Exonerate the WM3 Official Blog

Help Jason Baldwin Fund His Mémoires: Deadline is December 25, 2013!

Time is definitely of the essence so please click on Jason's Kickstarter page and donate today!

 

If reading my story inspires you half as much as you've inspired me, I will consider this book a success.

At the age of 16, I was arrested for a crime I didn't commit, ultimately spending 18 years of my life in prison before finally being released in 2011. 

During the past two years, I have had the amazing opportunity to speak about the case to people all across the country.  One of the questions I've most often been asked is when I would write a book. Until now, my answer has been that I would pen my memoir when I reach the ripe old age of 90 and have lived a long and full life.

But the more I share my story, and the more questions that I am asked about my life's experiences, the more I have come to realize this story needs to be told not later, but now.  There is much more than I can possibly share on a stage with a microphone in hand, try as I might.  Time just always seems to run short, someone's questions do not get answered, and I am often rushed past the parts of the story that give it weight. Now, two years into this wonderful whirlwind of freedom, the whole idea of penning my memoir makes a bit more sense to me, and I am eager to share with you my life's stories. 

Since I was released, I have traveled the country advocating for criminal justice reform. I also earned my Associate of Arts degree, during which time I took creative writing classes that I feel have equipped me with the tools I need to write effectively and completely. I'm launching this project now because I would like to take a year off from traveling, to devote the time and energy that it will take to share my story. Your generosity will afford me that time, as well as help cover the costs associated with publishing and producing a book. 

I hope to have at least a digital copy of this book in your hands within a year. Of course, that timeline may shift, but I will update you monthly with my progress, including a snippet of what I've been working on, and perhaps a poem or photo of something that has been inspiring me lately.  I view this as a journey I'll take with you, with those of you who are new to the case, and especially those of you who shared your lives with me throughout my 18 years in prison.

My life has been one filled mostly with heartache, pain, injustice and the worst people have to offer.  But it is also one of perseverance, hope, love and our capacity to rise above--I have seen, too, the best humanity has to offer.  The truth is, without the kindness of others, I would still be in prison today.

Four documentaries and a narrative feature have been made about this case, and my friend Damien has written two books. Now I'm looking forward to sharing with you my story in my own words.

I take this task on with great humility.  I have met many people during my life, and I hope to treat each of my memories of them with dignity and respect.  

Thank you, everyone, for helping me make this memoir a reality.  

                                                                                                          -- Jason Baldwin

 

How to Write the WM3

The WM3 Freedom  Fund has been dismantled two years after Damien, Jason and Jessie were released from prison. (They had to take an Alford plea but were not exonerated: we are certain that continued forensic investigation will make that a reality one day.) Supporters' generous donations helped pay for D, J & J's living and educational expenses after they were released, and they are very grateful for everyone's emotional and financial assistance-- both before and after their long and unjust incarcerations.

The WM3 Freedom Fund is now closed but we heartily encourage supporters to stay in touch with them all via cards, letters and even financial donations, if you so desire. This saga is not over, far from it!

Mailing addresses for each are:

Jessie Misskelley, Jr                        Birthday: July 10
c/o Stephanie Dollar
1033 Park St
West Memphis, AR    72301

Damien Echols                                Birthday: December 11
PO Box 1031
Salem, MA  01970

Jason Baldwin                                Birthday: April 11
7511 Greenwood Ave. N  #904
Seattle, WA  98103 

How to Write the WM3

The WM3 Freedom  Fund has been dismantled two years after Damien, Jason and Jessie were released from prison. (They had to take an Alford plea but were not exonerated: we are certain that continued forensic investigation will make that a reality one day.) Supporters' generous donations helped pay for D, J & J's living and educational expenses after they were released, and they are very grateful for everyone's emotional and financial assistance-- both before and after their long and unjust incarcerations.

The WM3 Freedom Fund is now closed but we heartily encourage supporters to stay in touch with them all via cards, letters and even financial donations, if you so desire. This saga is not over, far from it!

