Exonerate the WM3 Official Blog

Two at Crime Lab Carry Scars of Three Boys’ Deaths #wm3

After 18 years, a few lessons learned

By C.S. Murphy

Arkansas Democrat Gazette

LITTLE ROCK — The murders marked the careers of the two Arkansas scientists as indelibly as a bloodstain.

The pathologist, a fresh transplant from Maryland, didn’t know the killings had occurred until he walked into the morgue that Monday and found the bodies of the three boys waiting.

The blood expert, newly returned to work after the unexpected death of his young wife, got the call from the pathologist to head straight to the morgue upon arrival at the Arkansas Crime Laboratory on May 7, 1993.

From that day until this August, the two men spent countless hours testifying in the case, trying to serve the victims and the cause of justice by using the best science available.

Their path gave rise to bitter lessons about the limits of evidence and the criminal justice system.

They learned that sometimes diligent police and forensics work and the best intentions don’t yield a satisfying result.

WM3.org's Zazzle Store Offers Exclusive #PL3 Merchandise

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky @radicalmedia were kind enough to allow wm3.org to design exclusive Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory merchandise for the official wm3.org zazzle store. Net profits will go to the WM3 Freedom Fund, a legal trust fund that assists Damien, Jason and Jessie with their living and/or tuition expenses. Keep checking in for new designs!    

 

Must Read: Sean Flynn's #WM3 Feature in the December GQ

Be sure to pick up the new GQ with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake on the cover-- Flynn's fascinating narrative of the long, unjust road to Damien, Jason and Jessie's freedom will break your heart all over again.

Sir Peter Jackson gets 'special' tattoo #wm3

by Debbie Jameson

Sir Peter Jackson has had a matching tattoo inked in Queenstown along with a man he helped save from death row in the United States.

Jackson and his partner, screenwriter and producer Fran Walsh, helped fund a seven-year investigation that eventually led to Damien Echols - at present in New Zealand - and Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelly being freed from jail in August.

The men were accused of murdering eight-year-old Scouts Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and James Moore in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. Misskelly and Baldwin were given life sentences. Echols was sentenced to death and was on death row.

Jackson was in Queenstown this week filming The Hobbit and it is understood he and Echols visited White Tiger Tattoo, in Cow Lane, on Tuesday to get tattoos.

To read the whole story, click here.

HBO:Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory: Home

Premiering January 12, 2012

PL3 Among 15 Oscar Documentary Contenders! #wm3

Beverly Hills, CA (November 18, 2011) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards®. One hundred twenty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category. Read the full story here.

The Buzz: Paradise Lost 3 World Premiere #wm3

Go inside the World Premiere of "Paradise Lost 3 - Purgatory" at the New York Film Festival. For more information on HBO Documentary Films, click here.

  

 

Leveritt sues over legal discipline gag orders #wm3

Posted by Max Brantley

Mara Leveritt, the crusading former Arkansas Times journalist, filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of a rule of the state Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct that prohibits those who complain about lawyers from discussing their complaints publicly. Those who do can be cited for contempt of court and jailed or fined.

Leveritt had objected to this rule earlier in seeking discipline of Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, then defending the convictions of the West Memphis Three, for not taking affirmative action in response to evidence of juror misconduct in one of the murder trials. The three have now been released, so the underlying legal issue is moot. Leveritt was warned against publicizing her complaint, but the committee has not taken legal action against her despite her public comments. She said she was informed by Stark Ligon, director of the committee, that the complaint about McDaniel had been dismissed because the committee didn't believe it had authority to take action against lawyers exercising discretion in publicly elected positions. Leveritt said the committee has cited no statute or rule supporting that point of view.

Read the full story here.

Jason Baldwin Makes Appearance at Local PL3 Screening #wm3

By Chris Herrington 

The 14th Indie Memphis Film Festival ended with some unexpected drama last night during a question-and-answer session following the screening of Paradise Lost: Purgatory, the third installment of filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's documentary series about the “West Memphis 3” case.

By the time the screening ended, it probably wasn't much of a surprise when the recently released Jason Baldwin, one of the “3” came onto the stage for a post-screening discussion. Baldwin's likely appearance had been well-known to those around the festival for several days, but organizers had requested the information be kept under wraps for security reasons.

Real the full story here.

#WM3 documentary 'PL3:Purgatory' to open in L.A.

The latest documentary about the fate of the case of the West Memphis 3, "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," isn't scheduled to be broadcast on HBO until early next year, but fans of the series in Los Angeles might want to make the trek to Laemmle's Fallbrook 7 in West Hills where the film opens Friday for one week only.

The limited run is designed specifically to give the film the opportunity to qualify for an Oscar nomination.

Click here to read the full story.

Pt 3: Baldwin & Echols Interview with KATV #wm3

 

Part 2: Echols Interview with Heather Crawford #wm3