'West Memphis Three' Freed After 18 Years

Source: ABC News

The 18-year ordeal of the so-called West Memphis Three ended today in an Arkansas courtroom after a judge accepted a plea to set them free.

The three men will be allowed to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have the evidence to convict them, according to the Associated Press.

It is a legal maneuver that would allow the men to leave prison for the first time in more than a dozen years. They have always maintained their innocence.

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were convicted in the 1993 deaths of three 8-year-old boys from West Memphis, Ark.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/west-memphis-freed-18-years-dna-evidence-feeds/story?id=14340244

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At last, a miscarriage of justice corrected, even if 18 years too late.

I mean honestly, questions about this were raised not only at the trial but when this case became very high profile in the media and among celebrities and the music community about 10 years ago. What happened recently to change this?

I just hope they don't give up on finding the REAL killer

The WM3 attorneys are the ones who wanted the plea deals instead of going to trial in December.

Here is the prosecutors press conference statement
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2011/08/19/prosecutors-statement-on-west-memphis-3-plea-deal

...I can't imagine what serving 18 years for something you didn't does to a person's mindset....white-hot anger is what comes to mind....and then to have to plead guilty to cover up for the errors and incompetence of the prosection would make it even worse...

I saw the documentary, "Paradise Lost" 12-15 years ago, I believe? Unbelievable. It appears there was a monstrous miscarriage of justice. I would be very curious to really know who did it.

And apparently HBO was already working on part 3 when this news came out.

has it been that long?:scared:

they went in as kids, now they are men. I hope for the best for all three.

from friends who live in Jonesboro. They have both done a lot to help.

They can maintain their innocence while at the same time prosecutors have evidence to convict them (aka we didn't do it yet evidence is clear that we did)? Can't be innocent and guilty at the same time. 18 years of hell still in vain.

This deal basically lets the state off scot free for what happened, letting the 3 men go free but with them "admitting" that while they are innocent the state has enough "evidence" to convict so no wrongdoing.

One lawyer is saying that the state of Arkansas, knowing its back was up against the wall, basically threatened to carry out Damien's execution if the lawyers didn't take this deal instead of pushing for one that could have left the state viable.

I read that part of the plea deal involves the defendants' not being able to file a civil claim against the state.

Hmmmm... makes you wonder, doesn't it???!!!

This is all very scary to me. Think of the years wasted! And the state would have been willing to execute a man that they've now set free! Amazing to me what people will do not to look bad.

The trials were a sham, and they took advantage Misskelley's, shall we say mentally challenged state, to coerce a confession, all w/in the context of satanic paranoia and goth culture prejudice.

Source: ABC News

"The 18-year ordeal of the so-called West Memphis Three ended today in an Arkansas courtroom after a judge accepted a plea to set them free.

The three men will be allowed to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have the evidence to convict them, according to the Associated Press.

It is a legal maneuver that would allow the men to leave prison for the first time in more than a dozen years. They have always maintained their innocence."


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/west-memphis-freed-18-years-dna-evidence-feeds/story?id=14340244

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One of the many cases that illustrates a severe problem with the culture of the justice system in this country. I'm glad they are free but they deserve to be exonerated.

ranting about how these "killers" got off because of Hollywood backing. Families of victims often buy completely into the prosecution's case, and can't accept these outcomes, no matter how obvious. The real shame is that the person(s) who did this horrible thing are still free .

about their guilt. I think things will turn around for all of them, eventually.

in a court of law.

photo. Thanks for sharing.

news. :toast:

I fear for the safety of the 3 if they stay in the West Memphis area.

if she doesn't focus on the missing blonde in Aruba.

people who accused them of Satanism and started a real witch hunt. The police totally screwed up the investigation. I mean, if there's a murder in the area, who ignores the complaint of a local restaurant of finding a blood covered, disoriented man in the ladies' loo?

The whole thing was bizarre. I hope those guys sue and get enough money to restart their lives.

to police and other officials.