Mailing addresses for each are:

Jessie Misskelley, Jr                        Birthday: July 10
c/o Stephanie Dollar
1033 Park St
West Memphis, AR    72301

Damien Echols                                Birthday: December 11
PO Box 1031
Salem, MA  01970

Jason Baldwin                                Birthday: April 11
8560 Greenwood Ave. N #904
Seattle, WA  98103 

- See more at: http://wm3org.typepad.com/blog-deleted-20121011-7krqr/2011/09/donate-to-the-wm3-freedom-fund-now.html#sthash.y1EcAu1P.dpuf

How to Write the WM3

The WM3 Freedom  Fund has been dismantled two years after Damien, Jason and Jessie were released from prison. (They had to take an Alford plea but were not exonerated: we are certain that continued forensic investigation will make that a reality one day.) Supporters' generous donations helped pay for D, J & J's living and educational expenses after they were released, and they are very grateful for everyone's emotional and financial assistance-- both before and after their long and unjust incarcerations.

The WM3 Freedom Fund is now closed but we heartily encourage supporters to stay in touch with them all via cards, letters and even financial donations, if you so desire. This saga is not over, far from it!

Mailing addresses for each are:

Jessie Misskelley, Jr                        Birthday: July 10
c/o Stephanie Dollar
1033 Park St
West Memphis, AR    72301

Damien Echols                                Birthday: December 11
PO Box 1031
Salem, MA  01970

Jason Baldwin                                Birthday: April 11
8560 Greenwood Ave. N #904
Seattle, WA  98103 

- See more at: http://wm3org.typepad.com/blog-deleted-20121011-7krqr/2011/09/donate-to-the-wm3-freedom-fund-now.html#sthash.y1EcAu1P.dpuf

The WM3 Freedom  Fund has been dismantled two years after Damien, Jason and Jessie were released from prison. (They had to take an Alford plea but were not exonerated: we are certain that continued forensic investigation will make that a reality one day.) Supporters' generous donations helped pay for D, J & J's living and educational expenses after they were released, and they are very grateful for everyone's emotional and financial assistance-- both before and after their long and unjust incarcerations.

The WM3 Freedom Fund is now closed but we heartily encourage supporters to stay in touch with them all via cards, letters and even financial donations, if you so desire. This saga is not over, far from it!

Mailing addresses for each are:

Jessie Misskelley, Jr                        Birthday: July 10
c/o Stephanie Dollar
1033 Park St
West Memphis, AR    72301

Damien Echols                                Birthday: December 11
PO Box 1031
Salem, MA  01970

Jason Baldwin                                Birthday: April 11
8560 Greenwood Ave. N #904
Seattle, WA  98103 

Memorial remodel marks 20th anniversary of murdered West Memphis Three boys

From Fox13

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (FOX13) -

The plans for a West Memphis Three memorial makeover are truly a community effort. After seeing a picture of the memorial in the local paper, community members made the plans and set up a fundraiser for Weaver Elementary School, where the memorial is located.

The improvements come just before the 20th anniversary of the murders of 8-year-old Cub Scouts Michael Moore, Chris Byers and Steve Branch in West Memphis.

Plans for the memorial, formerly called the Weaver Reading Grove Memorial, include building a flower bed with 20 yellow rose bushes to commemorate the anniversary.

Other renovations to the memorial include repairing damaged benches, repainting the brown gazebo in brighter colors, repairing the gazebo roof to cover exposed nails and install permanent trash cans.

All of the renovations and landscaping will cost $2,800; so far donors contributed $545.

If you would like to make a donation in memory of the young West Memphis Three victims for the improvements of the Weaver Elementary Reading Grove Memorial, please send your donation to the school at the following address.

Weaver Elementary Reading Grove/Playground Fund
1280 East Barton Ave.
West Memphis, AR 72301

Judge Denies Family Request To See West Memphis Evidence

Posted on: 5:05 pm, April 2, 2013, by George Brown and Michele Reese, updated on: 08:44am, April 3, 2013

 

(West Memphis, AR) On Tuesday, a judge decided family members of the three boys who were murdered in West Memphis 20 years ago cannot see all the evidence in the case.

The judge said they can’t have access to all of it since it may be needed in a future trial.

The attorney for Pam Hicks and Mark Byers, the parents of two of the victims, told News Channel 3 that judge’s decision “was not a big deal.”

“They would have like to have had all the evidence. That would have been the icing on the cake. But the ending goal was answering questions,” attorney Ken Swindle said. “The primary reason the parents hired me was to find answers, and they feel like for the first time in 20 years they have answers about what happened in those woods.”

