Joseph Atkins was sentenced to death by the State of South Carolina for a double murder
According to court documents Joseph Atkins was released early from prison where he was serving time for the murder of his brother. Atkins was mad at the people next door to his fathers home and would rush in and murder a thirteen year old girl Karen Patterson. Atkins would return to his home and fatally shoot his father Benjamin Atkins
Joseph Atkins would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Joseph Atkins would be executed by lethal injection on January 23 1999
Joseph Atkins Photos
Joseph Atkins Case
Petitioner (Joseph Atkins) was paroled from the 1970 conviction on March 14, 1980. After his release from prison, Petitioner returned to North Charleston to live, where he occupied one-half of a duplex owned by his father, Benjamin Atkins. Petitioner worked odd jobs and had a habit of drinking regularly. His girlfriend, Linda Walters, lived with him.
Petitioner’s father lived in the other half of the duplex. A rental house owned by the father was located behind the duplex. In the spring of 1985, Mr. Aaron Polite, his wife, Fatha Patterson, and their thirteen-year old daughter, Karen Patterson, moved into the rental home. Petitioner was barely acquainted with Mr. Polite and his family. Petitioner’s dealings with them were limited to casual greetings.
Petitioner and a neighbor, Arthur Henderson, were drinking heavily on the night of Saturday, October 26, 1985. They bought and consumed two and one-half pints of Smirnoff Vodka. Petitioner returned home early the next morning. At about 6:30 a.m., while the Polite family was asleep, Mr. Polite awakened to see Petitioner, carrying a machete and a sawed-off shotgun, walking from the back of the rental house to his side of the duplex. Mr. Polite awakened Fatha, and related what he had seen. She began to call Petitioner’s father, Benjamin Atkins, but found that the phone lines were dead. Upon inspection of the outside telephone wires, Aaron and Fatha discovered that their phone lines had been cut. Aaron returned to the bedroom, and Fatha left to alert Petitioner’s father.
Shortly thereafter, Aaron heard a gunshot from within his house. He spotted Petitioner, armed with a sawed-off single-shot shotgun, standing at the doorway of Karen’s bedroom. Petitioner began shooting in Aaron’s direction, but Aaron jumped out of the line of fire, running into the yard. Petitioner pursued Aaron, and continued discharging the weapon. After Aaron ran into the street, Petitioner retreated and headed for his father’s home.
Petitioner’s father and Fatha heard the gunshots and summoned the police. Fatha opened the screen door of the father’s duplex and spotted Petitioner aiming the shotgun at her. As she backed away screaming, Petitioner’s father stepped out onto the porch. Petitioner shot his father in the right shoulder area. The father staggered back into his kitchen, where he collapsed and died.
Fatha shut the door and ran to the bedroom to get a telephone. Petitioner began shooting randomly at the side of the duplex, where gunshots came through the wall. Petitioner also shot out a window in his father’s car. Petitioner mounted his motorcycle and began pulling out of the driveway. Aaron and Fatha ran to their house to check on Karen. They found her in her bed lying in a pool of blood caused by a massive gunshot wound to the head. She also suffered a wound to her right hand. Karen was taken to the hospital, where she died a few hours later.
In the meantime, a neighbor, Detective Schuster of the Charleston police, had just gone off-duty and was returning home at the time of the shooting. He saw the flash of gunfire and Petitioner pulling out of the driveway, with a revolver in his back pocket. Schuster called for backup, and pursued Petitioner for four miles. Schuster and other officers then subdued Petitioner as he fell off his motorcycle and arrested him. Police retrieved the shotgun a few blocks from Petitioner’s house, along the escape route. The machete and shotgun shells were retrieved from the backyard.
https://casetext.com/case/atkins-v-moore-2
