DNA Results Could Mean New Trial for West Memphis Three
New Results are "Significant"
Damien Echols had been on the law enforcement radar since a minor brush with juvenile authorities. In the conservative Bible Belt town, Echols' black clothing and long black hair marked him as an outsider. Echols was questioned about the deaths, but detectives had no evidence tying him to the crime and he was released.
One month after the murders, local police were faced with increasing pressure to make an arrest. When mentally handicapped seventeen year old Jesse Miskelley came forward claiming to have information implicating Echols, he was questioned for 12 hours without the benefit of a parent or a lawyer present. At the end of the lengthy interrogation, he gave an error-filled confession that implicated not only Echols, but himself and a third local teenager, Jason Baldwin. Miskelley immediately recanted the confession, but to no avail.
In spite of the numerous inconsistencies in Miskelley's confession, including the time of day that the murders occurred and how the children were bound, Miskelley, Echols and Baldwin were arrested and charged with three counts of murder. Rumors of a satanic cult swirled around the town, along with the idea that the children were slaughtered in a ritual sacrifice.
All three teens were convicted based on Miskelley's confession, Echols' love of Metallica and Stephen King books and Baldwin's collection of black t-shirts. No physical evidence was ever found that could link the teens to the murders. Evidence that could have pointed to a different killer, including blood left behind the night of the murders by a bloody, disheveled black man who stumbled into a local restaurant, were lost by the West Memphis Police Department.
The case should have ended with the convictions, but the HBO documentary "Paradise Lost" caused a nationwide stir. Echols' waits on death row while lawyers, celebrities and everyday people work to save him. Baldwin and Miskelley are serving life sentences as they wait on the outcome of Echols' appeals.
The case has languished in Arkansas courts for over a decade. Echols recently exhausted all of his state level appeals and is now working his way through the federal courts, hoping for a new trial, but DNA technology, which was still in its infancy at the time of the murders, is providing new hope for the three young men who have become known as the West Memphis Three.
After years of legal wrangling, Echols' layers and West Memphis prosecutors agreed to DNA testing of over 180 items. After a two year wait, the DNA results are being completed and according to Dennis Riordan, Echols' attorney, the results are "significant." Lawyers from both sides are keeping quiet about what the results show, but supporters believe DNA testing could guarantee Echols, Baldwin and Miskelley a new trial.
Published by Kari Livingston
Kari Livingston is a freelancer writer living and loving life in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks. She specializes in local restaurants, attractions and family events. Her work has appeared on HubPages,... View profile
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266 Comments
Post a CommentIf you now try to convict the system they will never get out. Just try to get them "time served." no one at fault and no lawsuits. They can make money by interviews, writing books and movies. i feel they r inocient but I also feel this is the only way 2 get them out.
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I find it so hard to understand that the WM3 have found themselves wrongfully convicted of such a horrible crime when the evidence is clearly pointing in another direction or where there is no evidence at all. I think it is time that we right this wrong and free them
if it is a crime to torture and murder 3 innocent boys in memphis well it is also a crime to let the investigation of other avenues drag on for years because the wmpd dont want their botched investigation to become aired all over again...well who gives a shit??? for all people involved in this case i am pretty sure that they would just like to put it to bed.so if some antiquated law hinders the investigation or stops police from investigating the likes of that deadshit byers CHANGE THE F>>>>>G LAW for gods sake.if the govt isnt getting enough taxes for something they change it to suit there needs... whats stopping them from deciding that this 200 year old law dosent work in this day and age lets change it.oops im sorry that is just too damn logical for the shiny bums in office. but if it proves the west memphis 3 are innocent or guilty it will be worth it
I Hope those boys get a fair shot they deserve it and if I was a prosecuting attorney I would try to find connections to Mark Byers and Todd Hobbs back in 1993 I think they BOTH are involved. Byers for no apparent reason has not one tooth left hum raises questions in my mind (why didn't law inforcement take any dental impressions of ALL the parents right after the murder they would NOW wouldn't they especially if their is visable trama/marks on a child).Then Todd Hobbs Hair being found in the shoe laces, take a DNA sample from that man RIGHT NOW and lets conclude this matter and get those poor boys out, I mean how many of them have to loose their lives. Also the botched police work with the unidentified black male, you mean to tell me your police force couldn't hold onto evidence you don't deserve to convict anyone with that shotty police work. I do hope for the families who are still with us closure but 9 times out of 10 this sort of crime is closer to home FAMILY MEMBER or next door
Free The WM3!!!
I'm so glad you emphasized the BLOOD COVERED TRANSIENT WHO ENTERED A PUBLIC PLACE IN FRONT OF WITNESSES!!!!! I really feel badly for these poor men who basically lost their childhoods because of this case.
God bless you for reporting this.
lmao
this case is amazing in its twists and turns.......the bottom line being.... as always..... CRY FREEDOM CRY!