Joseph Gardner (murderer)

Joseph Martin Luther Gardner (January 15, 1970 – December 5, 2008)[1] was an American fugitive and convicted criminal who was executed in South Carolina for murder. Gardner was one of several men who kidnapped and raped 25-year-old Melissa McLauchlin on December 30, 1992. McLauchlin was then fatally shot five times by Gardner before her body was dumped on the side of a road. After the murder, Gardner fled the state and remained a fugitive for nearly two years.[2] He was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on May 25, 1994, and was captured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 19, 1994.[3]

Joseph Gardner
FBI profile images of Joseph Gardner
FBI profile images of Joseph Gardner
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
Charges
Alias
  • Joseph M. L. Gardner
  • Joe Gardner
Description
BornJoseph Martin Luther Gardner
(1970-01-15)January 15, 1970
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedDecember 5, 2008(2008-12-05) (aged 38)
Broad River Correctional Institution, Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
NationalityAmerican
GenderMale
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Status
ConvictionsMurder
Kidnapping
PenaltyDeath
AddedMay 25, 1994
ExecutedDecember 5, 2008(2008-12-05) (aged 38)
Number437
Executed

Murder

On December 30, 1992, an intoxicated 25-year-old Melissa McLauchlin locked herself out of her house in North Charleston, South Carolina. As she crossed the street towards a grocery store, she was picked up by Gardner and two other men; Matthew Carl Mack and Matthew Paul Williams. The three men kidnapped McLauchlin and took her back to a mobile home where she was raped repeatedly and assaulted.[4] McLauchlin was then bound with a blindfold, handcuffed, and placed on the floor inside a car.[5]

As the men drove along a highway, McLauchlin broke free from the handcuffs and tried to escape. Gardner then pushed her head back and shot her twice in the face.[6] He then dumped her body along a highway in Dorchester County where he shot her another three times, killing her.[7]

The murder was racially motivated, with Gardner making a New Year's Resolution to kill a white woman, after watching news footage of the acquittal of police officers for the beating of Rodney King.[5] The group planned to kill a white woman as revenge for "400 years of oppression", including slavery.[8][9] Notes were found explaining the motive.[9]

Aftermath

All three men fled the state after the crime. Mack and Williams were arrested in January 1993, but Gardner remained a fugitive for nearly two years. He was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on May 25, 1994.[10] He was captured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 19, 1994, and taken back to South Carolina to face trial. Gardner was the 437th fugitive to be placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives list and spent nearly five months on the list before being captured.[11]

Mack and Williams were sentenced to life in prison, while two other men who participated in the rape of McLauchlin each received less than ten years in jail as part of a plea deal. Gardner was the only person involved in the crime to receive a death sentence, as he was the one who had killed McLauchlin.[12]

Execution

Gardner was executed on December 5, 2008, via lethal injection at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.[13] He declined to make a final statement.[14]

See also

References
  1. "South Carolina Department of Corrections" (PDF). doc.sc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2008.
  2. "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives 401 to 500". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  3. "437. Joseph Martin Luther Gardner". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  4. "State v. Gardner". Casetext. September 14, 1998. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  5. "Man Convicted in Killing of Woman Attacked Because of Her Race". Associated Press. June 1, 1994.
  6. "State v. Gardner". FindLaw. September 14, 1998. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  7. "SC set to execute man for 1992 murder". Times-News. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022.
  8. Smith, Glenn (December 5, 2008). "Killer Gardner executed". Post & Courier. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  9. Sullivan, Christopher (January 24, 1993). "Two Cases Renew Concern Over Hate Crimes : Brutality: A white woman was murdered; a black man was torched. To many, racially motivated violence seems like a throwback to the days of lynchings generations ago. But is it?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  10. "Wanted by FBI Joseph Martin Luther Gardner". FBIMostWanted.us. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  11. "Killer Gardner executed". The Post and Courier. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  12. "'He's getting off free in a way,' father says". The Post and Courier. December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  13. "South Carolina Man Convicted of Torture, Murder and Rape Is Executed". Fox News. December 5, 2008.
  14. "S.C. executes 38-year-old convicted in 1992 killing". The Herald. December 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022.
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