'West Memphis Three' freed

A judge has freed three men who have spent 18 years in prison for a notorious triple child murder in the US, while always maintaining their innocence.

The so-called West Memphis Three — Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. — were convicted of the killings of three eight-year-old cub scouts in the Robin Hood Hills of Arkansas in 1993.

They have been freed on a plea deal after 18 years in prison for the murders.

Echols, who was 18 at the time of the deaths, was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Baldwin, who was 16, and Misskelley, who was 17, were both given life jail sentences.

The young victims — Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and James Michael Moore — were left mutilated and bound, leading prosecutors to portray the killings as part of a “satanic cult” ritual.

Doubts have repeatedly been raised about the convictions from crime experts, campaigners, and even victims’ family members. Newly unearthed DNA evidence had prompted calls for a new trial.

It is thought a deal was agreed, involving an unusual legal manoeuvre in which the men will maintain their innocence but concede that prosecutors probably have enough evidence to convict them.

The so-called “Alford plea” is controversial and not allowed by many US judges. Kay Levine, a law lecturer at Emory University and former prosecutor, said it was an “incredibly troubling” device.

Christopher Byers’s adopted father, John Mark Byers, said he believed the West Memphis Three were innocent but stressed the plan would not satisfy anyone involved with the case.

“There’s certainly no justice for the three men that’s been in prison, or for my son and his two friends,” he said. “To me, this is just a cop-out from the state for not wanting to admit that they made a mistake.” Police investigating the killings focused their attention on Echols due to his interest in pagan witchcraft, and questioned Misskelley, a mentally challenged acquaintance.

Misskelley eventually confessed to the killings after a 12-hour interrogation, and implicated Echols and Baldwin. However, many parts of his account did not tally with facts known by police.

Media attention has been focused on their case by a series of HBO films, titled Paradise Lost, the third of which is still being made. Rock and punk groups have also raised money for their legal support.

Original report here




(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here