Melissa McLauchlin, 25, was a native of Wixom, Michigan, living with her fiancé’s family in North Charleston, South Carolina. On the night she died, she had an argument with her fiancé at a nightclub. She stormed out of the club and began to walk home. Police spotted her, obviously drunk, and gave her a ride home, but she quickly set out on foot for another club. Three black men, Matthew Mack, Matthew Williams, and Joseph Gardner pulled up alongside in a car and started a conversation. They offered her drugs if she would come back to their trailer and have sex with them. Melissa McLaughlan, who had a history of drug problems, foolishly accepted their offer. The men had spent most of the day drinking and watching pornographic videos of black men having sex with white women. At one point Mack exploded in anger at his white girlfriend, saying he wanted to “stab her,” but that “it ain’t got to be her, any white” would do. Williams said he wanted to have sex with a white woman. Two hours later, the group watched a television news account of the biggest stories of 1992. When the videotaped beating and arrest of Rodney King came on the air, the third man, Gardner, spoke of “four hundred years of oppression,” and made a “New Year’s resolution” to “kill a white bitch.” It was in this state of mind that the four returned to the trailer where the three blacks lived. The men offered Melissa McLaughlan no drugs, but she willingly had sex with them—at first. She began to resist, especially when the men wanted to sodomize her, and soon the men were raping her. They put out the word within the trailer park that they had “captured a white woman,” and three other blacks arrived and raped her. Two black women, girlfriends of some of the rapists, were present in another room of the trailer, but did nothing to stop the attack. After they had enough, the men decided to get rid of the evidence—including Melissa McLaughlan. They soaked her in bleach and hydrogen peroxide, and scrubbed her under the shower with a nylon brush, in the hope of ridding her skin of sperm or other evidence that could be linked to them. They forced her to scrub out her vagina with the same chemicals. They also talked openly of killing her. The men handcuffed her, blindfolded her, and put a heavy coat over her head. They then took her to a car, and forced her down onto the floorboards in the back. After they had driven for some time, she managed to get out of the handcuffs and began to struggle. Joseph Gardner, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, reached over the seat, held back her head, and shot her twice in the face. The driver pulled over 14 miles outside Charleston, where Gardner shot her three more times in the face and once in the arm. The men dumped her on the side of the road, drove back to Charleston, and went nightclubbing. A passing driver found Melissa McLaughlan, miraculously alive, but she died before the ambulance arrived. It took police four days to identify the body, and a day later they located the trailer where Melissa McLaughlan was raped. By January 9, 1993, police had arrested seven people including two of the ringleaders—Matthew Mack and Matthew Williams—and two women, Edna Williams and Indira Simmons, who were charged with being accessories to murder and sexual assault. Three of the rapists were sailors stationed at nearby Charleston Naval Base. The only suspect not in custody was the triggerman, Joseph Gardner, who had carried out his New Year’s resolution. Gardner, who was AWOL from the Navy, eluded police for nearly two years, and might never have been caught had the FBI not put him on the “ten most wanted” list. He was living in Philadelphia when someone saw his picture in the post office and tipped off the police. He was arrested on October 20, 1994, and is now on death row. Police suspected a racial motivation from the start, since they found a “crudely written racial diatribe” in the trailer, complete with racial epithets about white oppression, which claimed blacks were “justified in seeking revenge.”
I have found her name spelled multiple ways: Melissa McLaughlan, Missy, Missi, Melissa McLaughlin, Melissa McLauchlin
Find-A-Grave: Melissa Ann McLauchlin
ProDeathPenalty April 2005
Gardner back to face trial
Sixth Defendant in rape-murder sentencing
Joseph Gardner appeal
Execution Alert: Joseph Gardner *Updated: Joseph Gardner was executed today*
Murderpedia: Joseph Martin Luther Gardner
Joseph Martin Luther Gardner – South Carolina – December 5, 2008
Joseph ML Gardner
Defendants:
Joseph Martin Luther Gardner (triggerman) – convicted, sentenced to death – executed 12/5/2008
Matthew Carl Mack – convicted, sentenced to life in prison – eligible for parole 30 years – involved in a riot
Matthew Paul Williams – convicted, sentenced to life in prison – eligible for parole 30 years
Danny DeWayne McCall – convicted – sentenced to 6 years in prison
Roger Williams – convicted, sentenced to 5 years in prison
Craig Rice (accomplice) did not participate, but learned about crime, did nothing
Edna Lee Jenkins – convicted, sentenced to 7 years; suspended for time served
Indira Simmons – convicted, sentenced to 7 years; suspended for time served) [pardoned Oct. 2010]
INMATE INFORMATION
INMATE INFORMATION
Filed under: America's Most Wanted, crime, death penalty, FBI Most Wanted, high profile, murder, murder in the 20th Century | Tagged: 1992, death penalty, drug related, FBI Most Wanted, Fugitive, Melissa McLauchlin, racial, sex crimes, shooting |
Bonnie's Blog of Crime 
You must post a photo of the victim, if you can.
I would like to know if you have links to legal docs
such as arrest warrants.
This is beyond disturbing.
It’s a race war, obviously, but she went with her rapists and murderers willingly at first. That’s what is really disturbing to me.
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I could not find any photos of her at all. I searched everywhere, and will continue to. If I find one, I will post it.
Same with the legal docs. Those are not always so available online.
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OH MY GOD!
This is like the Wichita massacre http://www.wichita-massacre.com/ and what happened in Knoxville.
Why are these monsters doing this ?!
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Hi! I would just like to say that the details of her complying to sex are questionable. I read some accounts {of what little there is on the internet about this crime) and I saw that she agreed to go with them for drugs but when they got to the trailer there was none. That she refused sex with them and they raped her.
Its a horrible crime. I did see Gardner got the death penalty and I noticed his execution date was set for April 5, 2005 and he received a stay. I assume he is still alive because I could not find any info on his execution itself.
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I remember this case, and there was no mention at al of her agreeing to have sex, or going along willfully. All reports including trial, say she was kidnapped and forced into van, plus there were others than the suspects mentioned involved. Two woman were part of group arrested for her murder.
