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In the mid 1970s, in Columbus, Georgia, seven elderly white women, several of whom were prominent members of the white community, were found brutally raped and murdered in their homes over a number of months. They were strangled to death, often with their own stockings or other types of underwear. The hysteria and fear that ruled Columbus over the “Stocking Strangler” led to an intense manhunt by local police who assumed the suspect was a black man. Eight years after the last rape and murder, Carlton Gary, a black man who had been convicted of various robberies, was convicted and sentenced to death for several of the rapes and murders. Carlton Gary remains on death row today, at a time when investigative reporter David Rose has written a shocking account of the case, revealing serious questions about the evidence presented against Gary. His book is called “The Big Eddy Club: The Stocking Stranglings and Southern Justice.” The Big Eddy Club is the name of an exclusive all-white, members-only club in Columbus, Georgia, to which many of the murder victims belonged. But, Columbus’ most prominent judges and lawyers, also belonged to the club. Intertwined throughout the book is the ugly racist history of Columbus, rife with lynchings and racist hysteria. Given what has been revealed in David Rose’s book, plus new evidence that has just emerged, there may be hope on the horizon for a new trial for Carlton Gary, who remains on death row. <\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.thenewpress.com\/title_images\/1297.cover.jpg\")
GUEST: David Rose, is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and has worked for the Guardian, The Observer, and the BBC. He has written several books including Guantanamo, and his latest, “The Big Eddy Club: The Stocking Stranglings and Southern Justice.”<\/em><\/p>\n