The Three don't have to admit they were guilty in exchange for being released
The prosecution is spared the expense and humiliation of losing a re-trial
The state of Arkansas cannot be sued for judicial malpractice since the Three concede that the prosecutor had the evidence to convict them
The police are no longer obligated to look for the real killer

:eyes:
rocktivity

The plead guilty instead. I do believe they are guilty as they have plead so.

Try again with these lies and distortions.

not to grant a new trial.

As should be obvious, an evidentiary hearing is not a new trial, yes?

So, the poster I was responding to did in fact post something untrue, either through a malicious intent to deceive, or through appalling ignorance of either the case, or legal processes, or both.

Appeals are only dealing with misconduct in the investigation or prosecution.

An evidentiary hearing was scheduled for 12/05.

Decided they could even get a retrial?

I have spent a lot of time learning about this case. Reading court transcripts, books from both sides, interviews, etc. and this was a great miscarriage of justice. There was no physical evidence linking any of these 3 to the murders. There was only lies from people who were of afraid of young people dressing in black and listening to heavy metal music. The "confession" from Jessie was after hours and hours of the police questioning a minor with a 70 IQ without a parent. He changed his story over and over to try to make the police happy. He gave them info that was incorrect, time, place, details and then the police feed him info and he changed his story. The Judge allowed "witnesses" and "evidence" that should have never been allowed. One women claimed the Damien picked her up in his car and drove her to a "satanic gathering" when Damien did not have a car or even know how to drive. The women later admitted she made it all up. There is DNA that is linked to family members of the boys that were murdered, but none linking Damien, Jason, or Jessie. I do understand why they took this plea, they have been in prison for 17 years for a crime they did not commit.

Here is the confession from Feb 8, 1994

http://callahan.8k.com/images3/jm_2_8_94_statement/

taken over a decade. And, the outcome "freedom" was not guaranteed. In spite of this, Jason Baldwin almost refused the deal. He didn't want any suggestion of guilt following him, because he's innocent.

I am glad they are free. I think it sucks, however, that they had to enter into a plea agreement stating that they are guilty and that the state initially had the evidence to convict just so the state could avoid being sued. AAAHHHH......Justice.

says they did not plead guilty, they maintain that they are innocent, just that a trial might find them guilty. I wish they would be able to find them innocent, and actually try to find the real killer(s), but the police, prosecutor, etc. will not admit they were wrong.

Have you actually looked at the so called evidence against the three young men? Do you know that there is no DNA evidence linking the three to the murders, but linking others? Do you think you might agree this after 17 years in prison for a crime you did not commit?

You won't get anywhere.

Some people believe, for some strange reason, that anyone arrested deserves the arrest ("Or else they wouldn't have been arrested"), anyone in jail deserves to be in jail ("they wouldn't be in jail if they didn't do something"), and anyone who makes a guilty plea actually did the thing they're pleading guilty to ("they wouldn't plead guilty and admit to a crime if they didn't know they were caught and couldn't wiggle out of it").

You simply cannot argue with these people. You can cite case after case after case and they'll believe it's all just technicalities. They are deep Authoritarian Follower personality types, and the only way to minimize their impact is to be on guard against them and make certain, by means fair or foul, that they never, ever obtain even the slightest authority in any position, be it in business or government.

It's over for the three, from a legal standpoint.

Source: Arkansas Times

Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington of Jonesboro issued this prepared statement following today's plea bargain that freed the West Memphis 3 murder defendants:

Some are happy, some are angry, and others are perplexed. Such is the case at the conclusion of every trial. This one is no different.
Just moments ago Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. pled guilty to the murders of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.

Echols and Baldwin stand convicted of three counts of Murder in the First Degree. Misskelley stands convicted of one count of First Degree Murder, and two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, thereby affirming the verdicts the two juries handed down seventeen years ago.

A 2010 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling brought to light the very real scenario that each of the defendants could likely receive a new trial. I believe that allegations of misconduct on behalf of a juror in the Echols-Baldwin trial would likely result in a new trial being ordered either by the circuit court or federal court. I further believe it would be practically impossible to put on a proper case against the defendants in this particular case after eighteen years of extended litigation. Even if the State were to prevail in a new trial, sentences could be different and the appeals process would begin all over again.

