ATLANTA — The Atlanta Child Murders are back in the national spotlight after HBO Documentary Films announced it will air a five-part series focused on the cases.
The project, "Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children," will feature victims’ families and examine court documents, according to HBO's website. The docuseries will also look at the racial tensions that impacted Atlanta during that time period.
Twenty-nine African-American children were killed from 1979 to 1981. Last year, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that investigators from the Atlanta Police Department would be re-examining evidence in the nationally-recognized case.
One man, Wayne Williams, has been named as the man behind the murders, but his guilt is still widely debated. Williams was only convicted of killing two adult men. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1982 but has always maintained his innocence.
The Atlanta Child Murders are considered a black eye to the city’s storied history.
Many critics look at the past and insist that elements of the crime spree which terrified the community for more than two years were never solved.
In 2019, a task force was created to come up with a way to acknowledge the lives lost. The city unveiled a series of portraits memorializing the victims in January. The work of several artists was put on display at Mayor's Gallery at City Hall for several weeks.
The winning portrait artist, Dwayne Mitchell, will have his work displayed in the Atrium of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport from May 28 through July 22.
Another tribute, the Atlanta Children's Memorial Eternal Flame, will be placed on the grounds of Atlanta City Hall.
According to its website, the series was produced by a team at Show of Force, including Joshua Bennett, Maro Chermayeff and Jeff Dupre. Sam Pollard is also named as one of the producers.
The project was executive produced by Patrick Reardon of Roc Nation and by a team at Get Lifted Film Co., Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius and John Legend.
The HBO five-part documentary series, "Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children" will premiere on April 5.
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