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DNA Testing of Dog Hair Permitted in Atlanta Slayings Case
Lawyers in the case of convicted felon Wayne Williams—accused of murdering two dozen young men and children in the 1970s and 80s—have agreed to permit DNA testing of dog hair that helped put Williams behind bars.
This decision is in response to a motion filed by Williams’ to appeal his murder conviction and life sentence.
While the attorneys have no objections to the DNA tests, they claim it “would not change the results of this trial. Defendant cannot show that DNA tests, no matter what the results, would create a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different at the time of trial.”
DNA May Prove Innocence
However, Jack Martin, Williams’ defense lawyer, believes that DNA testing of the hair and blood may help win a retrial. “We just want to see what the testing shows and we’ll argue about what it means later,” he said.
During Williams’ original trial in the early 1980s, dog hairs that were found on the bodies of most of the victims were consistent with hairs taken from Williams’ family dog. Most of the entire case was based around the analysis of the hair evidence.
“It’s odd that they should claim the dog hair evidence doesn’t make any difference when they made such a big deal about it at trial,” said Martin.
Williams—who is African American—has maintained his innocence and argues that he was framed by officials covering the Ku Klux Klan involvement in an effort to avoid racial conflict in Atlanta.
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