Advertisement
The Murders On the afternoon of May 6, 1993, Steve Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers were found murdered in the woods of Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis. They were found naked, brutally beaten and hog-tied with their own shoelaces at a drainage ditch. Steve and Michael died from their injuries and drowning, and Christopher was stabbed repeatedly, beaten, castrated and bled to death from his wounds. Despite having been found in standing water, swarming with mosquitoes, there were no insect bites found on the bodies. Also, there was very little blood found at the crime scene. This leads one to believe that the murders were done elsewhere and that the children were just dumped in the Robin Hood Hills Woods.
Jessie’s statement and other evidence The evidence that was presented during the hearings is questionable and some of it downright ridiculous. Jessie Misskelley, Jr. has an IQ of 72 and his statement (only the last 45 minutes were recorded of a 12 hour interrogation) plays a key role in the conviction of the West Memphis Three. The legality of how Jessie’s statement was obtained is questionable. He was 17 at the time and his father was telephoned for permission. In Arkansas, a parent or guardian has to initial a waiver of a minor’s Miranda Rights, and no waiver was ever presented. Jessie and his father initially agreed to make a statement because of reward money involved in finding the killer. During his statement he agreed with the suggestions of the police and also gets other facts wrong. After he finally confessed to being a witness and accomplice to the murders, he tried to recant, realizing that he wouldn’t be allowed to go home. He did not know he implicated himself. Jessie was found guilty of one count of murder in the first-degree and guilty of two counts of murder in the second-degree. He received a life sentence plus 40 years in prison.
Jessie’s statement was not admissible during the initial trial for Jason and Damien, as he refused to testify against them. But, it was leaked to the press and released to the town of West Memphis the day after he made his statement.
Dr. Richard Ofshe, a Pulitzer Prize winning professor of sociology at the University of California in Berkeley and an expert in false and coerced confessions, examined the transcripts of Jessie’s confession. He informed Jessie’s attorney, Dan Stidham that not only was his opinion that Jessie was innocent, but that Jessie ‘s was one of the worst false confessions he had encountered. However, the trial judge did not allow the jury to hear that in Ofshe’s expert opinion, Jessie ‘s confession was false, or involuntary due to his diminished mental capacity. It is Jessie’s statement that made the jury believe in their guilt. It is this and other strange presentations of evidence that leads many to fight for the justice and to Free the West Memphis Three.
While a lot of evidence was destroyed or lost (including fiber, hair and blood samples), evidence that could clear the boys is always ruled inadmissible by Judge Burnett. The most incredible of this are bite marks found on the victims. Dental impressions have been made of the West Memphis Three and none of them match the patterns found on the bodies of the boys.
Deputy District Attorney John Fogleman remarked following the convictions, “There was a remarkable lack of evidence against anyone.” There is no hard evidence to connect Miskelley, Baldwin, and Echols to the crime. In fact, the forensic evidence that does exist dictates that it is highly unlikely the murders could have occurred at the time or in the place that the State contends they occurred.
Damien and Jason were tried together and found guilty on three counts of capital murder. On April 19, 1994, Damien was given his death sentence and Jason was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Satanic Panic This case has been linked to satanic ritual because Damien Echols wore black clothing, listened to heavy metal music, read Stephen King books and has “EVIL” tattooed on the fingers of one hand. Damien also studied various types of religion, including Wicca. Because of this the people of West Memphis labeled him a devil worshipper. Jason Baldwin and Damien were best friends and listened to music together. Jason was questioned because of this friendship with Damien.
Dale Griffis is the only one to contend that the murders were part of a satanic ritual. He received a Masters and Ph.D. via mail order (from Columbia Pacific University) and took no classes to receive these titles. However, he continues his claim to be “an expert” and is hired to give seminars and lectures to police officers about the dangers of cults and how to identify their activities. Part of his expert opinion is if someone wears black they’re to be suspected as Satan worshippers.
The testimony of Griffis includes the following: The date of the murders, May 5, was close to the date of May 1, allegedly a satanic holiday. On the night the murders occurred, there was a full moon, which Griffis explained Satanists prefer to use for their ceremonies. Griffis also claimed that the youth of the victims would have made them a desirable sacrifice. Finally, Griffis implied that a reason for the lack of blood at the scene would have been that Satanists allegedly store blood from sacrifices for later use, such as consumption, other ceremonies, and in which to bathe. On cross-examination, Baldwin defense attorney Paul Ford extracted the admission from Griffis the truth about his education and of being an “expert”.
The support Two films have been created that document the case, providing gruesome details and still providing room for questions and more research. The films are PARADISE LOST: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) and Revelations: Paradise Lost Revisited (2000). They were first aired on HBO and are now available on videocassette at most rental stores and libraries. They are two very upsetting and traumatic documentaries about innocence lost and the long hard journey for truth and justice. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky direct both films. They are known for other documentary films such as Brother’s Keeper (1992) and Outrageous Taxi Stories (1989). The first Paradise Lost film began production in June 1993, after arrest warrants were issued to the West Memphis Three.
After the release of the first Paradise Lost film, in 1996, a web site (http://www.wm3.org) and a Free the West Memphis Three Support Fund was created. Photographer Grove Pashley, screenwriter Burk Sauls and art director Kathy Bakken decided that people needed a place to learn more information about this case and to help Free the West Memphis Three. They also visit the boys in prison, attend appeals hearings and benefits, hired a forensic profiler who discovered exculpatory evidence and launched the site. This site has thousands of hits per day. As this site is a starting point, it by no means is the only place with information. Hundreds of people have created a West Memphis Three home page after conducting their own research.
Also of note, victim Christopher Byer’s real father, Rick Murray, has spoken out and believes in the innocence of the West Memphis Three.
How you can help Free the West Memphis Three The West Memphis Three Support Fund has a current Postcard Project that this will benefit. They are wanting to receive postcards (the more colorful and representative of your town, the better) from supporters. These postcards will then become a banner to be held outside the courthouse during the various hearings for the West Memphis Three. The banner is now 150 feet by 4 feet. Joining the benefit will be Stacey Titchenell of Columbus, Ohio. In September she traveled to West Memphis, Arkansas and took photos of the crime scene and other areas of the town. According to Stacey, the crime scene still has sandbags, police tape and rubber gloves. The town continues to be highly charged and you are not welcome to search their library or to look at police records regarding this case. Remember, this happened nearly eight years ago. Contact supporters@wm3.org.
Benefit to Free the West Memphis Three Thursday, April 12th, 2001 6:30 p.m. MadLab Theater (at the corner of East Long and Grant Streets in downtown Columbus) http://www.wm3.org Paradise Lost 1 - 7:00 p.m. Intermission - 9:30 p.m. hear the benefit CD and participate in a Q/A session Paradise Lost 2 - 10:30 p.m. (running time 2 hours, 10 minutes) Admission - $6.00. Everyone paying this price will receive a stamped postcard to fill out. If you bring your own stamped postcard, your admission will be reduced to $5.00
Merchandise including CDs, T-shirts, stickers and buttons will be available. All monies will go to the Free the West Memphis Three Support Fund. The benefit CD was released by Aces & Eights Records (http://www.aces-eights.com). The following artists have contributed songs to join in the cause to Free the West Memphis Three: Steve Earle, Tom Waits, Jello Biafra (of Dead Kennedys), John Doe (of X), L7, Nashville Pussy, Tony Scalzo (of Fastball), Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam) and the Supersuckers, and many others. Note: The author would like to thank the Free the West Memphis Three Support Fund, Stacey Titchenell for sharing her abundant research, the Supersuckers for bringing this to my attention and all of those that support the West Memphis Three for their inspiration and information.