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  • From: Will Dockery <will.dockery AT gmail.com>
  • To: ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: Big Eddy Club by David Rose
  • Date: 3 May 2007 14:03:49 -0700

On May 1, 1:46 pm, internationalist wrote:
>
> > Internationalist Books & Community Center
>
> > 405 W Franklin Street
>
> > Chapel Hill, NC 27516
>
> >www.internationalistbooks.org
>
> > 919.942.1740
>
> > HAPPY MAYDAY!
>
> <snip for brevity>
>
> > MONDAY 21 MAY @ 7PM
>
> > DAVID ROSE - BIG EDDY CLUB
>
> > David Rose is an award-winning contributing editor at Vanity Fair and h=
as
> > worked for *The Guardian*, *The Observer*, and the BBC. He is the autho=
r of
> > five previous books, including *Guant=E1namo*. *The Big Eddy Club *is a
> > thorough and intriguing ten year exploration of facts surrounding the a=
rrest
> > of African-American Carlton Gary for the horrific 1970s murders of seven
> > elderly white women. Though there is much to argue that Gary is the vic=
tim
> > of a criminal justice system manipulated to deny him due process, he re=
mains
> > on death row.
>
> Once again, our little town is the subject of international attention,
> and once again, in not a way the big shots on the hill will appreciate
> (Carson McCullers, who was born and raised here, described /
> Shadowville/ in her books and captured the place well... and was
> persona non grata up until just a few years ago... her books were not
> even in the local library for decades after publication). I was here
> during the time described in "Big Eddy Club" (a fairly mysterious
> place up in Green Island Hills where only the biggest of the big shots
> are allowed near), and those were indeed some scary days, and the
> arrest of Gary didn't really match up with all the rumors and theories
> going around at the time... that the killer was an insane rich kid.
>
> Here's a pretty good synopsis of the book, but local writer Richard
> Hyatt has been delving into the book for the last few days in the
> local newspaper