Read more: http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2011/08/19/prosecutors-statement-on-west-memphis-3-plea-deal

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I don't know why everyone is cheering about this. The three guys plead guilty to murdering and mutilating 3 little boys. The reason they are being released is not because they are innocent, but because they served their time. They will have 10-years of parole to complete.

I guess the victims have been forgotten in all of the this.

after 18 years of time served. Find me another case in recent memory where somebody convicted of three first-degree (child!) murders was released after 18 years for "time served." Please.

Gimme a break.

What happened here is very clear: the prosecutors threatened years more litigation, or presented a get out of jail card. The men took the deal rather than face more years inside - where, incidentally, one of them had a death sentence hanging over his head. The only reason the deal was offered was to save the face of the prosecutors and police, and to save the state from exposure to a sure and costly wrongful conviction lawsuit.

People are cheering because these three men are factually innocent, and the state has all but admitted it in their ludicrous, extortionary plea offer.

The prosecutors knew that they'd screwed up, and the new DNA revelations would have forced a new trial that they knew they would lose.

So to save face, they told Damien Echols' lawyer that they were scheduling his execution, and if the three didn't take the plea deal, they'd kill him.

gheez - Don't you watch Harry's Law?

They could have had another trial, but that would take months or years.

released. They did not have to admit their 'guilt' at the hearing and can continue to claim they are innocent. These 3, then teenagers, did not murder nor mutilate anybody! There was not a single piece of evidence to connect them to the crime. No little boy was mutilated by a human being, but by animals (if I recall it was turtles). The chief prosecution witness claimed to be an 'expert' on witchcraft and his actual knowledge of the subject proved to be nonexistent.

The West Memphis Police blotched the investigation on day one when they failed to look for the 'strange man covered in blood' that used a nearby truck stop restroom and was reported that day. All DNA evidence found on the bodies did not match any of the WM3.

This deal just saved the State of Arkansas millions of dollars, since they cannot sue for false imprisonment.

you need to do some research on this case before opining on something you cleary haven't any knowledge about.

So where have you done your research from? I noticed you didn't post a link.

to add:
have you looked here
http://callahan.8k.com/index.html

i base my opinion on the dna evidence. you base your opinion on a lying-ass district attorney hoping to cover his ass, as well as two fundie piece of shit assholes who hate heavy metal.

They did not plead guilty, they did what they had to do after serving 17 years for a crime they did not commit. Silly that someone would want to do what ever they could to not die for a crime that they were not guilty of. Do you know about the man that was seen at the time of the crime covered in mud and blood that was never follow up on? Do you know that on the murdered boy's stepfather gave a knife to crew member making a documentary that could have been the weapon used in the crime that had blood that was the same blood type are one the murder victim's? Does the fact that there was no real evidence against these three matter at all to you?????

I saw the documentary MOVIE for entertainment.

Pleading guilty to a crime you did not commit when one of those folks already made a confession?

C'mon...

People think they got out because they were proven innocent and that's not true at all.

And even then only after hours of questioning. He stated they did it in the morning, then the afternoon and only when the police said "that night" did Jessie say it happened at night.
There have been many, many, many cases where people have confessed or even plead guilty to a crime they did not commit.
What evidence do you believe proves they were guilty?

That does not mean I think they did it.

They then pleaded again to the same charges when they were refiled.

You cannot plead guilty to a crime for which you were already convicted by a jury. The jury verdicts were thus set aside (overturned), and they pleaded guilty as Alsford pleas on the charges.

They are still convicted murderers.

The prosecutors threatened to schedule the execution, knowing that the current state and Supreme Court would let it go through. Damien would have been dead before the new trial was ever scheduled.

But they can maintain innocence.

at trial? I think AR just didn't want to spend more money on this trial because all of the appeals would have been renewed with a new trial.