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And we are to take a murders word that she was seeking drugs? Really? I’d make up some b.s. too if I was trying to convince someone that the girl deserved it. The only “witnesses” to why she got in the van (if she really did so willingly, which I doubt) were her murderers. I personally am not buying the whole she was found wandering drunk theory either and was taken home by the nice police officer, I’ve seen where the police take people who are drunk and it isn’t home. Seriously.
If you are walking drunk you go to jail. If you are driving drunk, they impound your vehicle and you go to jail. Now if it had been a black woman raped by three white men then all h#ll would have broken loose. Literally.
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that is how those people are. they think just because there great grandpa MIGHT have bin a slave it gives them a right to lash out like this. they need to put this all behind them couse if they look at there life now inwhich the 2 people in the top pictures seem young they dont have the severe hate that there elders might have grown up with the other one on the bottem might have seen a little bit hate but thats it. i dont feel any remorse for any of them they all shouldbe put to death even the girls because they are just as guilty as the rest they let it happen.
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I live here in North Charleston, South Carolina. I vividly recall the news reports of one of the the infamous murderers’ outlandish “New Year’s resolution” to “kill a white bitch.”
I must state that is more to this excruciatingly sad story than anyone would like to admit. I realize that I post this at my peril but I most say… This case involved a “troubled” young lady who at first foolishly consented to have sex with dangerous thugs, all of whom had an insatiably sick and demented sexual fantasies. I shudder with great sadness at the thought of her being sexually ravished by those MANIMALS.
Because of my respect for Missi, I have opted to end my ranting now. Rest in peace, Missi. You will surely be missed here in North Charleston, South Carolina. We all love you, hun.
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So sad. Cant beleive it. speachless……. R.I.P Missi.
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Yes, my name is Craig Rice. Obviously, not the scumbag mentioned on this page. I just did a google search for my name for the fun of it and came upon your site. I was just telling this story to a friend recently. I am from Michigan, but was serving in the Navy and living in North Charleston at the time of this heinous crime.
Just another reason for me to believe in capital punishment!
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I just can’t believe that those whores are so DESPERATE that they would actually be with a man who would rape, torture and kill another woman, WHILE
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they are in the vicinity. That is just trifling. Those whores are jokes, hardly worth mentioning. I hope they received just punishment for the part they played in this woman’s MURDER and TORTURE.
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Shaucey,
I agree with you, they should get punishment. They should have tried to help her. They were probably jealous of her.
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I was stationed on board USS R. K. Turner, CG-20 with Joseph Gardner at the time of this crime. I knew him. I, along with nearly everyone else on board disliked him because he had no problem expressing his hatred of white people.
I saw him hold a knife tot he throat of another sailor because the white sailor bumped into him and made him spill his drink on the mess decks.
I would love to be able to be there to witness his execution. I felt so bad when we heard that he was responsible for the murder of Missi. I wished I could have seen into the future and seen what he would do. If I could have, I would have gladly thrown him over the side while we were out at sea the year before.
He is a monster, he was a monster back then and he needs to be dead right now. No more delays for him, execute this murdering scum bag now is what I say.
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M.S
Can’t argue with you there.
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I was also station aboard USS Richmond K Turner and I knew Joseph Gardner and Matthew Mack as well. Before this terrible crime ever happen, I play card with Joey out at sea and there would be 10 of us including him that will go out together whenever we hit ports overseas.
He would never talk about hate crimes when he hang out with us and he seemed like an OK person. I was definitely wrong about him.
I’m ashame to have know him and it’s true what they say: you never really “KNOW” everyone you come in contact with. My heart goes out to Missi’s family.
Gardner’s should be put to death and pray this will never happen to anyone else.
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S-21,
I hope alot of people read your comment. People need to understand that no one really “knows” a person.
My prayers are with the family also. God bless.
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Shauncey,
Thank you for your comments. I forgot to mention that I had duty that fateful night and I remember Gardner and Mack running on to the ship. The officer of the deck and I was wondering why they was in a hurry. Five minutes later, they had their bags over their shoulders and took off into the night.
We was joking thinking they met some girls and they must have gotten a hotel room. When I woke up the next morning and heard what had happen, I felt sick to my stomach. Here I am thinking they met some girls the night before and they did this terrible act.
It was a tough time to say we was stationed onboard USS Richmond K Turner. The Charleston area labeled everyone on the ship criminals and murderers. I still serve in the Navy and I share this experience with everyone I come in contact with and tell them what can happen if you make the wrong choice.
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S-21,
Wow. I had no idea. That musta hit real close to home. To be around people like that and not know how heartless they are. I wonder do people realize that when you first meet someone, your not actually meeting THEM. (in most cases) Your meeting the person that they want you to THINK they are. Big difference. Stay safe S-21. You are definately in my prayers.
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I see some posters trying to make a racial thing out of this. Why is it automatically a “racial” crime if the offender and victim aren’t of the same race? The note they left notwithstanding, don’t you think these monsters would have just as soon killed a black girl as a white one?
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Hey pjs,
This was a racial case. These three guys made a pact to rape and kill a white woman. The fact that she was white was a key part of their pact. I was one of many investigators that worked on this case. I know precisely what I am talking about. I have seen all of the statements and confessions and was at each and every trial. It was a racially motivated crime, plain and simple. The people that made this a “racial thing” are Mack, Williams, and Gardner. No problem if you don’t believe me. I was there.
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I agree with CJM. The racial angle here is that she was a white girl who liked black men – not uncommon. When she got to the black trailer park – not uncommon – they didn’t have drugs – very uncommon. Things got out of hand with the gun because she started talking white girl smack – not uncommon – because they didn’t give her the drugs. They really should have. A deal is a deal. So I also agree with Shauncey.
