Wayne Williams is now in his mid-sixties and remains incarcerated in the Georgia state prison system, where he is serving two consecutive life sentences for the 1982 convictions in the killings of two young men during the Atlanta child murders. He was most recently denied parole in November 2019, and his next parole consideration is scheduled for November 2027.1Fox 5 Atlanta. Board Denies Parole for Wayne Williams, Atlanta Child Murders Suspect He has maintained his innocence for more than four decades.
What He Was Convicted Of
Williams was charged with and convicted of two murders, both of adults, not children. The victims were Nathaniel Cater, 28, whose body was recovered from the Chattahoochee River on May 24, 1981, and Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, found in the river on April 27, 1981. Both died of asphyxia.2Justia. Williams v. State, 251 Ga. 749
On February 27, 1982, a jury of nine women and three men found him guilty on both counts, and he received two consecutive life terms. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the conviction on December 5, 1983.2Justia. Williams v. State, 251 Ga. 7493FBI. Wayne Williams and the Atlanta Child Murders4CNN. Atlanta Murders Victims
Parole History and the 2019 Denial
Williams became eligible for parole in the late 1980s and has been turned down repeatedly. He was denied four times between 1988 and 2005.5GPB News. Atlanta Child Murders Suspect Denied Parole
His most recent hearing took place in late 2019. In a letter dated November 20, 2019, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles told Williams there had been an “insufficient amount of time served to date given the nature and circumstances of your offense(s).” The board set his next consideration for November 2027, the maximum eight-year interval allowed under Georgia parole rules.1Fox 5 Atlanta. Board Denies Parole for Wayne Williams, Atlanta Child Murders Suspect Until that hearing, parole is not a route out.
Decades of Appeals
Williams has pursued post-conviction relief for most of his time in prison. Lead prosecutor Jack Mallard said Williams spent roughly 35 years going to court, and “every court that he has gone to has denied him.”613News Now. Atlanta Child Murders: Wayne Williams Hopes for Appeal
In 2007, at the request of his legal team, DNA testing was conducted on seven animal hairs recovered from crime scenes. The results confirmed the hairs matched Sheba, Williams’s German Shepherd, reinforcing the original fiber evidence rather than undermining it.613News Now. Atlanta Child Murders: Wayne Williams Hopes for Appeal
A different opening appeared in 2015, when the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General identified 13 FBI hair-analysis examiners whose work may have fallen below professional standards. One or more had been involved in Williams’s prosecution. His attorney, Lynn Whatley, prepared a new appeal on that basis. The Fulton County District Attorney’s office reviewed the forensic evidence and concluded it was “not material to the verdict and indeed was not even used as evidence in the case.”613News Now. Atlanta Child Murders: Wayne Williams Hopes for Appeal
In 2005, Williams’s defense attorneys sought access to 20-year-old wiretaps on Ku Klux Klan members, hoping to investigate a long-standing theory that Klan members may have been responsible for some of the murders.7NPR. Klan Tapes Sought by Williams Defense
The 2019 Reopened Investigation and DNA Retesting
The one active development that could affect Williams’s situation is a fresh look at the underlying evidence. In March 2019, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced a new examination of the child murder cases after meeting with Catherine Leach-Bell, mother of 13-year-old victim Curtis Walker, and other relatives seeking answers about cases closed without charges.8Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta Mayor Announces New Look at Atlanta Child Murders
A joint task force was assembled from the Atlanta Police Department, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators expanded the timeline under review from the original 1979–1981 window to 1970 through 1985, looking at 30 cases in all. They reviewed an estimated 40 percent of collected evidence to identify items suitable for modern testing and reanalyzed fiber evidence across all 30 cases. DNA was successfully extracted from evidence in two of the child murder cases.9CNN. Atlanta Child Murders DNA
In October 2021, the Atlanta Police Department hand-delivered decades-old evidence to Sorenson Forensics, a private laboratory in Draper, Utah, that specializes in analyzing deteriorated DNA.10WABE. Retesting of Decades-Old DNA Evidence Is Underway As of late 2022, no results from the Utah lab had been made public. A Sorenson Forensics employee told reporters the lab could not divulge any information on the progress or confirmation of any testing.11Rough Draft Atlanta. Utah Lab Not Discussing Atlanta Child Murders Progress No subsequent public announcement of findings has been reported.
What Comes Next
Williams remains in Georgia state custody and continues to assert his innocence, as he has since his 1981 arrest.12New Georgia Encyclopedia. Atlanta Youth Murders13Vulture. Mindhunter Atlanta Child Murders True Story
None of that has changed his legal status. He was convicted of two murders, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, every court he has approached since has denied him, and the parole board has told him he has not yet served enough time. Barring a successful appeal or an unexpected development from the DNA retesting, the next moment that could move his case is the November 2027 parole hearing.