dog lover
02-27-2007, 10:31 PM
Judge orders DNA testing of dog hairs in Atlanta child murder case
By Associated Press
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - Updated: 04:33 AM EST
ATLANTA - A judge on Monday ordered DNA testing of dog hair and other evidence used to convict a man linked to two dozen murders more than a quarter of a century ago.
Wayne Williams’ lawyers say the DNA tests were not available when Williams went to trial in 1982. Prosecutors agreed to the tests, saying they don’t believe the outcome will prove Williams was wrongfully convicted.
Williams was convicted of murdering Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, and Nathaniel Cater, 27, and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Their killings were two of 29 black slayings, mostly boys, in the Atlanta area between 1979 and 1981.
After the trial, officials declared Williams responsible for 22 other deaths, and closed those cases.
Williams maintains his innocence. His attorneys requested the DNA tests in hopes of winning Williams a new trial.
Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore ordered a comparison of animal hairs found on some of the victims to samples of hairs from the defendant’s dog. In Williams’ original trial, hairs found on some victims were found to be consistent with hairs removed from his family dog.
Additionally, human hair that was used as evidence will be compared to samples of Williams’ DNA. A car seat and clothing from two of the victims also will be analyzed.
It was not immediately known how long the tests would take.
Williams, who is black, has maintained that Atlanta officials covered up evidence of Ku Klux Klan involvement in the killings to avoid a race war in the city, a claim investigators have denied.
By Associated Press
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - Updated: 04:33 AM EST
ATLANTA - A judge on Monday ordered DNA testing of dog hair and other evidence used to convict a man linked to two dozen murders more than a quarter of a century ago.
Wayne Williams’ lawyers say the DNA tests were not available when Williams went to trial in 1982. Prosecutors agreed to the tests, saying they don’t believe the outcome will prove Williams was wrongfully convicted.
Williams was convicted of murdering Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, and Nathaniel Cater, 27, and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Their killings were two of 29 black slayings, mostly boys, in the Atlanta area between 1979 and 1981.
After the trial, officials declared Williams responsible for 22 other deaths, and closed those cases.
Williams maintains his innocence. His attorneys requested the DNA tests in hopes of winning Williams a new trial.
Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore ordered a comparison of animal hairs found on some of the victims to samples of hairs from the defendant’s dog. In Williams’ original trial, hairs found on some victims were found to be consistent with hairs removed from his family dog.
Additionally, human hair that was used as evidence will be compared to samples of Williams’ DNA. A car seat and clothing from two of the victims also will be analyzed.
It was not immediately known how long the tests would take.
Williams, who is black, has maintained that Atlanta officials covered up evidence of Ku Klux Klan involvement in the killings to avoid a race war in the city, a claim investigators have denied.