The parents started their hunt for information last year, but Swindle said, after a prosecutor ignored their request to see all the evidence in the case they hired him and they sued.

They were then given them limited access to evidence in the prosecutors file. That file, Swindle said, included a key piece of information.

Long path to justice for man at the center of WM3 revelations

Posted: Mar 28, 2013 2:20 PM PDT Updated: Apr 04, 2013 2:20 PM PDT

By Les Smith

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX13) - Things haven't changed much in the 18 years since Bennie David Guy walked the streets of Earle, Arkansas as a free man. But, soon the now 53-year-old Guy may get that chance as he awaits parole after serving less than half of a 40 year sentence for a crime DNA evidence indicated he didn't commit, the rape of an 11-year-old girl at a motel in 1995.  That evidence was available to Crittenden County prosecutors and his defense attorney just two months after he went to prison.

 "I get to looking at the evidence that's in the writ and the DNA evidence says he didn't commit the rape. His semen was not found in the victim. That it's someone...It's someone else's," said Project Innocence attorney Phillip Allen in 2008.

Bennie's brother Bobby also believes him innocent, "They sent a letter said the girl lied about it. Said it been on her conscience for so long she wanted to get it off her conscience."

Now the man wrongly convicted, in some ironic twist of fate, finds himself as among the accusers in

New Suspects In 1993 West Memphis Murders

Posted on: 12:18 pm, March 27, 2013, by George Brown, updated on: 02:32pm, March 27, 2013

 

(Marion, AR) At a hearing held today regarding evidence in the West Memphis 3 murders, the names of several new suspects were released by attorneys for the mother of one of the victims.

Several affidavits were handed out naming new possible suspects in the 1993 murders of three 8-year-old boys.

One of those named is Terry Hobbs, her ex-husband and the stepfather of victim Stevie Branch.

Also on the lists David Jacoby, LG Hollingsworth and Buddy Lucas.

A witness says several years after the killings, Buddy Lucas admitted he and the three others took part in the murders.

The paperwork says Hobbs and Jacoby invited Lucas and Hollingsworth, who were teens at the time to go with them and get high.

It says the four were drinking and smoking pot when Hobbs saw several kids spying on them.

The affidavit claims Jacoby grabbed one of the children and beat him severely while Hobbs ordered Lucas and Hollingsworth to grab and hold the other two boys.

The witness says Lucas told him Hobbs killed the boys with a pocket knife and mutilated their bodies.

Lucas, who is described as being mentally ‘slow,’ was reportedly sent away from the area for several years immediately after the incident.

The witness states once he learned what happened he contacted the West Memphis police but no one returned his call.

Judge Victor Hill is hearing from parents of the three victims who want access to evidence in the murders of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers in 1994.

Pam Hicks, the mother of Stevie Branch, wants to examine some of the items that belonged to her son and were found at the murder scene.

Hicks previously told us, “I do want to know that it has not been contaminated if they need it, if something [were] to come out of this,” said Hicks. “I definitely don’t want to touch it. I just want to have a peace of mind and ease of knowing that they still have it.”

Police Chief Donald Oakes says they still have it, all of it, and most of it is sealed.

Oakes said Hicks requested to see all of the evidence.

He said they probably could have let her see some of it, had the prosecution and the defense agreed, but giving anyone access to the evidence outside of forensic testing could compromise a future prosecution if there ever were one.

Last year, all three men in the case, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin were released when they made a deal with prosecutors where they maintained their evidence but plead guilty.

Pam Hicks has publicly said she no longer thinks the WM3 are guilty and was glad they were freed.

New allegations surface in the West Memphis 3 murders #wm3

Attorney for Pam Hicks presented court documents accusing four people in the West Memphis 3 killings. 

Terry Hobbs & his friend David Jacoby were among the four listed.

Pam Hicks (formerly Hobbs), the mother of one of the three boy scouts killed in 1994 in West Memphis is fighting for evidence in the case.

Today a Marion, Arkansas judge heard the case of releasing the evidence but with these new developments it has taken a back seat. 

Hicks has argued that investigators violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act by not allowing them to examine the evidence.  Three teens, Damien Echols, Jessie Miskelley and Jason Baldwin were convicted in the murders but were set free in 2011  after taking an Alford Plea with prosecutors.

