Johnny Depp Supports the West Memphis Three

The West Memphis Three refers to a group of three young men who were accused of the brutal killings of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. The three young men involved are: Damien Echlos, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin. These three young men have been found guilty of killing three eight year old boys in a bizarre satanic ritual located in West Memphis, Arkansas in May of 1993. Echlos is the only one of the three young men to be facing the death penalty in the killings. Echlos was the only one old enough to face the death penalty and who did not give the police a confession. Johnny Depp has joined many celebrities in the case to show these three young men are not guilty.

From the beginning, there were questions in the case. Reports of other people who may have been involved in the case were largely ignored. On the evening the eight year old boys disappeared, a dazed and confused looking black male entered a Bojangles restaurant located about a mile from the crime scene. It took 45 minutes for a call to be made to the police and no one entered the bathroom on the date this incident occurred. The following day, the report was made that the three little boys were killed and only on the second call to authorities did the police return to the bathroom to take evidence.

The problem was the police wore the same clothes to take evidence at the Bojangles restaurant as they did at the Robin Hood Hills murder scene. Evidence contamination became a very real possibility. The blood scrapings from the walls of the bathroom were later lost and an African-American hair was found on one of the sheets used to wrap one of the victims. With so many mistakes made in the case, is it any wonder celebrities such as Wynona Ryder and Johnny Depp doubt the West Memphis Three are guilty?

The creek where the three young boys were found may have been compromised as well. Evidence in the creek was not preserved and some blood found was not tested. Mistakes abound in this case so many celebrities, such as Wynona Ryder, Marilyn Manson, and Johnny Depp have came forth to show their feelings about the case being a miscarriage of justice.

Much evidence toward the young men in question as perpetrators came from an initial statement of guilt from Jesse Misskelley Jr. who was tested though he has a 72 IQ level of moderate retardation. People who have low IQ levels are easily suggestible. Though Misskelley later retracted his confession, it remains as a matter of record.

Many people suspect the stepfather of victim Christopher Byers, named John Mark Byers, was somehow involved with the murders. During the filming of Paradise Lost, Byers gave a knife to a cameraman that later showed some signs of blood on it in spite of Byers' claim it had never been used. This goes along with the theory of killers keeping souvenirs from the killings of their victims and perhaps Byers kept the knife for that reason. Perhaps the knife was given for a thank you present as Byers claimed it was and he forgot it was used. Byers' behavior in the case was somewhat bizarre and it has led many to speculate he may have been involved in the killings of the West Memphis boys.

Fourteen years after the murders, DNA evidence was able to be examined and none found matched the three accused of the murders. Even in 2007, John Mark Byers himself announced he believes Echlos, Misskelley, and Baldwin are innocent. Teeth marks were found on one of the boys and it is interesting that around that same time John Mark Byers went from natural teeth to dentures so his teeth could not be compared to the bite marks.

The West Memphis Three case has garnered a lot of celebrity attention with Johnny Depp being one of the most recent to take up the cause. Winona Ryder has long been a supporter of their innocence. Artists have created albums to sell to raise funds for the support of the West Memphis Three who came from financially poor families.

As someone who lives near West Memphis, the murders of these boys were such a shock to the community. Outrage demanded the police find who killed the children and we were impatient to know who did it. As a result, the wrong people may be imprisoned. Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Steve Branch lost their lives while living a true nightmare. These eight year old little boys would now be grown men possibly with children of their own. All avenues should be explored to find out who committed this horrible crime before lethal injection of one of the three supposed perpetrators is allowed. There is not a soul around the West Memphis, Arkansas area who was old enough to form memories in 1993 and does not remember this case. It is well past time for it to be solved but not at the expense of killing innocent people who were not long out of childhood themselves when the murders happened. Perhaps Hollywood celebrities such as Johnny Depp have the right idea this time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Memphis_Three

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-johnny-depp-justice.html