Exonerate the WM3 Official Blog

09.10.11: '48 Hours Mystery' Revisits the #WM3 Story

The episode will air at 10PM est. More details as soon as we have them!

Read the Alford Plea #wm3

As signed by Damien and Jason, courtesy of Mara Leveritt, who posted it on DK2 today. Follow her on twitter (@freebirdmojo) and subscribe to DK2 today, exclusive content for the second volume of Devil's Knot. The version Jessie signed will be up as soon as we get it!

Download Alford Plea D&J

Freeing the West Memphis Three #wm3

by Mara Leveritt

They were wrongly convicted of grisly child murders and locked up for nearly 20 years. Inside their path home.

“Damien! I finally GET to hug you!”

For 17 years, I have only seen Damien Echols—gaunt, pale, always behind thick glass—in an Arkansas supermax prison. Our voices—his always quiet—crossed through a metal grille. Yet here he is on a mid-August evening, in the flesh, atop a luxurious hotel in Memphis, where Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has orchestrated an impromptu party. A few dozen people—attorneys and longtime supporters—have gathered to celebrate the first taste of freedom for the men known as the West Memphis Three.

Just 48 hours earlier, Damien, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were in three different Arkansas detention facilities. Now Damien is here, peering at an iPhone. Jason, flanked by his girlfriend and mother, hugs me, confiding that he’s brought his beloved Hacky Sack along. And Jessie has gone home with his father for a barbecue dinner. Even the judge said that what happened this morning will be talked about for years. In the space of two days, one prisoner sentenced to death and two others serving life without parole were driven to an Arkansas courthouse, pleaded guilty to multiple murders—and in a strange legal twist—were immediately set free.

Read the full story at The Daily Beast.

The Special Edition #wm3 Shirt

The t-shirts we'd like to see gallery...

Hollywood directed defense, challenged old case against #WM3

Celebrities' deep pockets funded new probe in 1993 slayings of three boys

By Marc Perrusquia

Gary Gitchell rose to his feet and began to dance. In a hotel bar celebrating the convictions of three murder defendants the world would come to know as the "West Memphis Three," police inspector Gitchell asked the disc jockey to play a song.

As bemused reporters watched that March 1994 night, Gitchell -- who'd confidently rated his case an "11" on a 1-to-10 scale -- danced with his wife to Bobby Fuller singing, I fought the law and the law won. I fought the law and the law won.

Now, 17 years later, the confidence is gone; the case eviscerated.

Read the full Commercial Appeal story here. Astounding photo gallery of vintage and freedom day pictures here.

Devil’s Deal: (Mis)Understanding the Alford Pleas from the #WM3

by Brent Turvey

In 1994, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (known as the West Memphis 3), were convicted of murdering three 8-year-old boys: Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers. Damien, tried separately from the other two defendants, received the death penalty. Jessie received life plus 20 years and Jason received life. Throughout the trial, they maintained their absolute innocence.

However, this was not a typical investigation and prosecution. There was sparse funding for the defense during the original trials, and the evidence against the defendants was not just circumstantial but deeply flawed. Other compounding factors included: ignorant/ untrained law enforcement investigators, a phony set of false confessions achieved by dubious means and immediately recanted, inflammatory pretrial publicity against the defendants regarding phony and contrived evidence of satanic rituals, a hostile community (with a lack of venue change), and inappropriately close relationships between prosecutors, the trial judge, and defense attorneys. To say nothing of the observation that the defense attorneys were not truly murder experienced or death qualified to the level that one would expect (if at all).

Read the full story here.

Jason Baldwin: Thank you #wm3

Love and libre! 

Jason Baldwin

Analysis: West Memphis 3 deal has fallout #wm3

Andrew DeMillo, AP

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An 18-year-old murder case in which three Cub Scouts were victims. Questions about the justice system and the death penalty. A well-funded and celebrity-fueled campaign that has drawn national attention and intense passion on both sides.

These aren't the issues politicians are eager to embrace, but the release of the three men known as the West Memphis Three ensures that questions surrounding the 1993 murder case will linger for those involved for years to come. Those supporting players include an attorney general gearing up for a potential bid for governor and a prosecutor mulling a run for a congressional seat next year.

The legal maneuvers that allowed Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to walk free created a situation that neither side in the case seemed entirely happy with. Their original convictions were set aside and they pleaded guilty to lesser charges, but were able to maintain their claims of innocence. Echols was originally sentenced to die, and Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison, but under the deal, they were let go in exchange for the 18 years they've already served.

Read the full chron.com story here.

