Atlanta child murders suspect denied parole

ATLANTA – A man considered the main suspect in a string of killings of black children and young adults in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s has been denied parole.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles made the decision last month in the case of 61-year-old Wayne Williams. The more than two dozen killings, mostly of black boys, terrorized the city from 1979 to 1981.

Williams was sentenced in 1982 to serve two life prison sentences after being convicted of murder in the killings of two adults. While authorities blamed him for the other killings, he was never charged.

A Nov. 20 parole board letter to Williams says he hasn’t served enough time given the “nature and circumstances” of his offences. The board set his next parole consideration for November 2027.