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To Marty: How did you conclude she was a white girl who liked black men? There was no evidence to support that, as there was also no evidence to prove she agreed to go with them. One of the black monsters let people in the trailer know he had captured a white woman. “Captured” does not equal “willingly came”, which she did not. She was kidnapped, forced into the car, and was tortured and murdered. Consider that all the evidence came from the criminals who captured her. Show the victim some respect by not believing the demeaning things they said about her.
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PJS: How can you not understand it was indeed a racial crime? They deliberately looked for a white woman as their victim. Reread the case.
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Logan, your racism might not let you believe this, but not all black people are monsters, and yes, white and black people are sometimes attracted to one another. You force interracial gangbangers into the closet, and this is what happens. Sort of like the Idaho Senator whose love for other men could only find release in an airport toilet. Not everyone who doesn’t like missionary position with one person of the opposite sex and same race is a rape victim. Show some respect for the choices she made before her life was cut tragically short.
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A VIDEO FROM THE CRIME !!! IN THE LATTER PART OF THE CLIP !
note from blog owner
This video is not from the crime, but about the crime. WARNING! The first part is (in my opinion) an offensive rap song that has nothing to do with the crime. If you go to 1:13 on the video, it starts the news portion that is all about Missi.
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I too was on the USS Richmond K Turner during this incident. I remember both Mac and Gardner. Gardner was a racist plain and simple. He did not hide that he did not like white people. I had a run in with him several weeks before this all happened. (he pulled a knife and threatened me. If he would have been sent to mast for the run in – maybe this would not have happened. But, the good old boy club in the “goat locker” looked the other way and nothing was done. I wonder if those individuals think about that as I do each day.
Anyway – the RKT had a van that had USS richmond K Turner – CG-20 “America’s Battle Cruiser” painted on the side – we were no allowed to take the van off base for quite sometime after this happened. I guess they feared reprisals on the Turner sailors.
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I was on board the RKT. I drove the Rec Van and was not allowed to after I came back from Christmas leave. Garner used to come to CIC and talk to us daily…Smh. My friends and I were asked to hang out with them instead of going on Christmas leave. We all went home instead.
When we heard about this, it was devastating. The crew was lumped into “thug” and “murderer” categories. And some of the best men you’d know were on that ship. I pray that Melissa is never forgotten.
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Well I am not gonna agree or disagree about the right or wrongs and I know Joe but at the same time there are just as many other races that do not accept African American males and the fact that I know him does not make him exempt. I sincerely hope that the family heals froms this I know they will be numb but at the same time no one really knows what leads to this especially from childhood and if you actually listened to him there is something in his past that reflects all of the anger that he had. I think feel that if you have a death penalty it should be used but at the same time are we not doing the same thing to them by putting them to death. We have to be accountable for the choices that we make in life.
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Marty you’re obviously an idiot ‘common for white people’ to make assumptions like that get a life and grow up
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I was the only female detective that went on the trip to Philly to pick up two of these “suspects”. I was in the company of Indira Simmons for a VERY long car trip back home. There were rumors that the Black Panthers were plotting to attack us and help them escape. EVERY moment I was ever in contact with this woman, I could feel the hatred she felt for me. And it wasn’t because I was a cop, it was because I was white. It was a racial crime. PERIOD. And I will never forget the most important person in this whole crime… Missi. The photos from the coroner looked like a 14 year old little girl. What was done to her is unspeakable. Whatever her choices in life were, nobody deserves what she got. I’d love to have a front row seat for the execution. Its a shame that the two women who could have stopped it got off with a slap on the wrist. But that’s how the criminal justice system works. Letting the women off was the lesser of two evils, but this crime and these people are EVIL nonetheless.
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This makes me so sick. Look at what those blacks, not in particular this ones, but mlk and others fought for equal rights. And then what happens when we allow them to have them? In addition to having thm sing sexists, racial disgusting songs they kill whites for events from the past. We just need to get rid of those rights and go back to segregated schools, and seperate items for each race.
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White, your racism in this does no good for anybody especially Missy. Racism was wrong back in its beginning days & its wrong now!! I am a white woman who hopes & prays that one day thru interracial relations there will no longer be white or black but only HUMANS realizing we all bleed red. Perhaps you should remember an old Sunday school song & how it went…Jesus loves the little children, ALL the children of the world. Yellow, Red, Black & White…they are ALL precious in HIS sight, Jesus loves the children of the world & perhaps you should start as well before you face the wrath of our Lord & Savior & spend an eternity burning in HELL. Judge not least ye be judged & remember you too shall be judged by the same measures in which ye pass judgment.
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White, you are a dumbutt and that was uncalled for.
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Melissa was a friend of mine… thank you for posting the link to the video. I had not seen her face since 1992 and when I saw that smile it gave me chills.
As a FYI, gunman Joseph Gardner has lost his last appeal and the case has now gone to the South Carolina Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will choose the date of execution, which I have been told will be before 2009. There is a high probablilty that it will be in November 2008.
She is missed.
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Yeah…let’s get this straight:.
Nobody but her convicted murderers has claimed that Missy climbed into the car willingly. The only other witness–Missy herself–is unable to testify on the matter. But why would you take three convicted murderers’ word for it–especially when they had every reason to claim that she came along willingly–so they wouldn’t also be charged with kidnapping?
I was there in South Carolina in late 1992…Charleston was abuzz with the (even today) unsolved abduction of Dail Dimwiddie…another young white girl who had disappeared up in Columbia three months earlier, in September, also after leaving a bar. Accepting rides from strangers was, in late 1992 in South Carolina, pretty much at an all-time low.
So, things being what they were then, how many women would accept a ride from a stranger, much less a black stranger, much less *three* black strangers, on the crime-ridden streets of North Charleston, SC? I lived in the area then, and I can tell you that at the time, it seemed highly, highly unlikely.
But she was drunk, right? Her judgment was impaired, maybe. These were clean-cut sailor boys. So maybe it could happen.
But even if Missy did willingly accept a ride from three strange men (presumably to get to wherever she was walking…it *was* a cold December night), that’s still a far cry from an engaged woman (even one who has had a fight with her fiance) agreeing to have sex with three complete strangers.
