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The West Memphis Three: A modern day witch hunt
The case began on May 5 1993, when three bodies, those of 8 year old boys Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, were found in a wooded area known as the Robin Hood Hills near one of the main highways in West Memphis, Arkansas. The boys had last been seen out playing together sometime in the afternoon. It is estimated that they were abducted sometime around twilight, brutally tortured and then disposed of. Their bodies were found the following morning, submerged in a creek, naked and hog-tied with their own shoelaces. Christopher had bled to death from being mutilated and while Michael and Steve had still been alive when dumped, despite sustaining severe head injuries, both had died from drowning.
The main religion in West Memphis is those denominations deriving from Christianity. The town is well known for its deep rooted religious beliefs and its opposition to anyone who does not harbor the same values. Not only do the citizens of West Memphis live with the fear of god in them, majority of its people are living below the poverty line seeing most of the town made up of trailer parks. Arkansas is also renowned for its racism and discrimination that still continues in its towns today.
Having only dealt with petty theft and drug charges, The West Memphis police department had no experience with the altitude of this tragic murder. The police allowed potential evidence to be destroyed with their careless regard of inspecting the area in which the bodies where found. In a brief video made at the crime scene by the inspecting officers, many unauthorized people can be seen walking around the bodies, contaminating and tainting the area that should have been completely cornered off. Chief Investigator Gary Gitchell can be seen smoking a cigarette, seemingly uninterested in securing the scene and ensuring fundamental evidence is not contaminated.
Upon discover of any crime scene it is said that the first 48 hours are the most crucial. In this time evidence should be gathered, witnesses obtained and suspects should be acquired as to get a clearer picture of how the crime may have occurred. After these 48 hours the case becomes more difficult to work with as evidence is polluted, rumors are started and the media becomes involved. This did not occur the officer’s handling the case, and the town went into a state of panic.
A local juvenile probation officer, Jerry Driver, was also present when the bodies were discovered. For several years he had been following the activities of local teenager Damien Echols. Driver had Damien convicted in his mind before he was even considered a suspect. In fact, Driver later testified that the dark haired, moody teen was “the only person who was capable†of committing such a crime. ‘Satanic Panic’ is a term used to describe a phenomenon that occurs with alarming regularity in areas with deep religious convictions and as the media had leaked there had been allegations of the murders being part of ‘satanic cult’ rituals, Damien with his black clothes and taste in heavy metal music was the perfect suspect.
On June 3 1993, a month after the murders, police questioned mentally handicapped, 17 year old Jessie Misskelley Jr. Although Jessie knew who Damien Echols was, the two were not considered friends. The policed assured Jessie (who had an IQ of 72 and the mental capacity of a third grader) that he was not a suspect and that they simply wanted to question him. Although records show that Jessie had in fact passed the mandatory lie detector test that he willingly took, the police informed Jessie that he failed and pressed that he was lying. With no parent or attorney present, the police continued the interrogation that lasted for well over 4 hours, with only fragments totaling 34 minutes recorded. No one can be sure of what transpired when the recorder was off, but within the taped session, Jessie had implicated Damien and his close friend Jason Baldwin. At first Jessie had displayed an honest, obvious unfamiliarity with the murders until Jessie was coached through the events by Inspector Gary Gitchell and Detective Bryn Ridge until his version of what had occurred on the night of May 5th agreed with the officers. Although there were still major inconsistencies with Jessie’s statement he was arrested that same evening along with Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin.
Although Jessie’s botched confession was rather condemning, a shocking incident that occurred the same night of the murders was overlooked. At around 9.30pm Officer Regina Meek was called to investigate a suspicious black man in the ladies restroom of a local restaurant, only 2 blocks from the Robin Hood Hills area where the murders had occurred. According to the restaurant manager, the man was muddy, covered in blood and mumbling. Officer Meek drove up to the restaurants drive through window, but did not go inside to investigate. Blood samples were later taken from the walls of the restroom, but detective Ridge later testified that he had simply ‘lost’ them.
Long before the trials had proceeded, confidential portions of Jessie’s statement were leaked to the press by the police department and in turn, meant that the boys could no longer be tried before an impartial jury, a cunning and successful plan to hinder the boys chances of receiving a fair trial, which by right, they deserved under the American constitution.
The lack of blood at the scene of the crime was a big factor for the defense, most particularly in Jessie’s trial. The conspicuous amount of blood found where the bodies were recovered, led many investigators to believe the murders had occurred elsewhere, and the Robin Hood Hills simply used as a ‘dumping’ site. However, this theory was never fully investigated as it would have contradicted Jessie’s so called ‘confession’. During Jessie’s trial, Dr. Richard Ofshe, an expert on false confessions testified that Jessie’s brief recording was a classic example of police coercion. Dr. Ofshe testified that Jessie originally stated that the murders took place in the morning when the boys would have still been in school. The police being aware of this factor suggested to Jessie that it ‘must’ have taken place in the evening ‘around six or seven’ o’clock. Out of fear and false promises Jessie obligingly agreed with most of their suggestions. Unfortunately, the Judge did not allow the jury to hear most of Ofshe’s testimony
Ultimately, the ‘evidence’ that the prosecution presented in court at Damien and Jason’s trial, consisted of books found in Damien’s room by best selling authors Anne Rice and Stephen King and black concert T-shirts. More surprisingly, the testimony of a supposed ‘satanic cult expert’ was taken into account as hard evidence. It was later discovered that this so called expert had acquired his degree by mail order. In a court of law today this kind of ‘evidence’ would not be allowed to be presented in front of a jury for its obvious lack of capability of implication in a case of triple homicide.
However, this seemed to be enough evidence for the Judge and Jury, who sentenced Jessie Misskelley to life plus forty years and although they had no evidence whatsoever to implicate Jason Baldwin he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Damien Echols was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Almost 14 years later, the case is still being investigated, and since then substantial amount of evidence has been recovered to support the boys’ innocence. As recent as July this year, DNA evidence had concluded that none of the DNA found at the crime scene match the convicted men.
The police have not only disrespected the memory of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Steve Branch, but have betrayed Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley by using them as scapegoats for the crimes. Three lives were lost on the night of May 5 1993, and another three lost only months later at the hands of the police.
Damien, Jason and Jessie have already lost 13 years of their lives behind bars for a crime that they did not commit, do not let them lose anymore. Their final appeal is not far away, please; help us to keep them from losing another 14 years or possibly their lives. Everyone deserves the right to a fair trial and the law states; you are innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE!
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