FOX13's Bofta Yimam was in court today.  Tune into FOX13 News at 5 and stay with myfoxmemphis.com for the latest developments.

Read more on this case at myfoxmemphis.com.

Hearing Held Today About West Memphis 3 Evidence #wm3

(Marion, AR) A hearing is being held today regarding evidence in the West Memphis 3 murders.

Judge Victor Hill is hearing from parents of the three victims who want access to evidence in the murders of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers in 1994.

Pam Hicks, the mother of Stevie Branch, wants to examine some of the items that belonged to her son and were found at the murder scene.

Hicks previously told us, “I do want to know that it has not been contaminated if they need it, if something [were] to come out of this,” said Hicks. “I definitely don’t want to touch it. I just want to have a peace of mind and ease of knowing that they still have it.”

Police Chief Donald Oakes says they still have it, all of it, and most of it is sealed.

Oakes said Hicks requested to see all of the evidence.

He said they probably could have let her see some of it, had the prosecution and the defense agreed, but giving anyone access to the evidence outside of forensic testing could compromise a future prosecution if there ever were one.

Last year, all three men in the case, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin were released when they made a deal with prosecutors where they maintained their evidence but plead guilty.

Pam Hicks has publicly said she no longer thinks the WM3 are guilty and was glad they were freed.

Learn more about this case, click here.

Jessie & Damien hug it out at biz conference in Memphis, 02/11/13 #wm3

FedEx pulls sponsorshop of Memphis startup conference where Damien Echols will speak

By Wayne Risher

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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.

Brand New 'Exonerate the WM3' Bumpersticker!

in the WM3.org official zazzle store today... Get 'em while they're hot!

 

Jason Baldwin's Two Little Rock Appearances in December! #wm3

On Wednesday, Dec. 12, the Argenta Film Series at the Argenta Community Theater will screen "Paradise Lost," Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's 1996 documentary about the child murders in West Memphis and the three men who came to be known as the West Memphis Three. Following the film, Jason Baldwin, will make his first public appearance in the state since he and Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley were released from Arkansas prisons in 2011 after submitting an Alford plea, under which a defendant asserts innocence while pleading guilty. He'll be joined by filmmaker Joe Berlinger and Arkansas Times contributor Mara Leveritt, the author of WM3 case related Devil's Knot and the follow-up Justice Knot. Reserve your FREE tickets to the screening here.

On Thursday, Dec. 13, Baldwin, Berlinger and Leveritt will participate in a panel discussion at the Clinton School entitled "The Case for Cameras in Court." Judges rarely allow trials to be videotaped. Had Berlinger and Sinofsky not been allowed to film the trials of Baldwin, Echols and Misskelley, most believe Baldwin and Misskelley would still be in jail and Echols, who was sentenced to death, would have been executed. Get your FREE tickets by emailing [email protected] or calling 501-683-5239.

Jessie Misskelley lives life out of the spotlight #WM3

Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

WEST MEMPHIS, AR -

(WMC-TV) - Jessie Misskelley is the lone member of the West Memphis 3, who shied away from the spotlight.

Susie Brewer Boggan, the recent former girlfriend of Jessie Misskelley, Junior, wants to set the story straight about her relationship with Misskelley. She was 13 when he was arrested, along with Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, for the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis nearly two decades ago.

Boggan appeared in the first documentary of the Paradise Lost series about the murders. She had a conversation with Misskelley, who was behind bars at the time, before he went to trial.

After the West Memphis 3 were convicted, Susie Brewer Boggan went on with her life. She got married, had children, but the dream did not die.

"We were writing each other two years before he got out. Then I came down here when he got out," she said.

But Jessie's life did not go the same direction as Echols and Baldwin.

"I said, ‘Look, you get mad because they're living a good life but they're earning. They got their GED in jail. They did college in jail. I can't help it you just laid on a bed and laid there,'" said Boggan.

Echols is married, an author, and a movie producer who travels the world.

Baldwin, who is also involved with movies about the life of the West Memphis 3, plans to attend law school.

"You shouldn't be mad about it, you could do it too," said Boggan.

"Jason sends him texts and stuff all the time asking him why don't he come to this. I don't know, he just doesn't want to," she said.

Damien Echols told Action News 5's Janice Broach that he worries about Misskelley.

Jessie Misskelley said in a short interview a few months ago that he is happy staying out of the limelight, as he lives and works in West Memphis.