Not saying it couldn’t happen in reality–but it certainly sounds less like real life and more like a plot from the sorts of porno videos the killers were watching that night. So why assume it’s true?
And yet some posters above are (without malice, I’m sure) assuming that Missy, the rape and murder victim, did these things willingly, based solely on the testimonies of her murderers and their accomplices…convicted felons who had every self-interested reason to want to make a gangbang look consensual…and not like a kidnapping and rape.
Heck, in the killers’ version of the story, they apparently just said “No” to drugs, too.
Is there ANY other corroborating evidence that Missy went and copulated with these guys willingly? If not, please don’t repeat and spread the killers’ version of these events.
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White,
Well gee, thanks for letting us “blacks” be here!! I’m so glad you opened up your heart to accept us and not look and act disgusted in “our” presence. Give me a break asshole!!! You stated, “We just need to get rid of those rights and go back to segregated schools, and seperate items for each race”. Fine. I having towing capabilities on my SUV. Do you need some help getting your trailor moved back to the location it came from, underneath the freeway? I can help out with that you racist moron. LMAOffffffff!!!
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i also know joe and have for years,i never saw something like this in his future and nor did his family,my heart goes out to Missy’s family,i could never imagine losing a family member in such a horrible way,murder is murder no matter how you look at it,no matter what someone went through in thier childhood,racially motivated,whatever the reason it should’nt have come to this.
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Why would black people today want to avenge their long deceased great grandparents.Their life is not one of slavery today,they are given the best jobs.They won,t work even if they get the best jobs,they are late evey day.If you confront them about not working,they say you are racist.I see this every day.
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How did killing this young girl have anything to do with slavery.Black people have it much better today than any white person,I know.Where I work if you are black you don,t have to work to get paid.And you can be late every day if you are black.I agree with the guy that said take those rights away,that mlk foght for.MLK would be ashamed if he could see how things turned out.
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Hello there —
I am a reporter working on this story, as Gardner’s execution has been scheduled for Dec. 5 here in South Carolina. I’d be very interested in speaking with M.S. — or anyone out there who knew either Missi McLauchlin or Joseph Gardner. My e-mail address is mkinnard (at) ap (dot) org. Thank you very much.
mkinnard
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Cindy,
I’m black, you racist b**ch, and I’m at work on time EVERYDAY. I work so hard, I just rec’d Employee of The Year last month, and I’ve only been here a year. Matter of fact, laziness comes in all colors. Maybe if you weren’t so hung up on what us “blacks” are doing at work, you would know that. I can’t stand racism, it makes me sick to my stomach, and so do you. Go stand next to a black person at your job and say that. Bet you’ll go home with no teeth.
Janey,
Please tell me the location to the job that pays “blacks” so well and they don’t have to work. I’d like to apply. Dumbasses.
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No teeth huh? Kinda like Melissa did? Interesting how the first reaction to a statement that refers to blacks leads right straight to violence. Hmmm.
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dfjii,
You may want to reread Shauncey’s entire response, especially the first sentence. She was extremely offended by the comment she was replying to.
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dfjii, I’m white & just as disturbed by the racial comments on here. I agree with Shauncey go stand next to a black male or female with that racial ugliness…hell stand next to my lily white ass & say the shit cause I too would like to knock some teeth out!! You act like cause your white you are right!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! I was sexually molested from the age of 3-12 years of age by a WHITE man I believed to be my father…because he was white he was allowed to do work release for the 3 yrs he was sentenced to for the years of abuse he subjected me & my baby sister to…but I guess you believe that’s right huh?? Sick, evil people come in all shades!!! Racism fixes NOTHING!!! Perhaps you should check your statistics better…there are far more white people raping & killing their own than any other race combined.
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Cindy and Janey, You must be the same person from the stupidity that you both write. I am white and I have worked with all cultures and for you to write that blacks are lazy and won’t work is not the truth. I have worked with colored people and they worked as hard as I did.
Shauncey is right when she said that laziness comes in all colors. You are a racist and I think you should stop putting all colored people in one category. I know a lot of white people who are just as lazy and it pisses me off that when I am standing in line at Kroger’s with one cart I see them (white people) standing in line with their 3-4 kids and 2 carts and whip out that food stamp card.
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LOL Lavonna!!
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It’s the truth!
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The ONLY SOURCE for the claim that this woman VOLUNTARILY went with three black guys as she was walking ALONE down a deserted road, is the BLACK KILLERS WHO LATER WERE TRYING ANYWAY POSSIBLE TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS.
Are you a total fool?..the bigest crackhead on the planet is very unlikely to get in a truck with three black guys she doesnt know..
do you think if she DID say “NO“, unlike the black rapist killers claims,.. they would have just driven off and left her alone? They would have done exactly what they DID do which is abduct, rape, torture and murder her..
The nonsense that she `agreed` voluntarily to go with them, and was happy to do so, is typical of a pack of racist blacks who are trying the smear in death the white woman they attacked for their own racist hatred in life,..
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, this B.S. version of events is designed to downplay as much as possible the rationale for whites to view this as a anti-white racial assault ..
You should be ashamed of yourself for printing a self-serving version of events that was put out by a pack of racist black killer rapists as though its confirmed fact.
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@ Black Crime:
I don’t know every detail of this crime, but I do know that it was very unfortunate. If this is true, the fact that these men could brutally torture, rape, and murder someone, and continue their party at a nightclub implies a level of horrendousness beyond belief. Beyond all remorse.
But I also believe the article stated the victim had a known drug problem. If you want to believe that it is impossible for a white woman to engage a black male, or even three black males, whom she barely knows, then that is your business. But the fact is, drug addicts will do almost anything to get what they need, depending on the drug. If in fact she did have a habit, I would be inclined to believe that she DID willingly go with the men, but unfortunately was manipulated and killed. You can take the prejudiced approach if you like, but do not neglect the fact that she was very angry with her BF; went to a nightclub and got drunk, was escorted home by police only to return out to the nightlife (while still drunk). I’d like to think the victim was a nice, optimistic woman who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but something about this story isn’t allowing me to paint her as a saint. Sorry. I still do not believe that she deserved any terrible pain and hurt she endured.
