Hi, I'm Kat66 and although I have my own site (KAT66UK) , I decided to set this one up so I could have some dedicated space to show my support for West Memphis Three....
THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
This is a fair question and one I think deserves
a fair and honest answer. Those who
already support the WM3, will have their own take on this, but here is
mine…....
Since there is an abundance of information
available on why these three young men from Memphis ended up in prison for the
torture and murder of three young boys – I will not go into the details of it,
instead I would suggest that you go to WWW.WM3.ORG
where you can find out all
you need to know. The real question is… Why should you care?
Well, here are the most obvious reasons:
The
investigation was very poorly undertaken, by incompetent officials who had little or no
experience in dealing with murder on this scale.
The
murder occurred within a “god fearing†community, which attributed to
the hysteria, prejudice and outrage that compounded the investigation and
put immense pressure on officials to make a quick and speedy arrest to cover up their mistakes in dealing with the case and the crime scene.
The
basic human and legal rights of a mentally challenged adolescent were
completely flouted, to obtain a confession that was to be the linchpin of
the case against himself and two others.
There
is a man on death row, awaiting his execution and two others serving a
sentence that will incarcerate them for best part of their lives.But is that enough?
It is after all a local case in the USA, that happened over 13 years ago
and it doesn’t affect me because I don’t live in that state or even live in
that country – Right?
Well…. To answer that, you need to understand
the injustice of the case and its implications.
You see, after all these years, its not the fact that these men were found guilty that is now so
disturbing. What is truly disturbing about this case is the fact that even
today, the authorities absolutely refuse to even consider the fact that they got it wrong. Which means,
they continually refuse to allow these men to have a retrial that, with todays CSI type of scientific testing - would probably enable
them to establish their innocence (I say 'probably' because much of the evidence gathered was either contaminated or "lost" - therefore the outcome is by no means certain!).
Times change and people/communities/cultures
change. If this murder occurred
today, these men would most definitely not be charged with murder. But then, the investigation would be much more thorough and
the community would be far more tolerant of the time required by the police to
find the real killer! So what are
the implications? Well, we claim to
live in a civilised society – part of the “western†world, where truth and
justice is the keystone of our culture. As
westerners, we all live “in the land of the free†- free speech, freedom of
expression, freedom to make our own choices and mistakes!
And there lies the key to this case!
People are human – even in the westernised world and mistakes are
made, accidentally and purposely... everyday! So the fact that
these men were charged with this murder in the first place really has become somewhat irrelevant
now - since we cannot change the past! What is absolutely relevant today is
the fact that no one in power is willing to review this case truthfully and
honestly. They are blindly sticking
to the original verdict, regardless of the huge volume of evidence that suggests
there were major mistakes made. And
the sad fact is that this is not an isolated case – there are many others like
it in many other states and countries… So why support this one?
Well, primarily because the death penalty is still legal in this US state
and therefore there is an urgency to this particular case, that may not
necessarily apply in others. But
also because it symbolises the meaning of one small step for man, being one
giant leap for mankind in the western world.
If we are unable to admit and correct our own
mistakes, how on earth can we be in a position to judge other countries on their
culture, conduct and rule? How
can we invade another country on the basis that their rule is cruel, unjust,
uncivilised and contravenes the basic human and legal rights of their own
people, when we ourselves are unable to address our own local injustices?
Doesn’t that smack of hypocrisy??
Are we not guilty of exactly the same things that we are using as reasons
to go to war over?
The consequences of this case are far reaching…
To execute a man in this day and age, where there is such doubt over the
legitimacy of the verdict that has placed him on death row and where all
requests for a re-trial have been stubbornly denied is quite simply murder! If we allow this to happen then we are all basically
complicit in that murder. Does that
sound civilised to you? And what about the people who were involved in this case? It is not the fault of any one individual, so how should we judge those who have contibuted to the arrest of these men? Are we
really such an unforgiving society that we could not offer some level of pity and/or understanding towards them.
If we cant, then we completely undermine the
moral values that underpin our claim to be “civilisedâ€.
And we may even be further damaging the chances of getting these 3 men a retrial - since the fear of retribution is likely to prevent those involved in this case, admitting the mistakes that were made.
Ultimately though, if the execution of Damien Echols takes place without a retrial to review the case
honestly and truthfully, then the West Memphis Officials are no better than the many
dictators that we as a civilised society abhor. If the US Government turn a blind eye to this case and make
no effort to step in – then their rule is no better than that of the people
they and many other western countries, have been fighting to overthrow.
And if we as civilised people living in the
western world, do nothing about this case, but let it run its course and allow
the execution of one man and the continued incarceration of two others – then
we forfeit the right to be known as a civilised society – because we do not
care enough about justice and the truth to fight for it, enforce it and to
challenge those who make mistakes in the name of it……..!!
PLEASE NOTE:
This is not a lecture, it is an opinion – my opinion and if you don’t
agree with it, then you do have the right and the freedom to check out this case
for yourselves and form your own opinion....
THE MURDERED CHILDREN
CHRISTOPHER BYERS -- BORN 23 JUNE 1984
STEVE BRANCH -- BORN 26 NOVEMBER 1984
MICHAEL MOORE -- BORN 27 JULY 1984
"May 5th, 1993 was a Wednesday, and when the Weaver Elementary school bell rang, three 8 year old boys headed home to their nearby West Memphis, Arkansas neighborhood. Only a few hours later they would be reported missing and an informal search by their parents would be under way.
The next afternoon at 1:45 PM, a child's body was pulled from a creek in an area known as Robin Hood Hills. Eventually the bodies of the other two missing children were found nearby. All three of them were naked and they had been tied ankle to wrist with their own shoe laces. The children had been severely beaten, and one child, Christopher Byers, appears to have been the focus of the attack; he had been stabbed repeatedly in the groin area and castrated."
by Burk Sauls
ALMOST HOME TOUR 2006
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