes the moment he would 279 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: received the shock. In the first three seconds after the 280 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: buttons are pushed, my brain will be fried, my eyeballs 281 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 1: will explode, the blood of my arteries and veins will boil. 282 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: Then my lungs and guts will be cooked, and my 283 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: leg will be charred where the current comes out, like 284 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: my skull will be charged where it went in. The 285 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 1: theory is I won't feel anything but that first zapp 286 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 1: I damn sure hope the theory is right. After a 287 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: doctor rules Peewee dead, the prison official will issue a 288 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: statement to the press and public to say the sentence 289 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: was carried out. The guards will then wait until all 290 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: witnesses have exited the execution chamber before we removing the 291 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,399 Speaker 1: black hood and prying the metal headpiece off of his 292 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 1: charred scalp. The next step for Peewee's body will be 293 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: the prison Morgue, where he will be subjected to an 294 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:02,200 Speaker 1: autopsy to determine the cause of death. As Peewee said, 295 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 1: like it might could be something besides electrocution. It was 296 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: a Sunday night, and it was my first time taking 297 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: this particular prescription, an extended release sleeping pill. Turns out 298 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:31,159 Speaker 1: it didn't mix well with my other medication. I lost Monday. 299 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 1: I don't remember waking up, I don't remember getting dressed. 300 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: I certainly don't remember driving. What I do remember is 301 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: arriving home Monday night, still in a daze, and falling 302 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: asleep almost immediately on the couch. I lost most of 303 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: Tuesday too. It wasn't until after my two hour commute 304 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 1: home that I noticed that the right front of my 305 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: car was damaged. M I don't know when or where, 306 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: but I had hit something hard, panic said in immediately. 307 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 1: I didn't know if I had hit another car. That 308 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: was bad enough. But then the thought came into my 309 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: head that I might not have hit something, but rather someone, 310 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 1: and that really made me worry. I didn't know what 311 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: I was gonna do or how or even where to 312 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: begin searching for whatever or whoever I had hit. Unlike 313 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 1: my nightmares, it wasn't something I had imagined. The damage 314 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: I was looking at was real. By the time I 315 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: was able to clear my head, it was Wednesday morning. 316 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: I looked at the missing trim pieces and the scratch 317 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: bumper and realized they were made by something very abrasive. 318 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: Brakes are concrete and probably not another vehicle, but I 319 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,880 Speaker 1: didn't know for sure. I drove through the parking structure 320 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: that morning, slower than I ever had before, searching for 321 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: a car truck that had matching damage, a vehicle with 322 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: a new dent and tell tale blue paint scuffs that 323 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: matched my own. I was ready to write a note 324 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: of apology to the car's owner and except blame. And 325 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: that's when I saw it. As I drove up to 326 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 1: my usual level, I saw an all new mark on 327 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 1: the concrete wall ahead, a heavy black scuff mark with 328 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,439 Speaker 1: dark blue paint streaks on either side. I stopped my 329 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: car just inches from the wall. The height of the scrape, 330 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,760 Speaker 1: the color of the paint transfer, it all matched perfectly. 331 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: This was it, and I felt instant relief, knowing that 332 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: I hadn't hurt anyone else in my confusion. I had 333 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: simply brushed the wall two days earlier while making a 334 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:00,439 Speaker 1: sharp left turn, and I never even realized it. I 335 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:05,199 Speaker 1: was lucky this time, real lucky. The damage to my 336 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: car is still there, of course, and it's a daily 337 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 1: reminder to me that medications aren't the best way out 338 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,120 Speaker 1: of this mess that I'm in. So what's better being 339 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: exhausted all the time and just dealing with it. We're 340 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: taking pills to help me sleep and then losing control 341 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: of my actions while forgetting several days in a row. 342 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,400 Speaker 1: I stopped taking that medication. It's not worth the risk. 343 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: Timing is everything, and it seemed like Peewee was going 344 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: to dodge a bullet. On April, Peewee Gaskins was charged 345 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,199 Speaker 1: with eight counts of murder, and he was also a 346 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,920 Speaker 1: suspect and as many as thirty nine at this point, 347 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: just shy of A month later on a jury found 348 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,840 Speaker 1: both Peewee Gaskins and Walter Neely guilty in the murder 349 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 1: of a man named Dennis Bellamy, and both were sentenced 350 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:10,200 Speaker 1: to death. However, the sentence wouldn't stick because in November 351 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: the same year, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled South 352 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: Carolina's death penalty as unconstitutional. Both sentences were commuted to 353 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:24,919 Speaker 1: life in prison, Still technically sitting on death row, but 354 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: no longer awaiting his date in the electric chair. Peewee 355 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: could have lived out his remaining years in prison. However, 356 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:38,359 Speaker 1: in the following year, the death penalty ruled by the U. S. 357 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 1: Supreme Court was reversed, so it was legal once again 358 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: in the state of South Carolina. At the time, this 359 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: meant little to the already spared Gaskins, that is, until 360 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 1: he was found guilty of murdering fellow death row prisoner 361 00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:01,160 Speaker 1: Rudolph Tyner in Well in his cell and once again 362 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: awaiting a scheduled execution date, Peewee told his life story 363 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: to a journalist named Wilton Earl, who in turn wrote 364 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,439 Speaker 1: The Condemned Man's Memoirs, who agreed upon the plan of 365 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:16,480 Speaker 1: publishing Pewee's book in his own words after his execution. 366 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: At that point in his life, Peewee had nothing to 367 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: lose and nothing to hide, so it's an extremely graphic, 368 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: unfiltered look back at his entire life, including the neglect, abuse, 369 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:37,679 Speaker 1: and countless rapes he endured as well as the rapes, mutilation, 370 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: and torture murders he inflicted on others. Peewee's book was 371 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:50,639 Speaker 1: published a year after his execution on May one. An 372 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 1: audio cassette was included with the book when it was 373 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,439 Speaker 1: initially released, and it contained excerpts from some of the 374 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 1: interviews the author recorded with Peewee imprison. Copies of the 375 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: original are very rare, but you can still find copies 376 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: of the recordings online. To hear Pewee's nightmares stories told 377 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: in his own voice is unsettling to say. The least 378 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: man will do so. I don't believe you will be 379 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: out stas mark. You kill somebody, but we don't give 380 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:33,640 Speaker 1: you a borld. Brace yourself because what's next. I don't 381 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,640 Speaker 1: even like to talk about. It's one of the most 382 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: horrific stories I've ever encountered Houston, Texas in the early 383 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies and especially shocking story of power, manipulation and brutality. 384 00:26:50,800 --> 00:27:00,880 Speaker 1: Next Time on Insomniac and somni Acc is a production 385 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio and Tenderfoot TV, written and hosted 386 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 1: by Scott Benjamin and produced by Miranda Hawkins, Alex Williams, 387 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,600 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick, and Josh Thain. Music composed by Makeup and Vanity, 388 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: set and cover by Trevor Eisler. Follow on Twitter and 389 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: Facebook at Insomniac Pod, on Instagram at Insomniac Podcast, and 390 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 1: at our website insomniac podcast dot com. For more podcasts 391 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,400 Speaker 1: for my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 392 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.