bshawstrell Review of The Atlanta Child Murders

The Atlanta Child Murders (1985)

Mistakes were made but this movie blatantly misrepresents facts. WW is guilty.

[3/10 · 16 January 2019]

Please correct me if I'm wrong here but man, they really misrepresented the climactic court scene in this movie, from everything that Ive read about the case, that's pretty unforgivable imo. The movie leads up to the moment in court where WW loses his cool, drops the whole 'shy, feeble, victim act' and reveals his true self-full of rage and vengeance, someone who, yeah, in this state, not only had the temperament to commit violence, but absolutely could throw a grown man over a tall guard rail. Also we're told he revealed his authentic self here bc his attorney (who was doing amazingly up-to-this-point) picked this critical point to suddenly turn into a rookie litigator? BUZZZZZZ!!! WRONG. SORRY! Didn't happen like that. From every account I have read, His attorney advised him, like any fractionally competent litigator would, TO NOT TESTIFY. They do that for THE EXACT REASON THAT HAPPENS HERE. Best case scenario, your behavior and testimony reaffirms the jurors' belief that you are innocent. Worst case scenario: You mess up, the prosecution makes you crack, and you reveal to the jury you're someone prone to violent fits of rage. His fate was sealed there. And from what Ive read from the FBI reports, not newspaper reports, WW really did have a Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde moment in that court room. Apparently it wasn't just him sternly objecting to leading questions. Apparently, when pressed about his failures and inadequacies he stood up and rather threatening and violently castigated the prosecution and proclaimed "You wanted to see the real Wayne Williams, WHERE HE IS! ((paraphrased)) IMO it's pretty clear when you know all the facts that he's, at least guilty of some of those murders. And not a small number either. He's a classic malignant narcissist-thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. Pretty poetic, if you ask me, that in the end, it's his stupid, selfish decision to take the stand that sinks him. *I'd like to add a note that the police, DA,ution, and Mayor's office didn't do themselves any favors in the end by employing all those dirty tricks they felt they needed to win. The evidence wasn't perfect, but there was enough to convict. And there were legitimate, cross referenced witness accounts and testimonies that didn't make it into the movie. There were kids who told the police WW made threats to them and pretended like he was someone who could lock them up if they didn't stop misbehaving. There were a couple other credible witnesses either glanced over or not mentioned. They also never mentioned his past arrest for impersonating an officer and how that's a classic ruse to entrap kids. Also, there actually was one sketch that apparently looked a lot like WW, just without glasses, but that was misrepresented for some reason. He also backed himself into a lot of corners where he had absolutely no reasonable explanations and changed his story and flat out lied throughout apprehension, interrogation, and the trial and that was basically all ignored. The man is guilty. They tested DNA in like 2010 found on one of the boys and it matched WW to like, a 98 percentile degree. None of the fiber evidence has been rebuked. He still has no rational explanation for why he was on the bridge that day or why he stopped to get out of the car. All of behavioral and psychological markers that FBI experts use to categorize and identify serial killers pretty much fit WW to a T. Hes a narcissist. He's a loner. He, at best, has a complicated sexual history. He was raised by extremely overprotective, overbearing parents-an indicator specifically of child serial killers. His murders fit the murder profile of someone who lives at home and doesn't have the privacy or luxury of time to spend with his victims; So in order to keep killing but not get caught his murders are quick and clean. No mess for his parents to stumble across and no murder weapon to identify. I could go on, including his job history and how that indicates guilt, but I'll spare you. He did it. I understand the parents pov too, though. The prosecution cast their precious children as poor, unsophisticated hoodlums because that's almost certainly how WW saw them bc they reminded him of the kids in his neighborhood who made fun of him and were a constant reminder of his failures, especially as a radio DJ and how that was a large reason his family was forced to live in a poorer neighborhood. And WW, being a textbook narcissist, could not stand being ridiculed and how powerless that made him feel. With these sickos, it's all about power, manipulation, and control. And in the end, the only time IN HIS LIFE where he felt completely powerful and in control, was when he was killing those kids. CASE CLOSED.