Wayne Williams's Jail Interview with "Us" Magazine: Atlanta TV News Report, 1981

A 1981 Atlanta TV news report by Monica Kaufman on the interview Wayne Williams gave "Us" magazine from jail while awaiting trial, and on the sheriff's questions about how it happened.

Subject

Wayne Williams

Recorded

September 23, 1981

Runtime

2:04

Content warning: Concerns the Atlanta murders of 1979 to 1981, in which many of the victims were children; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a two-minute Atlanta television news report from September 1981 by reporter Monica Kaufman. It covers an interview with Wayne Williams published in "Us" magazine while he was in the Fulton County jail awaiting trial, and the questions it raised about how a writer had reached him. Williams himself is not heard. Every word in the video is Kaufman's: she summarizes the article, reads a short passage of his quoted words, and reports what the sheriff, the judge and Williams's attorney told her.

Historical Context

Between 1979 and 1981 a series of children, teenagers and young adults, almost all of them Black, were murdered or went missing in Atlanta. In May 1981 police on a stakeout at the James Jackson Parkway bridge over the Chattahoochee River stopped Williams, then 22, as he drove off the bridge; days later the body of Nathaniel Cater was found in the river. Williams was arrested in June 1981 and charged with Cater's murder, and in July 1981 he was indicted for the murders of two adult men, Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne. At the time of this report he had not yet been tried.

Circumstances of the Report

According to the report, the magazine said its interview was conducted at the jail and promised a second installment. Fulton County Sheriff LeRoy Stynchcombe told Kaufman that no jail staff had let anyone interview Williams. He said only the district attorney's office, Williams's parents, his attorneys and defense workers approved by them could see him, about six people in all, and that he was giving their names to Judge Clarence Cooper, who was hearing the case. The judge declined to comment.

What the Report Covers

As Kaufman summarizes the article, Williams criticized police conduct from the night he was stopped on the bridge, called the FBI "Keystone Cops", compared Atlanta police to the television comedy "Car 54, Where Are You?", and said he was a scapegoat for an investigation that had to justify the money spent on it. He said the FBI had tried to turn him against his parents by telling him they had implicated him, and he repeated that he was innocent and did not know the two men he was charged with killing. Attorney Mary Welcome would not say whether she had authorized the interview or been present, but said Williams received no payment and that, as far as she knew, he was not under a gag order.

What Makes the Recording Significant

The report records Williams's public position in the months before his trial, at second hand, and the authorities' concern over a defendant in a closely watched case speaking to the national press from jail.

Archival Importance

Williams was convicted of the Cater and Payne murders in February 1982, and police then attributed many of the Atlanta child murders to him without charging him; he has maintained his innocence since his arrest. This report is contemporary local coverage from the pretrial period, preserving how his first public account was received in Atlanta.

Important Caveats

Williams is not heard in this video; his words are quoted and paraphrased by the reporter from the magazine article, and everything he says about the investigation and his innocence is his claim. The uploader's title implies he speaks and calls the magazine "Us Weekly"; in 1981 it was "Us". The station, the exact date and the magazine issue have not been verified. The jury later convicted him of the murders of two adult men; the child murders attributed to him were never tried.

Reporter: The story is headlined on the cover, but it's what is inside that is bound to raise a few hackles. Williams is highly critical of police conduct, beginning with the night he was stopped and questioned on a bridge over the Chattahoochee River. The two men he's charged with killing were found a short time later in the river. Williams calls the FBI Keystone Cops and compares Atlanta police to "Car 54, Where Are You?" He says he is a scapegoat, that somebody has to be caught because of the federal and local money put into the investigation. He told the writer, "It's a matter of justifying money. When you get all this money and you don't do anything with it, people start to ask questions. At some point you've got to answer for it. I feel that I'm the scapegoat."

Reporter: Williams said the FBI brought him in for accusations and not questioning, as they said. He said they tried to pit him against his parents. He said he was told his parents confessed he was part of the child killings. In the article, Williams again said he is innocent, and even says he did not know the two he is charged with killing, Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne. The magazine promises a second installment in the interview they say was conducted at the jail.

Reporter: But how did that interview happen? Fulton County Sheriff LeRoy Stynchcombe told me tonight no jail personnel let anyone interview Williams, and he wants to know how it happened too. He told me he isn't pointing fingers, but says the only people allowed to see Williams are the DA's office, Williams's parents, Williams's attorneys, and people working on the defense who were approved by Williams's attorneys. Stynchcombe says there are about six of them, and he's giving those names to Judge Clarence Cooper this morning. Cooper is hearing the case, and he told me he'll have no comment until later, if then.

Reporter: Attorney Mary Welcome would only say she knew about the article, but she wouldn't say if she authorized the interview, nor would she say if she was there when it took place. She did say Wayne Williams received no payment for the article. As for how Judge Clarence Cooper might react to all this, she told me, "As far as I know, Wayne is not gagged." We'll hear more about this later. This is Monica Kaufman. [02:02 to 02:04: no speech in either machine source; clip ends.] ---