I came here after seeing the first two episodes of the HBO series. Will Packer did a great job producing this series. So many questions arose as I watched this, like what were the police thinking? Also, you see such a similar attitude by police today; black lives clearly don't matter and often times, law enforcement and their affinity with white supremacist groups is too close for comfort.
5 Reviews
Very well done.
TalulaGrey3 July 2019
This three part series was excellent. It's not about racist cops pinning murders on a black man. Wayne is guilty of perhaps some of the murders, but he isn't guilty of all of them. This is about re-opening all the evidence that was collected and retesting it. There are interviews from the families of the dead children, interviews from those who investigated the crimes. The series goes over the politics of investigating and prosecuting the crimes. This was a fascinating series and I do hope they do an update when all the evidence has been thoroughly tested.
In March 2019, " a surprise announcement, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that the city is re-examining evidence and facts from the Atlanta Child Murders - a crime spree that plagued families from 1971 to 1981 and took the lives of 29 African American children."
"For one Atlanta woman, Catherine Leach, the reexamination is just another step in the search for the truth, as she was never really convinced Williams was the one who killed her son, Curtis Walker."
"I want some justice. So that I can rest in peace," she explained. "I want to know who killed Curtis."
"Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said her goal is to make sure that all of the evidence in the case is sorted through properly, after it has sat untouched in evidence rooms for decades."
In March 2019, " a surprise announcement, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that the city is re-examining evidence and facts from the Atlanta Child Murders - a crime spree that plagued families from 1971 to 1981 and took the lives of 29 African American children."
"For one Atlanta woman, Catherine Leach, the reexamination is just another step in the search for the truth, as she was never really convinced Williams was the one who killed her son, Curtis Walker."
"I want some justice. So that I can rest in peace," she explained. "I want to know who killed Curtis."
"Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said her goal is to make sure that all of the evidence in the case is sorted through properly, after it has sat untouched in evidence rooms for decades."
Powerful Biopic
Wrapper3017 May 2020
Started watching this yesterday and finished in one sitting. Absolutely powerful and thought provoking.
I am full of admiration of these families. They always held their heads up high whilst different factions fought political games with their children's murders. That is the one positive dominating factor of this documentary. Yusef Bell's mother in particular is a woman full of courage and determination.
Always thought this conviction was less than watertight but having watching this brilliant mini series, I am convinced Wayne Williams has been the victim of a massive travesty of justice. He has been used as a scapegoat to "solve" the murders and prevent racial tensions erupting.
I am full of admiration of these families. They always held their heads up high whilst different factions fought political games with their children's murders. That is the one positive dominating factor of this documentary. Yusef Bell's mother in particular is a woman full of courage and determination.
Always thought this conviction was less than watertight but having watching this brilliant mini series, I am convinced Wayne Williams has been the victim of a massive travesty of justice. He has been used as a scapegoat to "solve" the murders and prevent racial tensions erupting.
Not very well done.
baoboa9 April 2020
After watching the 2020 version of this, I decided to watch this version to get the full story.. I made it about 10 minutes in and had to turn it off. The exact same racist blame game as the latest effort. All of Atlanta's problems, all of the crime, everything negative, is down to white America. How or why on earth HBO would promote this sort of garbage is beyond me. I guess with no more GOT or Sopranos or... they have nothing better to do with their time over there. This is a big fat fail.
An unfortunately dishonest, biased account of events.
srkbear20 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I fully expect backlash for my take on this, although my opinion that this documentary account is markedly skewed by identity politics in no way suggests racist objectives on my part or a lack of sympathy for the devastating ordeals the families, whose loved ones were savagely murdered, endured. Black Lives do indeed Matter-but Wayne Williams' life doesn't count.