And Susie Brewer Boggan says she is now out of Jessie Misskelley's life.

Jessie Misskelley is reluctant to talk, but his father us his son is working and doing fine in West Memphis.

Copyright 2012 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.

Damien Echols, of the #WM3, talks about his `Life after Death`

Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee 

(WMC-TV) – Damien Echols, one of the West Memphis 3, is trying to set the record straight with the reporter who has covered his case from the very beginning.

Three little boys were murdered in West Memphis in 1993. The case captivated the world.

Action News 5's Janice Broach covered the crimes, the trials, the convictions, and just last year, the release of the three men, who claimed innocence from the beginning.

The Damien Echols that Janice Broach sat down with is a very different man than the person she saw 18 years ago.

He spent almost two decades on Arkansas' death row, and he is now spending his time reading tarot cards for wisdom and meditation.

Hearing underway on request for #WM3 evidence

Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 1:20 PM

Mara Leveritt reports from West Memphis at a hearing on a suit seeking access to police evidence in the West Memphis Three murder case:

Circuit Judge Victor Hill said this morning that he will take under advisement two important issues concerning freedom of information in Arkansas and issue a ruling early next week.

The matters arose as the result of a lawsuit filed by two of the parents of children murdered in West Memphis in 1993. Pam Hicks and John Mark Byers want to see evidence collected by police during the murder investigation.

They have also asked to see evidence in the possession of prosecuting attorney Scott Ellington, who is currently running for Congress.

The parents attorney, Ken Swindle of Rogers, argued that Ellington did not respond to a freedom of information request on behalf of the parents within the time required by the state's freedom of information act.

Ellington was seen in court prior to the hearing, but he did not appear at it to testify on his own behalf. A deputy prosecutor from his office testified that Ellington had asked him to appear instead. Swindle complained about his difficulties in contacting Ellington, despite weeks of trying. Byers called Ellington "gutless" for not appearing in person at the hearing.

Under questioning, the deputy prosecutor, Curt Huckaby, said that there were three affidavits in Ellington's possession that constituted an ongoing investigation. These documents were turned over to Judge Hill. The first was said to have been received in December 2011.

Under questioning by Swindle, Huckaby said that no action had been taken on any of the affidavits. However, he said that interviews were planned.

Swindle argued that the "passive receipt" of documents does not constitute an "ongoing investigation."

The second subject the judge said he would consider as a result of this morning's hearing concerned evidence collected by the West Memphis police department.

David Peeples, city attorney for West Memphis, argued that documents would be made available to the parents, but that other evidence did not fall under the requirements of the freedom of information statute.

He maintained that police had an obligation to preserve evidence for possible testing in the future.

Swindle responded that his clients did not seek the return of the evidence or seek to touch the evidence. He said they only wanted to view it, "to make sure it is there."

He added, "So this is no small thing we are asking for." (Judge Hill will rule on these two matters on Monday, October 29 2012.)

Read the full Arkansas Times online story here. 

Paradise Lost docs released as box set November 6th! #wm3

Available for preorder now...

Damien Echols to Appear on CBS Sunday Morning #wm3

Damien Echols spent 18 years in jail for a crime he says he didn’t commit. However, life on the outside isn’t as easy as most would expect. Echols, who along with two others was convicted for the murders of three boys, tells CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH Charles Osgood he lives in fear.

“I can’t even describe what the fear is or where it comes from,” Echols tells 48 HOURS MYSTERY correspondent Erin Moriarty in an interview airing this weekend on CBS SUNDAY MORNING. “It’s just like this free-floating anxiety. It’s what – literally my life has become – is that I’ve been injected into this whole new world. And I’m having to learn everything.”

Moriarty talks with Damien Echols and his wife Lorri, whom he met and married in prison, about his stay in jail, life after being released, and his new book, Life after Death.

Moriarty’s full interview with Echols will air Sept. 16 on CBS SUNDAY MORNING (9:00-10:30 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.

Read more: http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/Damien-Echols-to-Appear-on-CBS-SUNDAY-MORNING-20120914#ixzz26YGFITlv

Read the full story here  

Paradise Regained #wm3

“I’m often plagued by thoughts that people will think of me only as either someone on death row or someone who used to be on death row.” So writes Damien Echols in the preface to his new book, Life After Death. Today, sitting with Echols in a sprawling Tribeca penthouse on loan from close friend Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, the sentiment is further explained: “It’s kind of a horrible thing to be remembered and to be known for something that was done to you,” he says. “It’s part of what drives me to want to succeed. I want to do something that stands on its own merit, that people see and that they care about completely independent of all the other stuff… all the case-related stuff.”

