The West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin, have been in prison for 12 years as the result of a controversial trial in 1993 where they were falsely convicted for the murder of three young children in West Memphis, Arkansas. WM3.org has just posted an update to their website announcing that the DNA testing has been completed, showing no link to the evidence in the case and proving that the three were innocent all along. It turns out that the DNA evidence has been linked to Terry Hobbs, the step father of one of the children killed.
Just hours ago, our attorneys filed a Second Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus proving that three innocent men were wrongfully convicted of murder in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. Citing DNA testing and evidence from several witnesses and leading experts, the nearly 200-page writ asks the Court to order a new trial for my husband, Damien Echols, or release him.
In short, DNA testing has been conducted on dozens of pieces of evidence. The DNA results show no link whatsoever to Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley or Jason Baldwin – and all of the experts agree that, under the prosecution theory of how the crime was committed, their DNA would be present at the crime scene if they were guilty. Instead, the DNA results match Terry Hobbs, the step-father of one of the victims. Our new filing also includes strong evidence from Pam Hobbs (the ex-wife of Terry Hobbs and the mother of one of the victims) implicating her former husband in the murders.
Echols’ legal defense team is planning a live webcast of the press conference at 8am PDT/11am EDT on Thursday, November 1st. They still have a long way to go before being released and are seeking donations for their legal fund.
Here’s more background information on this well publicized case, which was the subject of two documentaries by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” (1996) and “Paradise Lost 2: Revelations” (2000).
Thanks to Ron Turner for the tip!
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- West Memphis Three World Awareness Day
- Skeleton Key West Memphis Three Benefit
- Massive Zombie Outbreak in San Francisco & Memphis
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
That is good news. That whole situation was a terrible mess. Thanks for posting this.
Great news. Thanks for posting this. Hard to believe it took 14 years and thousands of supporters to reach this point.
It’s about F@#King time!
I’ve just watched the 1st documentary on this, and I’m fixing to watch the 2nd one done by HBO. I agree that it seems these boys may be innocent, at the very least they were convicted without enough evidence. Does anyone know if these kids were ever given a polygraph? So far I haven’t seen anything about that.
I hope these creep’s supporters will wake up. These are cold-blooded killers and should fry. If the step-father is suspected he should also fry. I would rather execute the wrong people than let the real murderers get away. Execute them all and let God separate the innocents.
Dan…
Can you post a picture of yourself? I want to make sure that you are removed from the jury pool if I am ever sitting in the defendants seat.
Wow, that dan guy is a big fucking loser… perhaps HE should be the one frying :P
I’m all for population control, but fried human doesn’t taste nearly as good as fried snickers bars.
Good post though. DNA evidence that protects rather than condemns is always a plus in my book… Maybe next time, we can use the Pre-cogs.
That’s actually a really excellent approach dan, and would, under most circumstances, be essentially infallible. Unfortunately, due to several millennia of humanity’s wholesale slaughter of one another, there’s now a massive backlog of innocents awaiting God’s perfect judgement. Rumor is that He’s so far behind, He’s thinking of summarily damming several billion souls just to catch up.
Holy cow, Dan. I’m not sure where to begin.
Don’t feed the trolls