Mystery hearing set for 'West Memphis Three'
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 18, 2011 7:14 p.m. EDT
(CNN) -- An Arkansas court has called a short-notice hearing Friday for three men convicted of killing three West Memphis boys in 1993, with authorities tight-lipped about the nature of the proceeding in a closely watched case.
All three of the men -- Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin, dubbed the "West Memphis Three" -- are expected to attend the session in Jonesboro. The state attorney general's office said it could not comment on the matter, citing a gag order on participants in the case.
Stephanie Harris, a spokeswoman for the state court system, said the convicts would appear before a judge in chambers before the public hearing is held.
Echols was sentenced to death and Misskelley and Baldwin were given life sentences in the May 1993 slayings of second-graders Steven Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers. The boys' bodies were mutilated and left in a ditch, hogtied with their own shoelaces.
Prosecutors argued that Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin, then teenagers, were driven by satanic ritual and that Echols had been the ringleader. But DNA testing that was not available at the time failed to link any of the men to the crime, and the state Supreme Court ruled in November that all three could present new evidence to the trial court in an effort to clear them.
The case has drawn national attention, with actor Johnny Depp and singer Eddie Vedder trying to rally support for the men's release.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/18/ark ... .killings/
West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
Word is that two of them (including Damien Echols) will be released tomorrow.
Re: West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
Holy jesus.
It's about damn time.
It's about damn time.
Re: West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
My thoughts exactly. Thought they would let them out in 2007 when the DNA evidence showed none of it matched any of themSix7Six7 wrote:Holy jesus.
It's about damn time.
- cashinnowperry
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Re: West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
Finally! I've been reading about this for years, always seemed pretty obvious to me that they didn't do it. Later is better than never, but it's ridiculous how long it took.
Re: West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
People seem upset that the only reason they may get released is if they plead guilty or no contest to the crimes.
Which is understandable. The state of Arkansas is looking to save face here, but in order to do to so they are putting the WM3 in the position of not gaining a single thing from this other than their freedom. They won't receive any compensation for being wrongly incarcerated. They won't be able to sign any book deals.
I guess freedom is worth more than that. But it's just the state screwing them yet again.
Which is understandable. The state of Arkansas is looking to save face here, but in order to do to so they are putting the WM3 in the position of not gaining a single thing from this other than their freedom. They won't receive any compensation for being wrongly incarcerated. They won't be able to sign any book deals.
I guess freedom is worth more than that. But it's just the state screwing them yet again.
- Pandemonium
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Re: West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
That's pretty reprehensible what the State is trying to pull.Six7Six7 wrote:People seem upset that the only reason they may get released is if they plead guilty or no contest to the crimes.
Which is understandable. The state of Arkansas is looking to save face here, but in order to do to so they are putting the WM3 in the position of not gaining a single thing from this other than their freedom. They won't receive any compensation for being wrongly incarcerated. They won't be able to sign any book deals.
I guess freedom is worth more than that. But it's just the state screwing them yet again.
What they should get or actually should have received a long time ago was a 2nd trial with the new evidence where they'd have all likely walked without any legal constraints. The first trial was basically a rush to judgement under some pretty shaky evidence and questionable admissions of guilt.
The way this is likely going to pan out, two of the kids will claim some responsibility in the crime and be immediately released as convicted felons with no further legal recourse (or much of a future) while the third will serve more time before an eventual release. This in turn will piss off everyone on either side of the debate as people who believe they were guilty of the murders will feel they got a super light sentence for a pretty heinous crime they are admitting to committing while those on the other side will rightly feel these kids had a good chunk of their lives taken away behind bars and further had their future ruined by admitting to a crime they supposedly didn't commit.
Re: West Memphis 3 to be released Friday!
This is another example of how terrifyingly horrible, inept and corrupt our justice system is:
http://www.freeryanferguson.com/
Watch the Dateline story on this if you can find it. It's heartbreaking and infuriating. I can say without a doubt I will kill myself before I spent the rest of my life in prison as an innocent man.
http://www.freeryanferguson.com/
Watch the Dateline story on this if you can find it. It's heartbreaking and infuriating. I can say without a doubt I will kill myself before I spent the rest of my life in prison as an innocent man.