The Devil Went Down to Georgia

April 11, 2024 5:17 AM

For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man--but the police knew his real name. (CW: homophobia, violence) slTheAtavist
posted by Kitteh (14 comments total)

FWIW, if you haven't read it yet, you should take the content warning on this post very seriously. I could only skim the descriptions of the violence and even with that, the violence is extremely specific and awful.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:23 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

God, yeah, I regret reading this before bed. Both horrifying and infuriating. What a horrible person, who got only a small fraction of what he had coming to him.
posted by potrzebie at 6:26 AM on April 11

To me, the creepiest part was the cops: they knew who was doing it but they let it keep happening because it was only gay-on-gay crime and the bad guy's family had money.
posted by pracowity at 7:20 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]

Solving crimes or helping people isn’t really in their job remit.
posted by Artw at 7:30 AM on April 11 [12 favorites]

The treatment of gay men during that time period isn't surprising (shitty but not surprising) but it does remind me of how far the LGTBQ+ movement has come and how much it could regress in this climate.
posted by Kitteh at 7:47 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]

A year on, soon after graduating from law school at Emory University, he was arrested again. It happened in Midtown, when he was cruising near the Gallus. Bennett tried to pull a man into his car—a man who happened to be an undercover cop. Bennett was charged with kidnapping a police officer, but he ended up pleading no contest to simple battery and paying a $75 fine.

In addition to cops not giving a shit this guys moneyed connections really, really worked for him.
posted by Artw at 7:52 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]

The idea that he never killed anyone is laughable. I wonder how many of the Atlanta Child Murders attributed to Wayne Williams were actually committed by this guy. And how many other serial killers there were in Atlanta at the time.
posted by hydropsyche at 8:59 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]

I did not know that Susan Faludi was a reporter working on this story back in the day. That's an interesting twist.
posted by gimonca at 9:00 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]

I'm also uncomfortably reminded of Jeffrey Dahmer and how he got away with murder for as long as he did thanks to the local PD's neglect.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:29 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]

...and I just got to the part of TFA where that comparison is made. Great minds, &c.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:37 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

A24 film adaptation coming soon? Real life produces more horror than fiction ever could.
posted by nikoniko at 10:45 AM on April 11

I want to know if the county library took the money and put up the memorial.
posted by zenon at 11:14 AM on April 11 [4 favorites]

I'll give some credit to the man who insisted on going to a bar. He saved himself, and he was in a good position to give testimony.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 11:30 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

A24 film adaptation coming soon? Real life produces more horror than fiction ever could.

i don't think we need yet another true crime adaptation where there are actual victims, given how the last several have gone, especially with how exploitative they've been.
posted by i used to be someone else at 1:31 PM on April 12 [3 favorites]