Man Executed for Killing Death Row Inmate with Bomb

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man who stabbed, shot or drowned 13 people, out of racial hatred or because he disapproved of their drinking or drug-taking, was executed Friday for killing a fellow Death Row inmate with a bomb.

Donald Gaskins, 58, walked unaided into the state’s death chamber and gave a thumbs-up sign to his crying attorney before being put to death in the electric chair. Gaskins was pronounced dead at 1:10 a.m., said Doug Catoe of the Department of Corrections.

Gaskins was sentenced to death for killing Rudolph Tyner, who was killed in 1982 by a homemade bomb disguised as a radio. Gaskins, who was white, said he killed Tyner because he was black.