<note: fixed link>

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/race_series

> expanding on the details of history Rose covers, all the way to the
> founding of the town in 1828 up to the present:
>
> ----
> From:http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/books/authors.html=
?=2E..
>
> Violation by David Rose
> (HarperPress, =A316.99)
>
> By CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH -
>
> Last updated at 13:43pm on 19th March 2007
>
> Much non-fiction is a chronicle of events that have already taken
> place: by the date of publication, history has passed by. The author
> is a bystander, often witnessing tragedy, unwilling or impotent to
> intervene.
>
> Some non-fiction plays a far more active role, bending the course of
> events and perhaps even helping to avert disaster.
>
> Violation: Justice, Race And Serial Murder In The Deep South is David
> Rose's latest, excellent book, and it falls into the latter category.
>
> Rose takes on the case of Carlton Gary, a black man convicted and
> sentenced to death in 1986 for a string of murders of elderly white
> women in a small city southwest of Atlanta. Gary was dubbed the
> Columbus Stocking Strangler.
>
> In 1987 I played an insignificant cameo role in Gary's case, as a
> peripheral witness. At the time, it was clear that Gary had been
> subjected to a shambles of a trial.
>
> The case against him was built mainly on the prosecution's forensic
> evidence. His volunteer trial lawyer, Bud Siemon, faced personal
> bankruptcy as the trial judge denied funds for defence expert
> assistance a staggering 140 times. In the end, Siemon could not even
> afford longdistance telephone calls.
>
> Despite the unfairness, Gary was hardly an advertisement for abolition
> of the death penalty. He was listed in the 'Serial Killers A-Z',
> midway between Ted Bundy and Dr Harold Shipman.
>
> His 'kill count' was estimated at more than ten, from New York to
> Georgia.
>
> The Columbus crimes went unsolved for five years, but when Gary was
> charged, the evidence of his guilt seemed strong. The police said they
> found his fingerprints at various crime scenes.
>
> Using the limited technology of the time, experts testified that semen
> found on the victims was consistent with his.
>
> An eighth intended victim, Gertrude Miller, had fought off her
> attacker and then positively identified Gary.
>
> Nobody was protesting loudly about Gary's innocence. THEN came David
> Rose. He was initially drawn to the case by the backdrop: Columbus has
> an intricate history of racism that Rose weaves expertly throughout
> his narrative.
>
> Just as the ancestors of today's strangler might have been slaves, so
> today's prosecutor pounding the podium for the death penalty, or the
> judge imposing it, might be descended from members of the Klan.
>
> Most of the victims of the Stocking Strangler were matriarchs of
> Columbus society, dining at the fabled Big Eddy club where the only
> black people were the waiters.
>
> Rose's interest in the community drew him deeper into Gary's case. He
> made lengthy visits to Georgia, and he began to discover evidence that
> Gary might not be the strangler after all.
>
> The local police department had been under enormous pressure to solve
> these terrible crimes. First, Rose raised questions about whether the
> fingerprint evidence was legitimate. Then he turned to the other
> forensic trails.
>
> Rose tracked down a law enforcement officer who said the killer left a
> shoeprint at one scene - it was no bigger than a U.S. size nine, far
> too small for Gary's size 13 feet.
>
> Next, Rose visited Gary in the Georgia Diagnostic And Classification
> Centre - the euphemistic name for Death Row - and brought out a semen
> sample for testing.
>
> Denied the right to compare it to the DNA evidence from the victims,
> Rose then relied on less sophisticated testing to provide strong
> evidence that Gary could not be the rapist.
>
> One of the women had been bitten by her assailant. Gary's lawyer had
> tried to get his hands on the plaster cast made of the bite mark, only
> to be told that it had been destroyed.
>
> Rose tracked down the dentist and discovered the truth: the cast still
> existed, but the trial prosecutor, a hunting buddy, had told the
> dentist not to let the lawyer see it.
>
> Twenty years after I met Carlton Gary, the accumulated evidence points
> towards a miscarriage of justice.
>
> I can report that just one month ago, since the book went to print, an
> odontologist testified in federal court that the plaster cast from the
> bite mark excluded Gary to 'a reasonable level of scientific
> certainty'.
>
> Nevertheless, the federal judge is a scion in a prominent Columbus
> family. He has relied on arcane American procedural law to deny full
> DNA testing or a hearing on the shoe print - both integral to Carlton
> Gary's innocence.
>
> It is to Rose's credit that he published without being able to answer
> the most important question: Will the protagonist live or die?
>
> Rose could have opted merely to observe injustice, but in undertaking
> this investigation, he may succeed in saving the life of an innocent
> man - that is, if Columbus can face up to its history and overcome its
> prejudices.
>
> Clive Stafford Smith is Legal Director of Reprieve
> (www.reprieve.org.uk) a UK charity providing frontline investigation
> and legal representation to prisoners denied justice by powerful
> governments across the world, including people facing the death
> penalty.
>
> --
> * Shadowville All-Stars present: Beatnik Night at Rhino's! *
>
> Every Thursday starting in May, 9pm-midnight and beyond, Ty & Friends.
> Ty is a musical master of guitar and vocals encompasing a sound that
> at turns evokes for me everything from BB King to Hendrix to Prince to
> a whole other level that only he knows... magic brillance right here
> in our little town. The plan for Beatnik Night as it develops is a
> place for poets, artists, musicians, madmen open mic & poetry slam!
> Sign up at 9, bring your own bongos) 21+. May 3rd we'll be having a
> trial run as we spread the word on this weekly event, come by and get
> a feel for the stage and the friendly staff of Rhino's, bring your
> poetry, songs and art.
>
> Rhino's http://www.myspace.com/rhinoslive1239 Broadway, Columbus
> GA
>
> "The Ride (Combat Zone)" by Dockery-Mallard-Beck:http://www.myspace.com/s=
hadowvilleallstars
>
> "Wobble" by Dockery-Conley:http://www.myspace.com/willdockery> And suppor=
t our friends, too! Here are some other upcoming events that we
> > think you should check out as well:
>
> > all are welcome! SUNDAY, MAY 6TH SECRET CAFE DINNER PARTY AT: THE CARRB=
ORO
> > GREEN SPACE
> > 5-9PM 116 OLD PITTSBORO RD. (across from Open Eye, past Carr St.)
> > $8-10 SUGGESTED DONATION ALL FOOD DONATED BY LOCAL ORGANIC FARMS AND MA=
RKETS
> > PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT SOUNDSCAPE MOVEMENT FEST!!!
> > an experimental sound and movement based festival, MAY 18-19th at the
> > NIGHTLIGHT
> > to learn more: go to!!www.soundscapefest.orgwww.nightlightclub.com
> > RSVP to 919.923.7910
>
> > Come to the Carolinas Consulta, May 12-13 in Chapel Hill, NC, to discus=
s and
> > make plans for the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Convent=
ions
> > (in the summer of 2008), because it is essential to go into these prote=
sts
> > with a well developed and widely known strategy. Also, this will be gre=
at
> > place to meet like-minded people from across the carolinas, and to share
> > information with each other about the campaigns, community organizing,
> > mutual aid projects, and actions we are currently involved with across =
the
> > states. plus games, food, movies, direct action skillsharing, and more!
> > PLEASE RSVP soon! It will help us with housing and food logistics, etc.=
You
> > can reach us at unconventional_act... AT mountainrebel.net . Please let us
> > know if you have any special housing or food needs! Housing will be pro=
vided
> > (some of which will be camping) on friday and saturday nights. Meet up =
at
> > Internationalist Bookstore--405 W. Franklin St--for housing information=
and
> > directions on Fri. May 11th from 1-8pm. Or you can contact us to work o=
ut an
> > alternate time.
> > -- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --http://lists=
.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ch-scene






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