Holden Ford says his name is a bad joke in Australia. In Australia, Ford and Holden are car companies (and racing teams) with passionate, and discrete fan bases. Mindhunter's creator Joe Penhall is from South Australia and created the name as an in-joke for himself and his fellow Australians
William Pierce Jr. was paroled from the Georgia state prison at Reidsville in May of 1970, despite a report from staff psychiatrists that he may be a danger to himself or others. He claimed his first victim a month later and killed at least 9 people before his arrest in March, 1971. He was a serial confessor and had an IQ that barely broke 70.
William Henry Hance was a soldier and serial killer who is believed to have murdered four women around military bases before his arrest in 1978. He was convicted of murdering three of them. He was executed by the state of Georgia in the electric chair.
Though the series rarely, if ever, specifies the amount of time that has passed between episodes, judging by the music playing in the bar (and subsequently in the end credits) which is "Brass In Pocket" by The Pretenders, released Jan 1, 1980, this episode takes place in 1980 or later. However, the check shown in S02E01 was dated April 1980, so this episode is likely later.