Joseph Carl Shaw was born on March 31, 1955, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Mary and Melvin Shaw. Raised in the quiet suburb of Jeffersontown, Shaw’s early years followed a typical working-class American childhood. He attended St. Edwards Catholic Middle School, actively participated in church services, and even served as an altar boy. Shaw was also athletic, joining the school’s football team and engaging with his peers in school-related activities.

However, despite the promise of his early upbringing, Shaw’s academic journey was short-lived. He attended Jeffersontown High School but eventually dropped out before completing his education. Seeking direction, Shaw turned to the military. In 1975, he graduated from the U.S. Army Military Police School and was stationed at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.

During his time at Fort Jackson, Shaw became involved with a group of young men including James Terry Roach, Ronald Eugene Mahaffey, and Robert Neil Williams. The group often engaged in heavy drug use and alcohol consumption. Shaw also entered a romantic relationship while stationed in Columbia, but the relationship ended suddenly on October 16, 1977.

The brutal crimes of Joseph Carl Shaw occurred during a short but horrifying spree in October 1977 in Richland County, South Carolina.

Following the abrupt end of his relationship on October 16, 1977, Shaw fell into a destructive cycle of drug use and drinking with his usual group such as Roach, Mahaffey, and Williams. Fueled by rage and intoxication, the group decided to seek out a woman to assault. In the early hours of October 17, 1977, they came across 21-year-old Betty Swank. Pretending to offer her a ride, they lured her into their car. Once inside, she noticed they had a firearm. She was then kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and fatally shot by Shaw with a .22 caliber pistol. Her body was later discovered in a nearby mobile home park.

Less than two weeks later, on October 29, 1977, Shaw, Roach, and Mahaffey again took drugs and alcohol before going out, intent on committing another crime. That afternoon, the trio spotted a car parked at a baseball field northeast of Columbia. Inside were 17-year-old Thomas Taylor and 14-year-old Carlotta Hartness. The group decided to rob them. Shaw approached the vehicle, and Roach pointed a rifle at Taylor, demanding money. After Taylor handed over his wallet, Shaw ordered Roach to shoot him. Taylor was killed instantly.

Hartness was then kidnapped and driven to a remote dirt road. All three men took turns raping her. She was then shot once in the head by Roach, and again by Shaw to ensure her death. In a gruesome and disturbing detail, Shaw later returned to the scene and mutilated Hartness’s body.

The trio’s rampage came to an end when law enforcement arrested Shaw, Roach, and Mahaffey on November 3, 1977. They were charged with multiple counts including murder, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, and conspiracy. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Shaw and Roach, while Mahaffey—only 16 at the time—was offered a plea deal in exchange for his testimony.

On December 12, 1977, Shaw pleaded guilty to all charges. Roach followed with guilty pleas to two counts of murder and other charges. Shaw received two death sentences for the murders of Taylor and Hartness, and a life sentence for the murder of Betty Swank. Roach also received the death penalty. Mahaffey was sentenced to life in prison. Williams, who participated in the Swank killing but not the later double murder, was also sentenced to life in a separate trial.

After spending nearly eight years on death row, Joseph Carl Shaw was executed by electrocution on January 11, 1985, at the Central Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. He was 29 years old. His final meal was pizza and tossed salad, and his final statement expressed remorse and gratitude to his family, legal team, and ministers.

His co-defendant, James Terry Roach, was executed the following year in 1986. Ronald Mahaffey, the youngest of the group, died in prison on February 13, 2003, at age 41.