When speaking of “the case,” Echols manages to compartmentalize the agony he’s experienced over the last two decades, presenting it as something that sounds like an isolated legal concern—which is quite impressive. The case at hand is of course his false conviction for a triple homicide handed down by an Arkansas court in 1994. He was sentenced along with his friends Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr.—the trio would become known as the West Memphis Three—at the young age of 18. Baldwin and Misskelley, juveniles at the time, received life sentences. Damien, perceived as the ringleader, was sentenced to death. Rife with inconsistencies and false testimony, the trial presented the sensational theory that because the teenagers wore black, read Stephen King novels, and listened to heavy metal, they must have killed the victims, three neighborhood children, in a satanic cult ritual. The proceedings garnered widespread media attention, which led to the 1996 HBO documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Initially focused on the public hysteria surrounding the case, the film ends up hypothesizing that the West Memphis Three are innocent, as do its two sequels, released in 2000 and 2011. last year, following a decision on behalf of the court regarding new DNA evidence, the three were released from prison—but only after agreeing to sign a controversial Alford plea, which states they will not sue the state of Arkansas.

Read the full story at VMan.com

Updated Information Concerning the WM3 Request for Consideration of New Information

Please read the letter from Jason Baldwin's attorneys, John Philipsborn and Blake Hendrix, to Scott Ellington regarding results of forensic hair and fiber testing that were not in hand by the defense or the state when Damien, Jason and Jessie took Alford Pleas in order to be released on 8/19/11. In the opinion of Baldwin's attorneys, this new information underscores that this case should not have ended in Alford Pleas at all and further undermines the basis that AR erroneously relies on to salvage the validity of their convictions. We eagerly await Mr. Ellington's reply. 

Download WM3 Testing Letter 8-28-12

 

New tests on crime scene fibers produce no link to WM3

By Marc Perrusquia

Thursday, August 30, 2012

In yet another twist in case of the West Memphis Three, defense attorneys say new testing excludes the only crime scene evidence prosecutors had to convict defendants Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley in 1994 — a series of tiny clothing fibers.

Testing completed in May by three experts — including a former FBI crime lab scientist — found serious flaws in government's fiber testing conducted in 1993-94, says Baldwin's attorney, John T. Philipsborn, in a letter to Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel.

"What is … disturbing and clearly indicative of the problematic evidence that the State introduced in the Baldwin/Echols trial, is the clear evidence that the State's fiber evidence is flawed,'' Philipsborn says in the letter dated Aug. 28.

A report by Max M. Houck, former physical scientist in the Trace Evidence Unit of the FBI's crime lab, offers a more blistering critique of the state's fiber evidence testing.

"The sloppiness of the notes, the lack of data and documentation, the erratic nature of the color analysis data all suggest scientists who were poorly trained to do the casework they were responsible for and were operating at the margin of competency, were derelict in their assigned duties, or were otherwise unable to properly conduct this kind of scientific work,'' Houck says in the report.

Full story available at commercialappeal.com.

Damien Echols of #WM3 sits with Dawn Scott on life after prison

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Echols was released from prison one year ago, following a unique plea deal in the case of the West Memphis Three.

Click HERE to watch Part 1 & 2 of the videos

In an interview with THV anchor Dawn Scott, Echols says "everything" about post-prison life feels different.

"The first two to three months out, I was in an extreme state of shock and trauma," says Echols. "This is a gradual process."

Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley left behind their jail cells in August 2011 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.

Echols is preparing to release his second book, "Life After Death," September 18. His message is to encourage people "just not to waste life."

"It's a very bizarre time in life for me right now," Echols shares. "I'm still trying to get used to the world again."

Echols lives in New York City now with his wife, Lorri Davis. He has not returned to Arkansas. "I've thought about it, talked about it" but says the thought of returning is "psychologically and emotionally distressing" and says he "can't make myself face it yet."

Echols reminds that he was completely isolated and removed from society for nearly twenty years and says he still becomes anxious at simple things such as directions and social interactions.