The full, exhaustive weight of evidence incontrovertibly supports Mr. Williams, who is African American, as the perpetrator of the despicable rash of murders that terrorized the most vulnerable in the black community in Atlanta in the 70's. The lead investigator himself, who was black, is on record here and elsewhere that there was simply no evidence to support the suspicion, that understandably arose amongst people of color prior to the discovery of Williams as the lead suspect, that the Klan or other white supremacists were behind the killings. Even the brother of one of the murdered children clearly affirms that he saw Williams prior to the abduction of one of his friends-and is absolutely certain that he was the villain in this piece.
In every imaginable way, Williams indicted himself with his behavior prior to his being discovered, with the the evidence discovered during his apprehension (notably absent from this account), and from his bizarre actions as a suspect, during the trial, and to this day. Watch the other, more complete accounts of the events widely available on the major streaming services and decide for yourself, instead of having this crew, comprised of people of color who evidently have ulterior motives, spoon feed you a version designed to dishonestly fulfill a narrative that simply doesn't apply here, no matter how much it clearly applies otherwise.
The scientific data on serial murderers is also consistent with Williams' profile-the incidence of serial killers crossing racial lines is vanishingly rare, and it is extremely difficult to conclude that anyone but a member of their own community could walk in their midst committing such outrageous acts without arousing suspicion. Nor could anyone but Williams, with his familiarity as a character in the community, and his well-known, spurious promises of lucrative music careers to black youth living in public housing at the time, get close enough to apprehend all these kids without them running for the hills. Everyone in those neighborhoods was on high alert for suspicious men, as the killings quickly became well-known. They just didn't think one of their own could be suspicious-they were on the lookout for white hoods.
Sadly, the parents at the time, who had every right to suspect and to warn their kids about any suspicious white men themselves, unwittingly perpetuated the misdirection that allowed Williams to continue his spree of crimes unnoticed. That tragic oversight can certainly be viewed in retrospect as a cruel injustice. What is less forgivable are those in the community who still perpetuate that myth today, refusing to redirect their indignation towards considering, even for a second, that this time the evil did not arise from the white man, but instead from one of their own.
The full, exhaustive weight of evidence incontrovertibly supports Mr. Williams, who is African American, as the perpetrator of the despicable rash of murders that terrorized the most vulnerable in the black community in Atlanta in the 70's. The lead investigator himself, who was black, is on record here and elsewhere that there was simply no evidence to support the suspicion, that understandably arose amongst people of color prior to the discovery of Williams as the lead suspect, that the Klan or other white supremacists were behind the killings. Even the brother of one of the murdered children clearly affirms that he saw Williams prior to the abduction of one of his friends-and is absolutely certain that he was the villain in this piece.
In every imaginable way, Williams indicted himself with his behavior prior to his being discovered, with the the evidence discovered during his apprehension (notably absent from this account), and from his bizarre actions as a suspect, during the trial, and to this day. Watch the other, more complete accounts of the events widely available on the major streaming services and decide for yourself, instead of having this crew, comprised of people of color who evidently have ulterior motives, spoon feed you a version designed to dishonestly fulfill a narrative that simply doesn't apply here, no matter how much it clearly applies otherwise.
The scientific data on serial murderers is also consistent with Williams' profile-the incidence of serial killers crossing racial lines is vanishingly rare, and it is extremely difficult to conclude that anyone but a member of their own community could walk in their midst committing such outrageous acts without arousing suspicion. Nor could anyone but Williams, with his familiarity as a character in the community, and his well-known, spurious promises of lucrative music careers to black youth living in public housing at the time, get close enough to apprehend all these kids without them running for the hills. Everyone in those neighborhoods was on high alert for suspicious men, as the killings quickly became well-known. They just didn't think one of their own could be suspicious-they were on the lookout for white hoods.
Sadly, the parents at the time, who had every right to suspect and to warn their kids about any suspicious white men themselves, unwittingly perpetuated the misdirection that allowed Williams to continue his spree of crimes unnoticed. That tragic oversight can certainly be viewed in retrospect as a cruel injustice. What is less forgivable are those in the community who still perpetuate that myth today, refusing to redirect their indignation towards considering, even for a second, that this time the evil did not arise from the white man, but instead from one of their own.
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