Post by MXB on Mar 1, 2007 5:49:04 GMT -5
Wayne Williams Granted DNA Request
A Georgia judge has ordered DNA testing of evidence used in the trial of Wayne Williams, who was accused of killing 29 blacks, mostly boys, in the Atlanta Child Killings case of 1979 and 1981. Attorneys for Williams argued that such DNA testing was not available when Williams was tried in 1982.
Prosecutors did not oppose the new DNA testing, but said they do not believe the results of the test will prove Williams was wrongfully convicted. Williams was tried for only two of the 29 murders -- Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, and Nathaniel Cater, 27 -- but investigators closed the books on more than two dozen other cases after his conviction.
Williams has always maintained his innocence, claiming that he was framed for the murders to cover-up Ku Klux Klan involvement in the killings to avoid a race war in Atlanta.
The DNA tests ordered by Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore will include dog hairs found on some of the victims and those from Williams' family dog. Tests will also be conducted on human hair and other evidence found on a car seat and clothing from the victims.
A Georgia judge has ordered DNA testing of evidence used in the trial of Wayne Williams, who was accused of killing 29 blacks, mostly boys, in the Atlanta Child Killings case of 1979 and 1981. Attorneys for Williams argued that such DNA testing was not available when Williams was tried in 1982.
Prosecutors did not oppose the new DNA testing, but said they do not believe the results of the test will prove Williams was wrongfully convicted. Williams was tried for only two of the 29 murders -- Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, and Nathaniel Cater, 27 -- but investigators closed the books on more than two dozen other cases after his conviction.
Williams has always maintained his innocence, claiming that he was framed for the murders to cover-up Ku Klux Klan involvement in the killings to avoid a race war in Atlanta.
The DNA tests ordered by Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore will include dog hairs found on some of the victims and those from Williams' family dog. Tests will also be conducted on human hair and other evidence found on a car seat and clothing from the victims.