Hastings Arthur Wise was born on February 16, 1954, in the United States. Not much is publicly recorded about his early upbringing, but his adult life was marked by both criminality and apparent attempts at reform. Wise had previously served prison time for bank robbery and receipt of stolen goods. After his release, he managed to turn his life around for a period, obtaining a technical degree and eventually securing employment as a machine operator at the R.E. Phelon Company, a lawnmower parts manufacturer located in Aiken, South Carolina.

Wise worked at R.E. Phelon for over four years. During this time, he became known among his community and attended Sunday church services regularly. His pastor noted that Wise had "hardly ever" missed a service over the span of eleven years. He had no criminal convictions for approximately fifteen years after his release from prison and before the murders took place.

Despite these outward signs of stability, Wise reportedly felt increasingly embittered by what he perceived as systemic racial discrimination, particularly in the workplace. According to testimony during his trial, he believed he had been repeatedly passed over for promotions due to his race, with jobs instead going to white employees.

On the morning of September 15, 1997, Hastings Wise drove into the employee parking lot at the R.E. Phelon Company. He was scheduled to pick up a box of his personal belongings from security guard Stanley Vance. Instead, Wise shot Vance in the chest with a semi-automatic pistol. Vance survived, but Wise cut the phone lines in the guard station and reportedly told him, “I got things to do,” before entering the building.

Inside, Wise moved methodically through the facility. He first entered the personnel office and shot 56-year-old Charles Griffeth—the man responsible for his firing—twice in the back, killing him. He then proceeded to the tool and die area, where he rapidly opened fire, killing 30-year-old David Wayne Moore and 31-year-old Leonard Filyaw. Two others were wounded in this section of the building.

Wise's last victim was 27-year-old Esther Sheryl Wood, who worked in quality control. He shot her in the back and leg, then finished her off execution-style with a bullet to the head. Court testimony later revealed that Wise had been denied a promotion to Wood’s job as well. Notably, all of Wise’s fatal victims were white—a fact that prosecutors highlighted in arguing his racial motivation.

During the rampage, Wise reloaded multiple times and was described as yelling incoherently. Police later recovered four empty magazines, each capable of holding eight rounds, alongside four full magazines and 123 unused bullets. After ascending to the building's upper floor, Wise lay down and drank insecticide in an apparent suicide attempt. He was found semi-conscious by police and arrested at the scene.

Following his indictment in August 1998, Wise’s trial was postponed due to judge reassignment and the arrest of one of his attorneys. The trial was moved from Aiken County to Beaufort County to ensure an impartial jury. During proceedings, a psychiatrist revealed that Wise had driven over 9,000 miles in the weeks leading up to the murders, visiting landmarks like the San Diego Zoo, suggesting he knew he was planning his final acts.

The defense presented no witnesses during the two-week trial, and Wise himself declined to allow any character testimony during sentencing. After only five hours of deliberation, the jury convicted him of all four murders. He was sentenced to death, along with 60 additional years for the non-fatal shootings of Vance, Jerry Corley, and John Mucha.

On February 2, 2001, Wise entered the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections as Inmate #00005074. His mandatory appeals were rejected by the South Carolina Supreme Court, and although his attorneys attempted to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Wise himself wrote a letter requesting that no further appeals be made. He became a "volunteer" for execution, openly rejecting clemency and any effort to commute his sentence.

Following mental competency evaluations, the South Carolina Supreme Court scheduled his execution for November 4, 2005. Wise chose lethal injection as his method of death. He declined to make a final statement but ordered a last meal of lobster back, french fries, coleslaw, banana pudding, and milk. He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.