Morgan Freeman And James Earl Jones Led An All-Star Cast In This True-Crime Miniseries
Back in the 1980s, Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones starred in a gripping two-part dramatization of the infamous Atlanta Child Murders case.
In 1985, CBS broadcast a two-part miniseries titled "The Atlanta Child Murders," featuring a star-studded ensemble cast led by Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones. The miniseries recounted the chilling investigation into a series of over two dozen murders of Black children and adults in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1979 and 1981.
Freeman portrayed a fictional detective, while Jones played a fictional chief of police. Real-life individuals, including Rip Torn, Martin Sheen, Jason Robards, Gloria Foster, and Bill Paxton, also lent their talents to the production. The second half of the five-hour miniseries centered on the trial of Wayne Williams, who was convicted in 1982 for the murders of two adult victims.
Although Williams was not found guilty of the other alleged killings, DNA evidence later implicated him in 19 additional murders. Despite the resolution, the identity of the actual perpetrator remains a topic of debate. The production team behind "The Atlanta Child Murders" acknowledged the miniseries' liberal interpretation of events, issuing a disclaimer to address critics who accused the show of inaccuracies.
The Atlanta Child Murders have since been retold in various formats, including the 2000 Showtime film "Who Killed Atlanta's Children?" and the 2019 Netflix series "Mindhunter." In 2019, the Atlanta police launched a renewed investigation into the case, and HBO released a five-part documentary series in 2020, "Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children," exploring the crime and the new evidence that emerged.
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