Theyre not even TRYING to make this look like a legitimate interrogation! scout deaths", "New judge appointed for West Memphis appeals", "Deal Frees 'West Memphis Three' in Arkansas", "The Ropes & Gray Partner Who Helped Free the West Memphis Three", Prosecutor's statement on West Memphis 3 plea deal, "West Memphis Three Attorneys Discuss Alford Plea Details", "FLASH: West Memphis 3 freed in plea bargain", "West Memphis 3, locked up 18 years, together in NY", "Arkansas crime lab to study 'West Memphis 3' case DNA", "Father of Victim to Convicted Killer: "I'm Here for You", Victim's father wants West Memphis 3 set free, Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines Wins "West Memphis Three" Defamation Suit, "Professional profiler convinced of innocence of West Memphis Three", "Mindhunter: Former FBI unit chief recalls high-profile cases", "Metallica May Give Music To "Paradise Lost" Sequel", Untying The Knot: John Mark Byers and the West Memphis child murders, "Disturbed Release Benefit Single for West Memphis Three", "West Memphis Three 'Wrongully Convicted Episode Trailer White Light Productions' CNN iReport", "Decades without daylight: 'West Memphis Three' describe life in prison", "Johnny Depp Reveals Anguish Over West Memphis Three Injustice", "West Memphis Three drama 'Devil's Knot' with Reese Witherspoon sets release", "West Memphis 3 cases to receive hearing, possible new trial", "Q&A: Paradise Lost directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky", "Damien Echols may be troubled but he's not killer, some say", "Echols of West Memphis 3 talks about appeal, death row", "Defense Offers New Evidence in a Murder Case That Shocked Arkansas", "The Damien I Know The Architect and the Inmate", "CNN Larry King Live-Damien Echols Death Row Interview", Echols' Attorneys File New Motion Claiming Wrongful Conviction In 'West Memphis Three' Case, "Piers Morgan Damien Echols On The Death Penalty 02/08/2013", "Ex-Misfits Singer Rocks With West Memphis 3's Echols | Billboard.com", "Illusions Album: Michale Graves & Damien Echols", "L.A. Times article on Damien Echols art exhibit at Copro Gallery", "SALEM Exhibit of Echols' Artwork at the Copro Gallery", "DAMIEN ECHOLS ARTISTS ON ART MARCH 25 6:15 7:00 PM", "The Midnight Gospel: Damien Echols' appearance explained how the Netlfix voice actor escaped death row", The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry (The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies), Echols of West Memphis 3 talks about appeal, death row, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Memphis_Three&oldid=1134318011, Echols co-wrote the lyrics to the song "Army Reserve", on, Echols and Michale Graves released an album titled, Echols began creating art while on death row as a "side effect of my spiritual, magical practice. At trial, the defense team argued that news articles from the time could have been the source for Echols' knowledge about the genital mutilation, and Echols said his knowledge was limited to what was "on TV". Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison. A subsequent search of the ditch revealed the bodies of three boys. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. This ruling was in turn thrown out by the Arkansas Supreme Court as to all three defendants on November 4, 2010.[46]. According to HBO's documentaries Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), no blood was found at the crime scene, indicating that the location where the bodies were found was not necessarily the location where the murders actually happened. RIDGE: okay, the knife that you said Jason was using, where is it? To assist in the appeals process, Echols' appellate legal team retained a Berkeley, California-based forensic psychiatrist, Dr. George Woods, to make their case. The filing cited DNA evidence linking Terry Hobbs (stepfather of one of the victims) to the crime scene, and new statements from Hobbs' now ex-wife. You received a phone call is that correct? The boys had been hogtied with their own shoelaces, sexually mutilated and physically assaulted before being killed. (They have to make sure again that Jessie knows what a penis is? [9] During Echols' trial, Dr. George W. Woods testified (for the defense) that Echols suffered from: serious mental illness characterized by grandiose and persecutory delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, disordered thought processes, substantial lack of insight, and chronic, incapacitating mood swings. Jessies times of arrival at the woods will change many times throughout the three statements), JESSIE: Yes, I did. RIDGE:Put away for a while. RIDGE:Okay, how long was the knife that Jason was using? He lived with his mother, Sharon Melissa Byers, his adoptive father, John Mark Byers, and his stepbrother, Shawn Ryan Clark, aged 13. [1][2][3], Due to the dubious nature of the evidence as well as the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. Judge David Laser then sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years. RIDGE:Holes in the knees. He has claimed both that the seizure medication he was taking caused periodontal disease, and that he planned the removal because of other kinds of dental problems