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I think that is the most horrific crime I have heard of in years. It just goes to show how ignorant people can be. This poor girl had to be mortified. My prayers are with her family.
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Just to say that I have known Jo-Jo for over ten years and I have watched him change. He is no longer the person who committed this unspeakable crime. I am white and it has never been an issue.
The effect of the death penalty is to cause just as much grief to Jo-Jo’s family and friends as the original crime did to the victim. It will not bring her back, just cause extra pain and tears. I cannot see the point of that.
May they both rest in peace and rise in glory.
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I agree with you Max. Another death solves nothing and I grieve for two wasted lives.
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Max and Basia,
Sometimes, there just needs to be punishment, not coddling. He is an example of one of those that the death penalty was meant for. This crime is one of the most horrific and heinous that I have ever post on or read about.
And remember, maybe Missi’s family wants this as well. It may NOT cause them more pain and tears. And frankly, their pain and suffering is greater, as they viciously lost their loved one and it is their pain that I am most concerned about.
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Bias,
I loved your post. Very to-the-point, and very classy with the truth. God bless.
black crime,
There’s nothing to “review”. The fact is she was murdered by three ASSHOLES, it doesn’t matter what color they are. Murder is murder. Unless you were ACTUALLY THERE when she was kidnapped and murdered, your comment has no merit. You DON’T know what happened. You stated,”Are you a total fool?..the bigest crackhead on the planet is very unlikely to get in a truck with three black guys she doesnt know..”
I’m sorry, what crackhead do you personally know thats “choosy” when it comes to drugs?? That madeno sense what you said. Stop being racist and see the situation for what it is, a horribly murder committed by 3 assholes.
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For the record, crackheads will sell their own MOTHER out for a hit. You must know the “high-class” crackheads. (if there is such a thing) LOL!!!!
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why is only one getting killed for this? why not hang the lot of them? at least he gets to go the easy coward way of being put to sleep. i say turn him over to the husband at let him do whatever to him. this crackhead said he done it for 400 years of abuse??? he needs to be killed for being such a idiot. this is a free country you dont like it get out! plain and simple go back to your motherland. i see this kind of gansta wannbe crackhead type of crime everyday in NC. good thing is.. the blacks are doing a good job of taking out their own race its just a shame some decent white people get crossed up in it sometime.
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I have added a photo of Missi that I found this morning. Today is Joseph Gardner’s execution and I will have an Execution Alert post in a few minutes.
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[…] Comments mylifeofcrime on Melissa “Missi” An…Backlash on Update: Jerome Patrick McEwen …Backlash on Spree Killer Stephen Corey […]
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JOE GARDNER DIES TONIGHT!!!! YEAH!!! NO MORE APPEALS, NO MORE STAYS, THIS POS IS GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL TONIGHT!!! MARK ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS!!! HOPE YOU ENJOY DIEING AS MUCH AS YOU DID KILLING JOE BOY!! BURN, BABY,BURN!!
note from blog owner
I know you are excited (as am I, since justice will finally be served) but please remember to not type in ALL CAPS. I will let your 2 comments stay this time. 🙂
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u r quite disgusting.
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I am incensed at the fact the victim has been villified. I don’t care if they gave her all the crack in America’s (which they did not), kidnapping, rape and torture shouldn’t be her punishment…it makes me SICK that men who get caught abusing or killing women use the excuse “they were whores” or they “wanted it”. All women reguardless of social standing, employment, wise choices or bad are daughters, mothers, sisters and friends. How dare theses animals try to justify their behavior…
Blacks (sorry African americans), Chinese, Indians, Caucasions ect…have the ability to do right or wrong. Let this man fry in hell, not because he’s black or this was a race crime…but because he comitted a crime against humanity.
And for any racist out there…white, black or green…you’d better deal with the fact that we’re all in this together…
We all bleed red…treat your brother’s and sister’s the way you would like to be treated and this world will be a happier, healthier place…
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It is done now. Missi’s family dont have to deal with the killer anymore. He died to at about 6:15 pm. He had no more chances it was his time, just like it was hers.
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What can you expect from the off spring of beings that were only 2 or 3 generations from learning how to drink out of a cup before being brought here?
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enough of this crap, the country is filled with hate and racism. white america has never acknowledged that and has continued to use race to keep black americans or minorities down. now, having said that, it does not now, or ever will justify what happen to this poor young girl, whether she went voluntarily or not, is not an excuse or reason to justify a cold blooded, brutal murder of anyone for any reason, that too is a big part of the prejudice that still exist in our society. as of today, 12-5-08, 1.8 million americans have lost there jobs this year alone, and 56 million people still voted for mccain to keep things the way they are. because of the hate and racism and their refusal to vote for a black man. thats why this country will never be as great as it could have been. 50% of the country is full of hate and racism. what a shame. that frank character that, you can go straight to hell, you are an example of what is wrong with this society. you and your family are probably the reason for so much hate and prejudice in or world, you should go straight to hell for your beliefs.
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Let’s not forget that “Jo-jo” (who was put to death a few hours ago) was NOT treated as Melissa was. He wasn’t raped for hours. He wasn’t beaten. He wasn’t tortured. He wasn’t scrubbed with a wire brush. He wasn’t shot in the face four times. He wasn’t left on a roadside, naked and in pain, to die alone.
He got to die with some dignity. Clothed. Clean. A priest. Last rites. Last meal. Time with family. Time to say goodbye.
He got a trial. He got to tell his story. He had a lawyer defending him.
If we were truly a vengeful society, he’d have been whipped, sodomized over and over, his skin flayed, and then tied up and shot like a deer, and left in a ditch.
Don’t try to make me feel sorry for him. I spit on his grave. Let him die in the dark, and be buried in the rain.
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He got a trial – and got to blame the victim as well and say she deserved it. What a God fearing “man” huh?