Echols also often thinks back on his time in prison, adding that he will be "haunted by it for the rest of my life."

Echols maintains contact with Misskelley and, until recently, Baldwin. He also keeps in contact with some of the victims' family members, sharing that the family of Stevie Branch gave him a pocketwatch engraved with the date of his prison release and the words "time begins now."

He still maintains his innocence and says he is working to uncover who killed Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers back in 1993.

"This isn't over," says Echols. "We are not going to allow officials to sweep this under the rug. We will continue to fight this case as long as we have to until the right thing is done. Really that's what the rest of our lives are gonna be dedicated to until this is finally and completely resolved. This is not gonna go away." 

Download "Golden State" by Vedder & Maines, Benefit Freedom Fund #wm3

The itunes and Pearl Jam website links to this inspiring live recording from the 2010 Voices for Justice concert in Little Rock, AR are now live. Download now! 100% of the proceeds go to the WM3 Freedom fund, which helps the three with their living and educational expenses.

Status Update: Jason Baldwin #wm3

As most of you already know, this past year began with a tremendously difficult decision for me and those around me. I am not entirely aware of what went on before the Alford plea was brought to me and to my incredibly dedicated and hard-working attorneys, Blake Hendrix and John Philipsborn. So I can only say I originally turned down the deal after Blake explained it in-depth to me the evening after he first learned of it. I maintained from the start that Damien, Jessie and I are innocent, and though I know nothing was certain, I believe we stood a good chance of that fact being proven in court. Being fully informed of all the ramifications of both choices, I decided I did not want to plead guilty with the possibility of complete exoneration so close at hand.

Ultimately, I changed my mind for Damien and Jessie and their families. I gave no real credence to the idea that I wouldn’t be supported if I chose to stay in while Damien and Jessie walked free (which was not an option anyway). The truth is, I am fortunate enough that both of my parents are still in good health, and I could have survived another couple of years. But I knew that even when we were exonerated, it was likely that Damien’s mother and Jessie’s father—perhaps even Damien himself—wouldn’t be alive to see it. I couldn't make that decision for them, and that is why I took the deal, after Holly and I both spent the few short days we were given agonizing over this impossible choice.

Having said that, this has truly been a year of miracles and wishes come true. At the age of 35, I learned what most kids in America do at the age of 14 to 16, and that was to drive. I bought my first vehicle and earned my first paycheck, beginning work at a construction job three days after my release. (I am now working at a husband and wife law firm here in Seattle.)

#WM3, a Year Out of Prison, Navigate New Paths

By KIM SEVERSON

Read the full story at NYTimes.com

ATLANTA — The list of things you learn about yourself when you get out of prison after 17 years is long: You’re allergic to shrimp, or you’re paralyzed by the choices in a grocery store or moved to tears by the softness of the night sky.

From left, Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, the West Memphis Three, after their 1993 arrests in the murder of three boys.

The men known as the West Memphis Three thought they would die in prison, linked forever as the torturers and killers of three young boys. They have been free for a year now, living as little more than acquaintances in a world flooded with possibilities.

Yet they are still linked, not only by a series of coming books and movies but by a legion of fervent supporters who hold them as a symbol of a flawed legal system.

“Honestly, we all lived through this horrible time in our own way and got through it differently, so now I guess we all have a different way of healing,” said Jason Baldwin, 35, who went into prison a quiet, heavy metal-loving teenager ready to start a job as a grocery store bagger and came out — much to the amazement of most people who meet him — a sweet, optimistic and slightly goofy man who wants to help people who have been wrongly accused.

Vedder & Maines Release "Golden State" on 8.19, Benefits WM3 Freedom Fund

From RollingStone.com:

August 19th marks the one-year anniversary of the release of the West Memphis Three, three men who were controversially convicted as teenagers in 1994 for the murder of three young boys. About a year before Jessie Misskelley, Charles Baldwin, and Damien Echols gained their freedom, Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam and Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks joined forces onstage at the West Memphis Three Rally in Little Rock, Arkansas. On this new track, Vedder and Maines cover the John Doe track "Golden State," a Vedder favorite, in the spirit of freedom.

This version of "Golden State" will be available for download on August 19th on iTunes and Pearl Jam's website, but you can stream it on RollingStone.com now. All proceeds go to the WM3 Freedom Fund.