NACDL

The Big Eddy Club: The Stocking Stranglings and Southern Justice 

By David Rose
The New Press (2007)
Reviewed by Patrick Veasy 

From September 1977 to April 1978, seven elderly women in Columbus, Ga., five of whom belonged to an elite all-white social club called the Big Eddy Club, were raped and strangled to death during the middle of the night. Also known as the “stocking stranglings,” the murders took place in the stereotypical setting of a small Southern town where racial differences influenced everyday life. On May 3, 1984, an African American man named Carlton Gary was arrested for the stranglings and has subsequently spent over two decades awaiting his punishment on death row. In December 2009, Gary's execution was postponed in a last minute attempt to determine if potential DNA evidence should be considered. These developments, combined with additional evidence discovered since Gary’s conviction, have brought his conviction into question.

Starting out on a small investigative assign