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abe… grow up. You are the reason there is racism. If people stop talking about race, it will eventually become a non-issue. Period.
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You can indirectly blame people like Jessi Jackson, and Al Sharpton. People who bring race into everything that happens. Everything is about the color of skin to these people. And they spread that idea, like cancer, to others. A victim mentality. Character, more than anything else, defines someone. Not race, nor skin color.
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DEAD, thank God:
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina man convicted of torturing and killing a woman 16 years ago has been executed by lethal injection.
Joseph M.L. Gardner was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Friday in the state’s death chamber in Columbia. He did not make a final statement, but did mouth the words “Thank you. I’m OK,” to a relative who witnessed his death.
Gardner was convicted in the 1992 kidnapping, rape and slaying of 25-year-old Melissa “Missi” McLauchlin.
Police said Gardner and his co-defendants decided to kill a white woman as retribution for slavery. But the victim’s family and Gardner’s attorneys say they don’t think the killing had anything to do with racial revenge.
Gardner is the 40th person executed in South Carolina since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
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I get so angry reading some of the replies made about this topic. That young woman did nothing to deserve this. Those animals who raped her and murdered her were just that…..animals. I concur with everyone else that this Gardner should have suffered torture before death…an eye for an eye. He was able to attempt dignity, but how he’d have had that after what he did amazes me. How dare he feel he had the right to wreak revenge on the white race and how dare his relatives defend him….yet how typical it is that they do. If they can so easily rationalize the murder of this woman and support this creature, they’re no better than he was.
Race, bah! It’s the blacks (and I call them blacks, NOT African-Americans no more than whites are European-Americans) who are the most racist in our country.
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I see the one sentenced to death has been executed……everyone involved in this horrible crime deserves the DP, including the ones who stood by in another room and did NOTHING for the victim.
note from blog owner
I completely agree.
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I can tell abe is a poor “victim”, just look at his grammer and punctuation. Joe Gardner should not have been executed, he should have been given to the victim’s family and they should have decided what to do with him.
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The other men should be put to death as well. I don’t even think she went willingly with them and she certainly didn’t consent to be raped and murdered.
Rot and burn in hell, slime bag.
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Folks, in this society, we are all allowed to think and feel as we want. Regardless of how you feel personally about racism, crime, religion, etc., the bottom line in this tragedy is that Satan won.
All of the anger and all of the hatred being relayed back and forth from one side to the other is exciting to the Devil. He not only enjoys the fact that these two people are gone, but he loves how it happened, and he loves the fact that everyone is stirring up hate in someone else by their comments.
Racism is alive and well, that is a fact. Not just in America, but all over the world. If someone isn’t holding onto the past wrongs done to their ancestors , then someone else is upset at how someone else dresses or wears their pants. Does anyone know the meaning of tolerence? Does anyone care? More hatred is not what needs to come of these kinds of tragedies, but tolerence and understanding.
We as a people, that’s right, a people, cannot move forward for always moving backwards. There was only one Adam and one Eve. We are all one people whether you like it or not. We have to learn to deal with one another and move forward. If you want to hold onto the past, then so be it. But one day the world will pass you by.
Don’t let this tragedy and many others like it not be for the purpose of helping the rest of us to see in what direction we need to be headed. Hate crimes in any fashion are not just crimes against the victims involved, but they are crimes against society. The truth in this case, the blacks and the whites lost. And two families lost loved ones as well. Now who’s keeping score???
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about time, I think of missy every time i drive pass where her body was found, and i can not get out of my mind the suffering this woman went through, For the love of me I will never understand how any person regardless of color, gender can inflict the harm that they do. so tired of all the bleeding hearts, if evil people were put to death more than living fat and happy on the tax dollar, maybe this would not happen so much. I say for the bleeding hearts you can go get close and personal with all these killers or better yet attend and view the slaughter.
rest in peace Missy I may of never known you, but I will never forget you rot in hell joe
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justice served!god bless missi and her family.note to abe don’t forget some of us voted for obama because we think he was the better person to lead our nation,and he would not be president if we had not voted him in.don;t make us regret it or it may never happen again.and he is part white so like tiger woods you cant claim him for your self
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Thank you Shauncey,
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Great post Brian! But I’d have to say that it isn’t the blacks who are keeping score. It is the whites. Anytime a black person kills a white, that single tragedy alone becomes every racist [white] person’s reason for promoting separation, legal institutionalism, and a wide-spread belief that we are savages, unintelligent, uncaring, and UNABLE to live progressively with “white folk”
But the truth is, these racist whites will not hold themselves accountable for the tens of thousands of atrocities that they commit worldwide. Nope – not the child rapes, sex sting operations (here in our own Texan backyards) and over in Korea, India, and Pakistan, the unlawful murders of civilians in Iraq (taking place NOW), not even the racial injustices that we see occurring in law enforcement on a DAILY basis.
I sincerely respect people like you, who will acknowledge that there are inhumane IDIOTS in every race and culture. Even age is no longer a predictable factor. I feel nothing but the utmost sympathy for Melissa and her family. And even though no one asked, I didn’t feel a drop of sympathy for Joseph, but I do have strong feelings about capital punishment and I wish that it was abolished.
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Abe as far as race goes a very large percentage of white people voted for Obama, what was the percentage of blacks vote for the white guy??
I think we can now see who the racists are. The Jesse Jacksons, Jeremiah Wright, Sharpton, etc. etc.
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Frank,
Go preach your racist hatred on another blog. Stay living in your dark little racial world. You, Shirley and all you other radical racists who waste our time with your complaining about s**t that NONE OF US can change, the color of our skin. Would you of felt better, or would Missi’s brutal murder have been justified, Shirley, if her murderer were WHITE? What would you have to say then? You make me sick. Like I said before, you may wanna pack your s**t and leave the country IMMEDIATELY, as we now have a black president.
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Finally justice has been served for Missi, at least in the case of Joseph Gardner. He was executed on Dec. 5, 2008 in the SC gas chamber.