Do you have a source for what you are saying about the other guy covered in mud and blood?

I think the defense is the one who asked for the plea deal because the state was ready to go to trial. Usually murderers take a plea deal because they know they won't win in court. It's a chance that both sides take because you never know what a jury will come back with.

Now, if WM3 had all this evidence proving their innocense why didn't they prove it yet? The defense attorneys even outnumbered the state.

I feel sorry for the little boys, you know the victims.

I will show you the respect of actually answering your questions even if you won't do the same.
I learned about the man covered in mud and blood thru interviews with witnesses, the police admitting they took a sample off the bathroom wall in the restaurant were the man was seen and then "lost" the sample. I read it in four different books, saw it on a TV show and 2 separate documentaries.
I do understand why they would do what they needed to do to be free today rather than waiting additional months or possibly years to be free.
I also feel very sorry for the murder victims, but I would like to see the actual murders punished and I do not believe it was these three young men. I know, from reading court transcripts, that the evidence was not there to convict them beyond a reasonable doubt. And that was even with a lot of procedural errors on the part of the Judge in what was allowed and not allowed.

saying there is enough evidence to convict them.

Yes they need to prove their innocence to live normal lives.

according to his lawyer.

http://www.wmctv.com/category/195967/video-landing-page?clipId=6169294&autostart=true

Here, I'll let Mark Byers clear it up for you. See the video above.

I thought you watched the documentary? It's obvious you don't know what you're talking about, so walk away.

Here are the appeals for an evidentiary hearing for further DNA evidence.

JESSIE LLOYD MISSKELLEY JR.
http://opinions.aoc.arkansas.gov/WebLink8/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=50543&&dbid=0


DAMIEN WAYNE ECHOLS
http://opinions.aoc.arkansas.gov/WebLink8/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=50532&dbid=0


CHARLES JASON BALDWIN
http://opinions.aoc.arkansas.gov/WebLink8/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=50524&dbid=0

These are actual court documents from the Court, so we can assume this is factual.

There wasn't anything in the original trial about it either, because the police took samples from the bathroom and then conveniently lost it. Why would they bring it up in the appeal for no reason?

My point was, you asked for a the source of the man in the bathroom after you'd claimed you'd seen the documentary. The man in the bathroom was well covered in the documentary. But you were just watching it for entertainment, so maybe you just forgot that part.

And lay off the "I'm sorry for the boys that were killed" schtick. I defy you to find a single person on this board who is not concerned about that. But, let me ask you this: just suppose the people they let out of jail are innocent (as I belive they are) and they were still in jail (as it seems you want them to be). That means the real killers are still out there. How much justice is that for those three little boys?

It was very long ago and they had Metallica music, I believe it was the first one. If your evidence is a movie as facts in a case I can understand how you view this.

Oh, no I won't lay off of the little boys who were murdered and mutilated. If it was your child you wouldn't be so ready to forget about them.

What the attorneys say is not evidence.

What the movie creators say is not evidence.

Two trials and guilty convictions.

Three pleas of guilty - it was their idea.

Murdering thugs almost never say, well, yeah I did it.

A friend of mine, her daughter was murdered and left on the resivoir. The guy was convicted, served 12 years and got an appeal. He plead guilty and was released because he got good time off in Illinois. So like Arkansas he only served a small portion of his sentence for his murdering.

The guy who murdered my child, he claims he is innocent. He just now appealed. He was convicted by jury and is going to try to get off on frivolous bullshit.

If there is a jury who has seen ALL the factual evidence in a trial and convicted them, I say that justice was served. Sometimes we have evidence that is thrown out by judges (which I consider sometimes an injustice).

The victims voices are silenced and sometimes people forget who the victims are. They cannot bring the victims photos into court either. But, the autopsy photos are admitted.

Sorry folks, I'm an advocate for victims. I am not an advocate for murders who gain the sympathy of people under false pretenses.

I am sorry for your loss and I am sorry for the losses of the families of the three boys who were killed. I am going to respond in the most reasonable and civil way I can. And then I'm done.