Reflections on Injustice: Dan Stidham & the #WM3 Case

Morehead's Musings: Mr. Stidham, thank you for your willingness to do a follow up interview on the West Memphis Three case in light of last week's surprising release of Damien Nichols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin. Before we move to questions related to an update on the case, can you comment on your legal work since you served as defense attorney for one of the defendants, and how you have stayed involved as this case developed over the years?

Dan Stidham: I served as Jessie Misskelley’s court-appointed trial counsel, and was involved in all of his appeals up until 2008. At that time I became a full-time State District Court Judge here in Arkansas, and could no longer serve as counsel for Mr. Misskelley. In addition, I had become a witness in the case with regard to the Rule 37 appeals for both Mr. Misskelley and Mr. Baldwin. I could not be a lawyer, a judge and/or a witness in his case all at the same time. After 2008, I continued to serve as an “unofficial” advocate for all of the West Memphis Three and the fight for their freedom. I often referred to myself as the “Cheerleader” after that time. The Rule 37 hearings lasted on and off for two years.

Read the full Morehead's Musings story here.

Jessie, Damien & Jason... Freedom Shirt-- New! #wm3

Meet the new look of wm3.org... Now available in the official wm3.org zazzle shoppe!  

New! West Memphis 3 Freed Shirt #wm3

Please visit the official wm3.org zazzle store for the latest freedom designs, including this one!

 

By Order of Judge Laser 8.19.11 #wm3

Download Certain matters

HBO Doc. Czar Sheila Nevins Wants a 'Paradise Lost 4' (Exclusive Q&A) #wm3

by Matthew Belloni

About 18 years ago, the longtime HBO documentary chief noticed a small news article about a cult murder in Arkansas, setting in motion a movement that culminated with the Aug. 19 release of the West Memphis Three.

Sheila Nevins, the longtime president of HBO’s heralded documentary division, was reading The New York Times one morning about 18 years ago when she noticed a little story abut a cult murder in Arkansas. “I thought, “This could be an interesting story. Why would three teenage boys kill three little children?” she recalls. “What kind of worship would that be?” So she called up filmmaker Joe Berlinger, whose resulting documentary with Bruce Sinofsky, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996), began a three-film crusade that galvanized Hollywood (director Peter Jackson helped back the men's defense and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines were among their most ardent supporters). The effort culminated with the Aug. 19 release of the so-called West Memphis Three: Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. and Jason Baldwin.

Full Hollywood Reporter story here.

DPA speaks on West Memphis Three #wm3

Friday, August 26, 2011

Read the full story at the Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, known as the West Memphis Three, were released from prison Friday, Aug. 19, after appearing in Craighead County court at Jonesboro and entering an Alford guilty plea.

The plea means they maintain their innocence while admitting the state has enough evidence for a conviction. The deal also protects the state of Arkansas from civil lawsuit.

District prosecuting attorney Scott Ellington issued this statement after the release of the men:

"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 17 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 18 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.

Prosecutor: Lab to study 'West Memphis 3' case DNA

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Crime Lab officials are willing to analyze DNA evidence from the murders of three Cub Scouts in 1993 that attorneys for the three men known as the "West Memphis Three" say exonerates their clients, a state prosecutor said Thursday night.

In a panel discussion on the legal maneuvers that allowed Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to be freed last week in the murder case after serving 18 years, prosecutor Scott Ellington said the lab would look at the evidence once Bode Technology, a private laboratory in Virginia hired by the defense, completes its own tests.

"Once Bode labs gets their reports done, the state crime lab has agreed to run those through CODIS," Ellington said, referring to a database of known criminals as well as crime lab employees. "If there are any hits, then that evidence can be brought to the defense attorneys."

Read the full story here.

Attorney for Damien Echols speaks to Today's THV #wm3

by Michelle Edmonds

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- The story of the West Memphis Three has captivated not only those close to the case -- but people across the nation.

It's been more than a week since Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley left behind their jail cells and took a step outside in the real world for the first time in eighteen years.

All three entered an Alford plea which means they pleaded guilty while still maintaining their innocence. The judge sentenced them to 18 years, the time they've already served. Now they will have 10 years probation which means if they commit any crime during the next 10 years, they could go back to prison.

Read full story and see the video here.

West Memphis 3 Planning for Wedding & College #wm3

By Stephanie Scurlock

5:38 p.m. CDT, August 26, 2011

• Jessie Misskelley of West Memphis 3 making wedding plans
• Jason Baldwin working and enrolling in college
• Damien Echols still adjusting to life and marriage

(West Memphis 08/26/2011) One week ago today the men known as the West Memphis 3 were set free and today we are learning one of them is already making wedding plans.

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley spent 18 years in prison for the murder of three 8 year old boys. After new evidence surfaced in the case their lawyers reached an agreement with prosecutors that led to their release from prison. News Channel 3 found out how they're adjusting to life outside of prison.

