Gangland: Death in Dixie TV - Herschel Walker - National Geographic magazine – Steven J Levitt & Stephen J Dubner - Judging Jewell TV - Dope 2017 - Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children TV -
The Big Family: LGF is a syndicate of five Hispanic street gangs: The Latin Kings, the Brown Side Locos, Maltidos 13, Pachucos 21 and the Riverside Locos. Each group has equal power and shares a common goal. Gangland s3e1: Death in Dixie, History 2008
The gangs of metropolitan Atlanta had no precise geographical boundaries. ibid.
Drugs, violence and murder. The LGF syndicate financed itself by selling dope. And in Atlanta there was no shortage of dope. ibid.
The influx of cash also financed LGF’s battles against their biggest threat – the other Hispanic gangs trying to muscle in on their drug turf like La Raza, North Side [Locos] 14 and the Sureňos. ibid.
The bigger the crime, the bigger the kudos. ibid.
They’re cyber criminals now. ibid.
Coming from a small town it was tough to dream big. When I grew up in a small town in Georgia, my biggest dream was one day to be able to go to Atlanta. Herschel Walker
For a sprawling city with the nation's ninth-largest metro area, Atlanta is surprisingly lush with trees – magnolias, dogwoods, Southern pines, and magnificent oaks. National Geographic magazine, naming Atlanta a ‘Place of a Lifetime’
A recent audit discovered that the police in Atlanta were radically under-reporting crime since the early 1990s. The practice apparently began when Atlanta was working to land the 1996 Olympics. The city needed to shed its violent image, and fast. Steven J Levitt & Stephen J Dubner, Freakonomics
‘Wednesday 31st July 1996: Special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are presently executing a federal search warrant.’ Judging Jewell ***** rozzers’ announcement ESPN short 2014
‘Richard Jewell’s mother’s apartment was searched and seized live on national television.’ ibid. commentator
‘Was there one bomb? Was there many?’ ibid.
‘Richard Jewell saved my life.’ ibid.
‘They talked about a security guard … seemed like the real hero in all this.’ ibid.
‘Guard’s alertness in park makes him an unexpected hero.’ ibid. newspaper article
‘The mood is one of suspicion.’ ibid.
‘And then it got ugly.’ ibid.
Jewell was unable to find employment in law enforcement for over a year. In 1997 he accepted a position with the police department in Luthersville GA, population 793. He was paid $8 an hour. ibid.
One of the largest heroin hubs in the US. Gangs are moving in and taking over. Bringing violence and a deadly new opioid to the streets of Atlanta. Dope s1e4: Feeling Rather Groovy Like a $2 Movie, Netflix 2017
The boom in Atlanta’s drug trade has caused a spike in violent crime. ibid.
There’s one product that’s always more lucrative than any other: heroin. ibid.
Bloods in other cities have started cutting their low-grade product with a deadly opioid – Fentanyl. ibid.
Fentanyl deaths are up 540% in the last three years. ibid.
Overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50. ibid.
The Atlanta child murders from 40 years ago are back in the headlines as investigators now plan to re-examine the evidence. The man detectives believe is responsible is serving two life sentences, but he has never been tried on any of the child murders. Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children I, HBO 2020
‘They shut the cases down two days after Wayne [Williams] was convicted.’ ibid.
‘When the Task Force was formed to look into these cases – that was a year into these cases, and the first question was, What cases are they looking into?’ Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children II, lawyer
A stunning turn of events as families of the Atlanta child murders gather to talk about the case. Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children III, news
He appeared to be learning. This was a killer whose behaviours changed based on experience. ibid. old dude
They [rozzers in wait] looked up on the bridge and they can see headlights moving very slowly. ibid. FBI agent
They released Wayne [Williams] to be hounded by media. ibid. Observer
28 December 1981: In Atlanta Wayne Williams goes on trial today charged with committing two of the 28 murders that terrorised that city. ibid. television news
12 Deaths Tied To Williams. Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children IV, The Atlanta Journal 23 January 1982
Fibres removed from the twelve victims were similar to those taken from the home and car of Wayne Williams. ibid. expert
Williams’ rage erupts in final day on stand. ibid. newspaper article
Williams guilty: All except 2 murder cases will be closed … He insists he’s innocent – gets 2 life sentences. ibid.
It was just junk science. ibid. defense dude
February 18 1981: Secret GBI investigation begins …. ‘of the Ku Klux Klan’s involvement in the killings … That evidence had never been presented to the defense.’ Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children V, defense dude
We had a pretty all-star team … The hearing was set in the old court room and the press were there: October 8 1991. ibid.
Don Saunders has to be the man whose name is blacked out in the FBI files … They’ve been trying to cover this up for forty years. ibid.
We had no idea whether they [fibres] came from crime scenes or whether they came from the crime lab itself. ibid. crime lab worker