An Innocent Man on Death Row in Georgia? An David Rose on Carlton Gary

A man who has been sitting on death row for over two decades was denied a new trial last week in a highly-publicized and controversial case known as "the Stocking Stranglings."

The case dates back to the late 1970s. A serial killer in Columbus, Georgia, raped and murdered several elderly white women by strangling them in their beds. In 1986, eight years after the last murder, an African American man, Carlton Gary, was convicted and sentenced to death for three of the murders. No physical evidence was ever produced to tie him to the crimes. Gary has been on death row ever since.

In 2005, a new piece of evidence that had been missing for 25, a bite-mark mold taken from the last victim, was presented. Gary's attorney argued that the mold did not match his teeth and it was evidence that pointed to his client's innocence. But last Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land ruled that the mold doesn't cast enough doubt on Gary's case to undermine the 1986 conviction. Carlton Gary's case now goes to the 11th circuit court of appeals in Atlanta.

Award-winning journalist David Rose has followed this case for more than ten years and has just published the book "The Big Eddy Club: The Stocking Stranglings and Southern Justice." David Rose is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and has worked for The Guardian, The Observer, and the BBC. He is the author of five previous books, including "Guantanamo."

David Rose joined me in the firehouse studio last week - just two days before Judge Land's latest ruling on the bite-mark mold - to talk about the case and the significance of this piece of evidence.

* David Rose, British journalist and author of the "The Big Eddy Club: The Stocking Stranglings and Southern Justice."

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