By George Jared
JONESBORO — Two men convicted in the 1993 slayings of 8-year-olds
Christopher Byers, Steven Branch and Michael Moore should know by next
week if they will get new trials.
Attorneys for convicted murderers Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley
Jr. were supposed to have all briefs filed with the court by Jan. 15,
Circuit Court Judge David Burnett said. The filings are part of the
defendants’ post-conviction Rule 37 petition. It’s the last chance, at
the circuit court level, for the men to seek a new trial.
A decision granting or denying new trials could come as early as
Monday or Tuesday, Burnett told a Sun reporter this week.
The state has submitted its briefs, Prosecuting Attorney Mike Walden
said Friday morning. “The state has always maintained they’re guilty,”
he said.
Attempts to reach defense attorneys for comments were unsuccessful.
According to police, Baldwin, Misskelley and cohort Damien Echols
lured the boys to a rain-filled ditch in the Robin Hood Hills area of
West Memphis on May 5, 1993. The boys were beaten, tortured, possibly
sodomized and drowned as part of an occult ritual, prosecutors claim.
Searchers found the boys’ bodies the next day.
The men were convicted of capital murder in 1994. Dubbed the “West
Memphis Three” by the media and supporters, the men have fought the
convictions for years in state and federal courts. An outpouring of
support erupted after the release of the documentary “Paradise Lost”
in 1996.
Supporters point to the lack of DNA and forensic evidence linking the
convicted to crimes. Hairs found at the scene were tested in 2007 and
do not match any of the West Memphis Three, according to court
documents.
The West Memphis Three sought new trials based on the DNA results, but
Walden said the lack of DNA doesn’t prove the men, who were teens when
the crimes happened, are innocent.
Branch’s mother, Pam Hobbs, now believes the convicted men are
innocent of her son’s murder.
“I hope the judge doesn’t rule against them based on circumstantial
evidence,” Hobbs said. “I don’t believe these guys (the defendants)
could have killed these kids and not left any evidence. That’s
impossible.”
A key component of the arrests and conviction, a series of convoluted
confessions of Misskelley, have also come under fire. In his original
confession Misskelley told police the boys were attacked around noon,
that one was choked to death and ropes had been used to bind them.
The boys were in school at noon, none of them had injuries to their
throats, and it was the victims’ shoelaces, not ropes, that were used
as ligatures, police said. Misskelley also claimed two of the boys
were sodomized, which defense forensic experts have disputed.
State Medical Examiner Dr. Frank Peretti testified in October there
were no bruises or semen found in the boys, and it was unlikely they
were sodomized. He would not rule out, however, some form of sexual
assault.
Since his conviction Misskelley has recanted his confession. Echols
and Baldwin have always maintained their innocence. It’s unknown when
prosecutors would refile charges if Burnett grants a new trial.
If the judge denies the motion for retrial, it’s likely to head to
state Appeals Court for another round of litigation. Echols was
sentenced to death in the case. Misskelley and Baldwin both received
life sentences.
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