You do know that an innocent person can be convicted of a crime, right? You do know that an innocent person can confess to a crime he did not commit, right?

You wouldn't feel that justice was done if the police arrested someone for the murder of your child, even though you knew that person was innocent, right? You wouldn't think, oh the police are right, would you?

The fact is these (the WM3), did not commit this crime. There is not one single piece of physical evidence to connect them to it. And there is plenty of evidence of police, prosecutorial, and jury misconduct.

Don't come back with "they plead guilty," because if you think that's the case, then you do not understand this plea.

If you are so concerned about the victims in this case, then you would be more incensed about this ruling. Not because they let these boys go, but because now they have no reason to go after the real killers.

Is that justice for the victims?

I'm sorry about your loss, but after studying this case for years, I'm confident in stating that the three in question, are not guilty of murdering anyone.

There was NO physical evidence. They allowed a knife found in a lake near where two of them lived, but it was only shown to be consistent with the knife used and never linked to any of the defendants to be put into evidence. They found fibers similar (that is similar not the same) as fabric found in two of the defendant's home. The fibers were not from clothing belonging to the defendants, but to family members. And the clothing were mass produced. Jessie's confession could not be part of the other two defendant's trial since they could not question Jessie. But many of jury members admit they knew about Jessie's confession and took it into account. They allowed the prosecution's so called expert witness on satanic cults that got a mail order degree and his testimony was hysterical fantasy of the worst of peoples fears. They basically disallowed all testimony from the defenses expert witness brought in to counter this testimony. They had people testify who has since admitted they lied. People who just got caught up in the hysteria.
I know some people will say "why did they not just keep fighting to prove their innocence, why would they take this plea?" I would guess these people who have not spent 17 years in prison for a crime they did not commit, I would guess these are people who do not have the death penalty hanging over their head. I know that I would most likely take the plea knowing I would be free rather than wait months or years more for a maybe.

Going throught eveidentiary hearing and a possible new trial means at least five and probably ten more years in prison. With no guarantee of release. I'd take that deal too.

Not just because they were murdered, but because their families have been denied justice. The West Memphis Three didn't do it.

I watched Paradise Lost about 18, 19 years ago, and I've never forgotten.

Two of the parents who lost children in May of 1993, have come to realize that the three are innocent. Educate yourself, and you'll draw the same conclusion.

This kind of ignorant mindset is why we have these miscarriages of justice in the first place. I hope you never serve on a jury.

They never should have been in prison to begin with.

:thumbsup:
I hope these now-middle-aged men can make something of what is left of their lives.
A prime example of law enforcement "cleaning up a crime" for the sake of their image & that of their community.

The real perpetrator(s) are still out there. THAT is scary. How many other victims are out there because these KIDS were wrongly convicted for this heinous crime? The real criminals are free to do this again & again. It's doubtful someone who sadistically molests children & murders them would stop.:puke:

I don't think they are middle aged. They are younger than me and I'd like to think I'm not middle aged. :D

Aside from that I agree with everything you said. Good luck to those young men. I hope they can recover from this.

Don't convict if there is _any_ question in your mind about who actually committed a crime. Ignore the emotional impact of the crime and take a step back and really look at the evidence. Think for yourself about the facts being presented.

It is our job to make sure the government isn't railroading innocent people for crimes they did not commit and far too often we fail in our jobs.

It was either in Shambala Sun or Parabola. he is a Buddhist.

Tough to read.

free. And let's face it - no one (no rational person who has looked into the case) really believes they are guilty anymore. Everyone knows that they would not have been offered this deal if the prosecutors honestly believed they were guilty. So, although less than final and authoritative - they have for all practical purposes finally been exonerated. Even if the state doesn't want to officially admit it.

The state, the judge, the cops involved all need to pay, one way or another.

So this is still a miscarriage of justice even if they are free. They carry that stigma forever of being felons. Plus with no skills and no way to sue the state for compensation, they will be unlikely to find good jobs.