Atlanta mayor announces Atlanta Children's Memorial Taskforce
ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Wednesday the names of the members of her taskforce who will look into the Atlanta Child Murders.
The Mayor’s Advisory Committee: Atlanta Children’s Memorial Taskforce is comprised of 13 people, including several who were parents of the victims.
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“It is important for Atlanta to acknowledge the innocent lives lost during one of our city’s darkest hours,” Mayor Bottoms said in a statement sent to FOX 5 News. “This taskforce will determine a lasting and appropriate tribute for the victims and their families, and serve as a testament that those lives mattered. That African American lives matter.”
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Those appointed to the taskforce are:
- Frank Ski, Chair
- Catherine Leach, Vice Chair
- Sheila Balthazar
- Anthony Terrell
- Andrea Boone
- Valerie Jackson
- Rev. Darrell Elligan
- Carolyn Long Banks
- Joe Drolet
- Karen Graham
- Michael Langford
- Brenda Muhammad
- Will Packer
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“It is my honor to serve as Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee: Atlanta Children’s Memorial Taskforce as we work to appropriately pay our respect and honor to the victims and families so affected by the Atlanta Child Murders,” taskforce Chair Frank Ski said in a statement sent to FOX 5 News. “We hope to create a space that not only allows for grieving and healing but also for peace and hope in remembrance of the young lives lost.”
The mayor’s office said the taskforce will begin work within the next month and a half and will meet frequently. A formal report is expected within six months.
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On March 21, Bottoms announced in a news conference that Atlanta Police would take a "fresh look" at the case. Since late March, a new hotline for the murders has netted 16 calls with information that detectives are investigating.
Between 1979 and 1981, more than 28 people, mostly children, were found dead or declared missing. Wayne Williams was convicted of the murders of two adults and tied to 10 of the murders in court. He recently asserted his innocence again in all the cases and has not been indicted for the murders of any of the children.
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