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Shauncey:
YOU have a black Marxist president. It is obvious you are no different than the one just executed. I don’t care a whit about the color it is character that counts!
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Frank states, “I don’t care whit about the color, it is character that counts”.
I think you may need to go back and reread your comments asshole. You sound about as intelligent as a bow-legged Alabama swamp donkey. F**king moron.
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Oh yeah Frank the asshole, let me enlighten you. If you live in this country, he’s YOUR president too asswipe. Maybe he can find a way to wipe out ALL you racists bastards so the rest of us can live in harmony and peace.
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Shaun nasty!
Be nice like me!
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I think the word you’re looking for is grammar actually. It does look an awful lot better to get your own spelling right when criticising someone else for theirs.
Hope that helps.
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Don’t dish it out Frank, if you can’t take it. Stop being racist. It’s a waste of time and energy.
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Like we would really be offended by someone named “BuckWheat” throwing out racial slurs. LMAOff!!!!
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Slavery will never be brought back Buckwheat, might wanna move on.
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Hello Shauncey
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Hi sis!!
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I was fortunate to be raised to respect people for their character, not the color of their skin. My parents invited people to our house for the pleasure of their company, and to share food and good times. I have been blessed to realize that this is how we should all be. I choose to practice looking at people as people, the color of their skin, or the culture that they come from just a part of the whole, usually beautiful (inside and sometimes outside) person.
The animals who committed this crime walked this earth as humans, but they did not deserve the title. Regardless of their race, they tortured and killed a woman. Regardless of her drug usage or any other factor, she did not deserve such treatment. According to other posts and the article, these males (can’t call them men based on their actions) made this about race. That doesn’t mean the rest of us have to.
Racism will never die as long as bigots continue to flap their mouths.
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Thank you Maryjane.
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Well said Maryjane
Hey Shauncey.
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Donna,
Whats up my sister!!!
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“I see some posters trying to make a racial thing out of this. Why is it automatically a “racial” crime if the offender and victim aren’t of the same race? The note they left notwithstanding, don’t you think these monsters would have just as soon killed a black girl as a white one?”
Always some self-righteous “high-road” taker who loves to defend the down trodden black criminals. Gardner said he wanted to “kill a white bitch”. Sounds pretty “racial” to me and (almost) anyone else who read the article. These types of crimes are occurring with great frequency (Witchita and Knoxville and Annie Pressley just to name a few) and it will be increasingly more difficult not to come to the conclusion that there is an undeclared genocide taking place against whites by black criminals. I’m sure there is balking and incredulity right now at the last statement. Just keep watching the news and you be the judge…
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This must be another one of your friends Shauncey.
Nichols is accused of grabbing a deputy’s gun at the courthouse, where he was being tried on rape charges, and killing a judge, court reporter and a sheriff’s deputy in March 2005. He also is accused of killing a federal agent he encountered at a home a few miles from the courthouse.
He tried to use race as an excuse as well.
In review of your comments sounds like you and “sis’ share more than one trait with Gardner. You two are dumber than dirt. I’m out of here, you are not worthy of my time.
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Like we care what you think ?
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Yeah Frank, kick rocks. And while your at it stop being racists. It will get you nowhere fast.
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She did what she did, and she paid for it. I have nothing against interracial couples, but clearly this was a case of hatred. I am appalled that the others received such light sentences and I hope come parole day they tell them both where to go. I hope they do not look at them like they are oppressed Blacks, but as twisted no respect assholes, who are lucky it wasn’t my daughter.
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This is just plain sickening, immoral, and exactly why there are white people who “weren’t” prejudice, but are “now!” If this had happened to my daughter, I would be in prison right now, because I would have to kill those pathetic filthy, scum-bags myslf! I don’t claim to have dozens of black friends, but I do know a lot, and this kind of sick behavior would never enter their minds. They are decent, kind, educated moral human beings, and have respect for themselves and others. And they are not hung up on or dwell on the past of the ignorant prejudice whites or anyone else. They also know that even if the ancestors of their white friends were racists, that didn’t mean that everyone TODAY is. What a sad story….
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Wow..oh my god! I had never heard of this case, and now I wished I hadn’t. What a mess..these men deliberatley and ignorantly added more fuel to a fire that has been burning for hundreds of years. As a proud African-american woman I hate when people like this show their ignorance. How does violently raping and killing a white woman make up for for oppression that they never faced? It doesn’t and it is no better than the people responsible for slavery, skinheads, or the KKK. It is unfair because cases like this sow the seeds of hate in people who already despise our race, and many times those people go and kill other innocent people in retaliation. I do have a question though. Is there any way of knowing that she went with them willingly other than what they said? It seems just as easy for them to lie about that to somehow shift the blame a little.
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Another thing, what kind of stupid, twisted, desperate woman just sits idly by while her boyfriend RAPES A WOMAN?! How could they both be missing a conscience(sp?) that would have said “this is wrong, get help!”? What a shame.:-(
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Thank you Julie.
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Hey. Mary B, don’t think any afro-american woman will be judjed. We all know that race is unimportant and it is the person that matters. These were bad guys… regardless of race. Happy trails in the future my dear.
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I knew three of the men involved in this case as I served with them in the Navy. I could not beleive that they had done this. Joe was a good friend and though I was very sadden but what he did I am sad that he was put to death. He was a good friend and I think of him often; my preyers go out to him, his family and the family of Melissa McLauchlin
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so much black on white crime in your country this case was bad but this is worse http://www.solargeneral.com/ja/hatecrime/tiffanylongtoowhitetobeahatecrimevictim.html
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This was a really bad crime and I feel sorry for the pain her family had to go through. But as I read these different blog I feel sick that you have people in this world that still feel this way. I’m sorry to say that you have white men that do worst crimes then this. What about the white men that have sex with little kids everyday and take away their childhood. What about all the serial killers out here is white I can go on and on about all the crimes that white people did. But you do not hear us black people calling any of them any names. You have bad apples in every race so why make this a race issue. I have a child, go to school everyday and work 60 or more hours every week. I have a really really good job and I’m only 24 years old because I work hard for what I want and I’m black. So calling black people lazy is the only way out for some of you. Becausr why you are posting this some of you are sitting at home living off me and half of the other lazy black people. So if you was to do some of your research and read how black women was the prime for the white men back then and now. You may find out that you have some black in you so thats why you sit at home all day long doing nothing because your part black and thats what black people do sit at home and be lazy.
