Lawyers ask judge for DNA testing in Atlanta child killings cases

<p>Lawyers for convicted murderer Wayne Williams have asked a judge to let them perform DNA testing on dog and human hair and blood, looking for evidence that could exonerate Williams after nearly two decades.</p><p>Williams, 48, was convicted in 1982 in the killings of Nathaniel Cater, 27, and Jimmy Ray Payne, 21, and blamed for the deaths of another 22 children and young men _ collectively known as "The Atlanta Child Murders" _ that terrorized the city for two years.</p><p>Witnesses testified during his trial that Williams was seen with some of the victims, but he was convicted largely on fiber evidence. He has been appealing his case in federal court for years, but Williams' Atlanta attorney, Jack Martin, said Tuesday, the request for DNA testing is an effort to move the case forward.</p><p>In the filing Tuesday in Fulton County Superior Court, Martin asked to perform DNA tests on hair recovered from the clothing of Cater and Payne to compare it with dog hair recovered from Williams' German Shepherd dog, Sheba.</p><p>Martin also asked to test dog hair linking Williams to the nine murders he was not charged for that prosecutors used to establish a killing pattern during the trial.</p><p>Williams has maintained his innocence and is serving two life sentences for the deaths of Cater and Payne. In May 2005, former DeKalb County Police Chief Louis Graham reopened the five murder cases that took place in that county, but the investigation stalled and was discontinued after Graham resigned this year.</p><p>Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Tuesday he has not decided whether to oppose the request, which could take a few months.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cda2d4)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/11/111868