How you receive Amy Berg's documentary West of Memphis depends on what you already know. Those who have never heard of the West Memphis Three, a trio of Arkansas teenagers who spent nearly two decades in prison for a crime they didn't commit, will probably experience despair and rage in equal measure while watching this 145-minute chronicle of gross injustice. Full Story here.
But the rave reviews miss a dangerous hypocrisy at the heart of the film, which was paid for and produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, and directed by Amy Berg. In their quest to clear the names of the "West Memphis Three"—Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. who were teenagers when they were convicted for the 1993 killings—the filmmakers decide that they have found the actual murderer: Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the murdered boys. And in publicly making the case against him, they perpetrate a similar sort of injustice to the one they originally set out to correct: relying on questionable evidence to prosecute in the court of public opinion... Full Story.
FedEx has withdrawn support from a startup business conference in
Memphis after West Memphis Three figure Damien Echols was added to the
program.
FedEx marketing officials made the move this week, leaving organizers
scrambling for sponsors for Everywhereelse.co:The Startup Conference,
Sunday through Tuesday at Memphis Cook Convention Center.
The Memphis shipping giant bailed after last Friday's announcement
that Echols would participate in a "fireside chat" Monday with
Commercial Appeal reporter James Dowd about how the world has changed
since he was imprisoned.
A FedEx spokeswoman said the conference agenda moved "pretty
significantly" away from the startup business and entrepreneurial agenda
that fits the FedEx brand.
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