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Jessica,
You are right, all races commit crimes and even commit crimes between races (black on white, black on asian, white on asian, white on black, etc.). I post on any urder, regardless of the race of anyone involved. Does not matter to me. However, do not come here and say that “white men that do worst crimes then this”. Once again, races does not matter. But please, do not categorize that one is worst that another. Because they are all different. It is in the eye of the beholder. But remember, on my blog, it is the VICTIM that matters the most. Your job and your life are your own. Do not compare yourself to anyone else. It is irrelevant to this murder, especially when you are trying to say you are better than anyone else because you are doing well, in your own opinion.
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I am Missi’s Father and like to say that her Mother and I appreciate all the positive comments and accept the negative comments, since each and every one of us is entitled their opinion. Missi’s ashes are buried between the gravesites of her Grandmother and infant Brother. I only ask that you all remember that not only my family,but,the families of those that committed this crime are also greiving victims. God bless those who believe and God help those who do not.
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I new the man Matt the light skin one who did this to your daughter. And at the time I was young around 16 doing things I had no business doing. But I can tell he came by my house just a couple days before he did this to her. And I looked in his car were his friend was and saw pure evil and told him I would pass on hanging with him. I didn’t no Gardner and had no interest in it either. My instinct was rite. I am sorry for your loss and think about her all the time. I have told this story more times then I can count. I hate the things that are said about your girl because they would of done that to me if I would of went. I never did drugs or hurt anybody. They were sick and intent on hurting someone sexually. Matt didn’t want to kill her but Gardner did so my friend told me. She had seen him Matt the next day. The stories you read and the truth are so different. I was at the time I had the sense to no my truth might of help at least sum people get a better understanding on how they where seeking to kill. But at 16 life just keeps moving and you worry about your next meal. I was showing my niece this because of something that reminded me of This yet again rest in peace miss!
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i was googling a friend and came across this page, i was supposed to go to the grocery store, and didnt get to it. reading this had me glued to my chair.
Although i am so late posting this, i just cant leave this site without sending my condolences out to the family… i hope you are all doing well and living life graciously, steadfast, and with purpose after this horrible tragedy.
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I lived in Charleston at the time this happened and was in the Navy. To this day I cannot get this out of my mind. The similiar crime in Knoxville, Tn is stuck in my mind too. For those who don’t think this was racial re-read the letter that was written by the criminals and note that if it was just sex that was wanted there were 2 females present of the same race during the entire time. Very sad indeed. I will never forget this crime, never. There is something very very wrong with anyone who would do this to another human being. How can they live with themselves during the event and after? Some crimes can never be made right and the only possible justice is to remove the criminal from the face of the earth. We as society struggle with this delimma with child sex offenders all the time. The only way to ensure a crime like this doesn’t ever happen again is to remove the person from the earth, forever….
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I worked with the Indira Simmons girl in Charleston, in a restaurant, 1992, up to this happening. I gotta tell ya, I never hung out with her socially, but I was very, very shocked when it happened, as I thought she was one of the nicest persons I’ve ever been around?! Very quiet and very respectful, very nice to the patrons of the restaurant. I would talk to her, and she was very nice, but very quiet. Just goes to show ya, you can never, ever tell who someone really is. Tough stuff….
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[…] […]
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Only GOD knows,if Missi,willingly,got in the car.That still does not okay,what happened to her.The whole criminal group involved,should have been charged with conspiracy for murder,even the women.This is one of the horrific crimes,I’ve ever heard of in America,besides the Charles Manson Gang murders.This an example of what Hate,and Satan,can get somebody to do.I don’t know what the White people in America,can do as a whole,to end the Hatred,towards them,by the Black race,because of the sins,of America.There is 4 places,where race/color,does not matter-Hospital Nursery,Cemetery,Heaven,& Hell. Jesus Christ,takes away all Hate & Prejudice. He is the only one,that all colors,cultures,ethnic,& race, can get along and worship together.The Muslim religion,Hindu, & Ku Klux Klan,all have Race Rules,on who is allowed in their “church” “mosque”. If you have a problem with someone outside your Race,for no apparent reason, you need JESUS,in your life.Wise Men,still seek him. Everyones Blood,is Red.
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The murderer,got to enjoy more earthly time,after Missi’s life was taken.
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He got 16 years of life that he denied her.
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Hey, why not take the racist, sadistic, rapist, torturering, murderers’ self-serving statements at face value, even if it does slander the victim? As for those blacks (and stupid whites) who comment on white child molesters as if that’s an exclusively white crime, I can tell you from personal experience working in the Atlanta D.A.’s Office for three years that blacks commit at least as many of these types of sex crimes as whites.
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[…] murder also) Here is just one example of a story Americans never saw in their national media: https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com/2…murder-123092/ I think we all know what would have been in the media had the a gang of white men done the same to […]
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Matt was half white. I new him, I would of never believed this to be him. He had a red toyota paso and came by my house with Gardner before this happen. On any given day when he asked me to hang with him I probably would of said yes. But his friend was sitting in the car looking demon like. and thank you god for saving me. I am now 35 and know if I went that night would of never saw 20. I am Spanish not white. They just wanted a girl to torture. This article also fails to mention there were 2 girls in car, so she felt more relax And safe. I think I was only 16 at the time. But this will always life in my heart of how easy it could of been me.
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As I read this I am in tears, My name Is Melissa Ellen Mclaughin born in 1992. As I read this I gives me chills ; My life use to be life like this the way the name is, and how this story lays out it feels like me reborn crazy right ? but my heart feels it
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[…] could go on (and on, and on, and on) with more or less recent examples such as we’ve seen, but I think I’ve made my […]
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