Feature
‘’West Memphis Three’’ Go Free By Teresa Cajot After spending almost two decades in prison for the 1993 murders of three cub scouts, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin were unexpectedly released on Friday. The case, which drew a significant amount of attention due to the lack of evidence against the men, has been the subject of three documentaries and a slew of celebrity attention over the years.
The case was on route to a possible second trial but in a surprise move, Judge David Laser called the so-called West Memphis Three to Jonesboro for a hearing. The men entered into Alford pleas, allowing them to maintain their innocence while simultaneously admitting that the prosecution holds sufficient evidence to convict them. ‘’Today’s proceeding allows the defendants the freedom of speech to say they are innocent, but the fact is, they just pled guilty,’’ said Prosecutor Scott Ellington. He further points out that although the plea grants the men them their freedom, it also takes away their right to sue the state. Echols, who maintains that prosecutors used deceptive and faulty evidence to gain a conviction, asserts that with the attention that the case has received since the initial trial, prosecutors were forced to recognize that it would be impossible for them ‘’to pull the same tricks’’ in a second trial. Following a 1996 HBO documentary on the case, a number of celebrities became involved. Eddie Veder, who was also present at Friday’s hearing, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, and others united to finance a legal team on behalf of the defendants. At the time of their arrest, Echols was 18, Misskelley was 17, and Baldwin was only 16 years old. DNA testing was not yet being used but in 2007 it was determined that the DNA evidence collected at the crime scene was not a match for any of the convicted men. In 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court concluded that the men had the right to introduce this new evidence in court and a new court date was scheduled for December.
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However, according to Ellington, the possibility of a second trial would pose a problem on a number of fronts. Eighteen years have elapsed since the first trial many questions have been brought forth. Two of the victim’s families have publicly questioned the guilt of the defendants. Furthermore, the validity of the testimony presented by a key witness has come under scrutiny. Also, the professional who gathered fiber evidence from the homes of two of the accused has died. Due to the brutal nature of the murders in West Memphis, Arkansas, officials suspected that the eight year olds were the victims of a Satanic- ritual. However, beyond that, they had little to go on. Then a witness came forward to say that Echols was covered in mud the night of the slayings. This was followed by Misskelley’s confession. He told officials that he, Echols, and Baldwin were responsible for the deaths. Misskelley later retracted the confession but only after describing a scene of unimaginable violence. Despite Misskelley’s claims, autopsies revealed no evidence of sexual assault. Furthermore, other parts of his confession did not align with the available evidence and defense attorneys argued that law enforcement officials exploited Misskelly’s low IQ and forced him into a confession. Ultimately, Echols was sentenced to death and came within three weeks of execution in 1994. Misskelley was sentenced to life in prison plus forty years and Baldwin received a life sentence, without the possibility of parole. All three men have now been placed on unsupervised probation for the duration of ten years. Any legal trouble could land them in prison for another 21 years.
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