which had troubled him for years. Dilation of the anus is a normal post-mortem condition. RIDGE:okay, which one did you see killed? RIDGE: Alright, they were on their bikes, where were the bikes at? GITCHELL: So, what else left is there, after that? He said they called me). [34], Three weeks later, Echols and Baldwin went on trial. RIDGE: Okay, did any of the other two boys, were you there when they were actually killed? RIDGE: Alright, when did they take their clothes off? On August 19, 2011, Echols, along with Baldwin and Misskelley, was released from prison after their attorneys and the judge handling the upcoming retrial agreed to a deal. [citation needed], While in prison, Echols wrote letters to Gloria Shettles, an investigator for his defense team. JESSIE: Not that I know of, I wouldnt. His stated reasons for the removal are apparently contradictory. Echols spent several months in a mental institution in Arkansas and afterward received "full disability" status from the Social Security Administration. Charles Jason Baldwin[83] (born April 11, 1977) along with Misskelley and Echols, entered an Alford plea on August 19, 2011. [6], Factors cited by prosecutor Scott Ellington for agreeing to the plea deal included that two of the victims' families had joined the cause of the defense, that the mother of a witness who testified about Echols's confession had questioned her daughter's truthfulness, and that the State Crime Lab employee who collected fiber evidence at the Echols and Baldwin homes after their arrests had died. [53], In September 2008, attorney (now judge) Daniel Stidham, who represented Misskelley in 1994, testified at a postconviction relief hearing. RIDGE: Okay, so he kills an animal, you mentioned earlier that he may have to eat part of that animal, what part of the animal would he eat? RIDGE: Okay, let me ask you something, now this is real serious and I want you to be real truthful, and I want you to think about it before you answer it, dont just say yes or no, real quick. The episode premiered May 5, 2011, with extensive background information included on the show's page at the Investigation Discovery site. He had never told me that he had it. Alright, another boy was cut I understand, where was he cut at? He just said no and again we ask a question designed to ignore the last answer and give another, completely different response), JESSIE:Jason was screwing him while Damien stuck his in his mouth and then they both were. Gitchell touched on a point, real close, now what clothes were Jason wearing that day? ALSO, the Commercial Appeal, local newspaper, picked up chatter about the murders on their police scanner, hearing about the castration, and printed it in the next days paper. Searchers canvassed all of West Memphis but focused primarily on Robin Hood Hills, where the boys were reported last seen. If you will look at John Mark Byers statement of 5-19-93 he describes Todd Moore becoming confused that all boys were castrated and John finding out it was only his son; so there was dicussion between the families and possibly those who knew them. RIDGE:Damien and Jason having sex? [25], Though he was informed of his Miranda rights, Misskelley later claimed he did not fully understand them. JESSIE: No, they just hollered at them, they showed up. [16] Christopher Mark Byers is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery East in Memphis, Tennessee.[17]. JESSIE: They started screwing them again, (No evidence of violent sodomy nor does Jessie say at any time how he found out that sexual acts were committedafterhe left if he did not discuss itlaterwith Damien and Jason; another case of Jessie leaving.). Or had he just been watching them. [19], Baldwin and Echols had been previously arrested for vandalism and shoplifting respectively, and Misskelley had a reputation for his temper and for engaging in fistfights with other teenagers at school. . Michael Moore was the son of Todd and Dana Moore. When he first hit the boy, when Damien first hit the first boy, did they have their clothes on then? Then I came down here when he got out," she said. Jessie Lloyd Misskelley's third recorded statement in regards to the events of May 5th, 1993.Full transcript:http://callahan.mysite.com/wm3/jmfeb.html He was predeceased by : his wife Kathy . Present in the interview is Insp. [67] In late 2007, John Mark Byerswho was previously vehement in his belief that Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin were guiltyalso announced that he now believes that they are innocent. GITCHELL: How long have you been involved in it? Early in the investigation, the WMPD briefly regarded two West Memphis teenagers as suspects. ", Following a 2010 decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court regarding newly produced DNA evidence and potential juror misconduct, the West Memphis Three negotiated a plea bargain with prosecutors. [88] He moved to New York City after his release. I had always assumed that my son's murderer had taken the knife during the crime. "You shouldn't be mad about it, you could do it too," said Boggan. JESSIE: A friend of mine, he borrowed them. JESSIE: They were going to catch their bus and stuff, and they was on their bikes