Jessie Misskelley, Jr. is planning the rest of his life. It includes marrying his high school sweetheart and spending time with his dad. They've spent the last 18 years talking long distance on the phone. Now, big Jessie and little Jessie are together again.

Read the full and related sidebar stories here.

The 49th New York Film Festival: Paradise Lost and its New

« Return to NYFF Blog

via www.filmlinc.com

West Memphis Three: Past, Present and Future #wm3

 

In partnership with the Arkansas Times, the Clinton School hosts a panel discussion featuring key players in the legal battle that culminated August 19, 2011 with a plea bargain to release Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley, Jr., who served more than 17 years in prison after being convicted of murdering three young boys in West Memphis, Ark. Known as the "West Memphis Three," Baldwin, Echols and Misskelley long maintained their innocence and gained national attention to their fight for exoneration.

Jessie Goes Modern! Facebook and PO Box Info

Jessie's facebook friends are multiplying at an alarming rate! Yes, that's really him...

He's got a brand new PO Box too for cards, letters and help getting started on his life outside.

Jessie Misskelley Jr

PO Box 1354

West Memphis AR   72303

 

It's Been a Hard Day's Night #wm3

Jessie says hey, working hard and having fun too. #1 on tomorrow's list: open a PO Box!

 
Photos courtesy of wm3.org    All rights reserved

Release of ‘guilty’ #WM3 re-energizes anti-death penalty efforts

By Kevin Uhrich

The recent release of three men convicted in the 1993 murders of three Cub Scouts in Arkansas — the West Memphis Three — is buoying California death penalty opponents, who maintain the sometimes unfair and hugely expensive administration of the ultimate punishment is not only immoral, but also bleeding the state dry financially. Led by actor Mike Farrell, president of the San Francisco-based anti-capital punishment group Death Penalty Focus, whose executive director is former San Quentin Warden Jeanne Woodford, and state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Oakland), capital punishment opponents are attempting to put the polarizing issue before California voters next year in the form of an initiative.

Read the full story at Pasadenaweekly.com.

Terry Hobbs issues statement about WM3 release #wm3

Submitted by Jason Plank, WMCTV.com

Thursday, August 25th, 2011, 1:08pm

Terry Hobbs, the step-father of Stevie Branch, released the following statement Wednesday about the release of the West Memphis 3:

I will never be able to find words to come close to expressing the constant and deep pain of the last 18 years.  So many people’s lives were drug into a living nightmare with the death of those three little boys, May 5, 1993.  The cost of suffering that unbelievable loss which has been paid by the families of all those involved, victims and accused, can never be counted, and the rumors and accusations that have flown ever since that day have torn lives and families apart.  I am one of those who continue to pay that cost, but there are many, many others and my heart goes out to them.  From the very beginning until this moment state and local officials has reassured me at every turn of the case there has never been one speck of interest in me as a suspect.

What I will also never be able to find words for is the thanks I feel for the support of my Lord, my family, my friends, my church and the state of Arkansas.  They will have to read it in my eyes and feel it in my return of support for them all.

I’m glad this part of the nightmare is over.  I hope and pray for all of the families to move on with their lives from this point with a sense of hope and peace, trusting that the Lord knows all, loves all, and when sincerely asked forgives all.  I’m moving on with my life leaving this part of the nightmare as part of the past.

I’ve prayed for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley more than once, and as recently as last night.  I’ve asked the Lord to work a miracle of forgiveness in me toward them, and believe he is al-ready answering that prayer.  My hope for them is that they live good and productive lives for the rest of their time on this earth.

One thing I believe all who have been touched by this tragedy can agree on is that the truest victims in all of this continue to be Michael Moore, Christopher Byers and my step-son Stevie Branch.  From this point on I will have nothing at all to say about the case.  According to the state of Arkansas and in my own heart and mind it is closed, and I am leaving it that way.  From this point on I will talk about my love for Ste-vie, what he has always and will continue to mean to me, and look for-ward to seeing him again in heaven, where there will only be peace and joy and love forever.  

Witnessed by: Dr. Steve Stone
Pastor
Heartsong Church
August 24, 2011

Jason Baldwin Says Hello #wm3

He's out there having fun, don't worry-- we'll get him to write down a few words for supporters soon!

Even More Road to Freedom Shirts! #wm3

West Memphis Freed!!! The new message and soon-to-be-iconic designs in red or white. Portions of sales will go to the in-the-works trust fund for Damien, Jason and Jessie. Details coming soon...

Please visit the official wm3.org zazzle store to see all the new and classic designs.