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The Blind One-Armed Young Man Who Killed His Razor-Wielding Murderous Stepfather in Self Defense
A desperate fight to the death in the 1920s that was survived by a young disabled man became a major news story
The instinct for survival sometimes gives animals and humans superpowers as they struggle to overcome harrowing circumstances with the singular goal of living. One of the most astonishing cases of doing whatever it takes to survive was the case of a young blind man with only one arm, who fended off and killed his crazed stepfather who was trying to kill him with a razor.
A desperate fight for survival took place on a small farm in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1926. 21-year-old Roy Atkinson, who was not only blind but also only had one arm as a result of a dynamite explosion that had occurred a number of years before, managed to fend off a vicious attack by his stepfather, 39-year-old John Wesley Buffington, who rushed him with a straight razor. The battle resulted in the death of the older man.
Initially, police placed Atkinson in jail, as they investigated what happened. The young man explained that he had just graduated from the Kansas State School for the Blind in Kansas City. Shortly after this lofty achievement, he gave a speech in front of the…