and so, (If the children were catching the bus, why would they be riding their bikes? JESSIE: I was there until they tied them up and then thats when I left, after they tied them up, I left. Stidham testified under oath that during the trial, Judge David Burnett erred by making an improper communication with the jury during its deliberations. JESSIE: Different shirts, different Metaalica shirts have different pictures. JESSIE: I saw him cut one of the little boys. [68] "I had made the comment if it were ever proven the three were innocent, I'd be the first to lead the charge for their freedom," said Byers, and take "every opportunity that I have to voice that the West Memphis Three are innocent and the evidence and proof prove they're innocent. RIDGE: Alright, where did he cut him at? Describe those pictures for me. Not much is known about Jessie Misskelley, Jr.'s current whereabouts, and what he is up to. They were known for wearing black and listening to heavy metal. Byers agreed to and passed a polygraph test about the murders during the filming of Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, but the documentary indicated that Byers was under the influence of several psychoactive prescription medications that could have affected the test results. "[59] Since his release, Baldwin has moved to Seattle to live with friends. GITCHELL: Did you ever use, did anyone use a stick and hit the boys with? RIDGE:Didnt you go there with some more boys once? RIDGE: Has he ever had sex with them before? RIDGE:He doesnt have one, he didnt have one that night? [9] Misskelley's former attorney Dan Stidham cites multiple substantial police errors at the crime scene, characterizing it as "literally trampled, especially the creek bed." This more accurately describes the14thStreetWoods, which are normally known as the RHH woods by locals, not the site where the bodies were found (The Blue Beacon Woods). Stephen Braga, an attorney with Ropes & Gray who took up Echols's defense on a pro bono basis beginning in 2009, negotiated the plea agreement with prosecutors. What color is Jasons hair? RIDGE:Does that involve eating part of the penis of the animal? Jessie Misskelley Jessie Misskelley returned home to West Memphis after his release, the only one out of the WM3 who decided to stay in the area. Seeing a bruised up photo taken later would explain this statement; a recollection of the events as they were occurring could not). [9] Echols and Baldwin were close friends, and bonded over their similar tastes in music and fiction, and over their shared distaste for the prevailing cultural climate of West Memphis, situated in the Bible Belt. [9] Friends and neighbors also conducted a search that night, which included a cursory visit to the location where the bodies were later found. (Aisde from conflicting with the five times he says and then I left, it also conflicts with the claim that he saw the boys pulled into the water). Jessie Misskelley (Jessie Loyd Misskelly Jr.) was born on 10 July, 1975 in 1975, is a Producer. I want you to think about it. [9] Byers later stated that he may have cut his thumb. (Uh, no he didnt. Okay, so you saw Damien strike Chris Byers in the head. (Ridge leads Jessie again; Jessie doesnt state on his own where he was, he is told. Two other defendants await trial in Arkansas. [9], On February 5, 1994, Misskelley was convicted by a jury of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. [53] At the time, legal experts agreed that this issue could result in the reversal of the convictions of Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols. RIDGE:Okay, what were you doing in the water? The three boys were found brutally murdered in a shocking fashion in a wooded area called the Robin Hood Hills. RIDGE: When youve been by yourself, and Im sure in the last three weeks youve been by yourself with them sometime. From left, Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, the West Memphis Three, after their 1993 arrests in the murder of three boys. Naw, no psych or IQ issue here). Jessie Misskelleys income source is mostly from being a successful Producer. JESSIE: No, he wasnt wearing anything like that. [10], After a month had passed with little progress in the case, police continued to focus their investigation upon Echols, interrogating him more frequently than any other person. Did they get into the water with you all? RIDGE:Where did you throw up at? His father said Byers may not have taken his prescription on May 5, 1993. The prosecution called Dale W. Griffis, a graduate of the unaccredited Columbia Pacific University, as an expert in the occult to testify the murders were a Satanic ritual. All rights reserved. RIDGE: Alright, were going to correct that even further, thats the east side, Memphis side is the east side and you were standing at the top of the bank on the west side, were you looking down at what was going on? Each man then entered an Alford plea to lesser charges of first- and second-degree murder while verbally stating their innocence. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, dark shoes, and a white long-sleeved shirt. Okay, what was he choking him with? 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