West Memphis 3: new evidence

[Jo_Momma_82]

Defense Offers New Evidence in a Murder Case That Shocked Arkansas function

By SHAILA DEWAN


Published: October 30, 2007
ATLANTA, Oct. 29 — In 1994, three teenagers in the small city of West Memphis, Ark., were convicted of killing three 8-year-old boys in what prosecutors portrayed as a satanic sacrifice involving sexual abuse and genital mutilation. So shocking were the crimes that when the teenagers were led from the courthouse after their arrest, they were met by 200 local residents yelling, “Burn in hell.”

Creative Thinking
Damien W. Echols is challenging his conviction in the killing of three young Arkansas boys.



But according to long-awaited new evidence filed by the defense in federal court on Monday, there was no DNA from the three defendants found at the scene, the mutilation was actually the work of animals and at least one person other than the defendants may have been present at the crime scene.
Supporters of the defendants hope the legal filing will provide the defense with a breakthrough. Two of the men, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, are serving life in prison, while one, Damien W. Echols, is on death row. There was no physical evidence linking the teenagers, now known as the West Memphis 3, to the crime.
“This is the first time that the evidence has ever really been tested,” said Gerald Skahan, a member of the defense team. “The first trial was pretty much a witch hunt.”
Brent Davis, the local prosecutor, did not respond to requests for comment about the new evidence and the case, but in general prosecutors and investigators have continued to express confidence in their investigation.
The story the defendants’ supporters have presented — of three misfits whose fondness for heavy-metal music made them police targets — has won the men the support of celebrities like Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Marilyn Manson and the creators of “South Park.” Many learned of the case through an HBO documentary, “Paradise Lost,” and a sequel.
The prosecution hinged on a confession riddled with factual errors and a Satanic cult expert with a mail-order degree. Mr. Echols’s own lawyer called him “weird” and “not the all-American boy.”
Many viewers who watched the sequel, in fact, concluded that the police should have been investigating John Mark Byers, the stepfather of one of the children, who made seemingly drug-addled, messianic speeches on camera, gave the filmmakers a blood-stained knife, and had a history of violence and run-ins with the police. His child, Christopher Byers, was the most badly mutilated of the three.
But there was a surprise in the new forensic report filed by Mr. Echols’s lawyers: a hair found in one of the knots binding the children belonged most likely to the stepfather of another of the victims, not to Mr. Byers.
The three victims — Christopher, Steve Branch and James Michael Moore — were last seen riding their bikes on May 5, 1993. They were found the next day in a drainage ditch in Robin Hood Hills, near West Memphis, a low-rent town across the Mississippi River from Memphis. The boys were naked and hogtied with shoelaces.
The police quickly zeroed in on Mr. Echols, then 18, who was familiar to them because he was on probation for trying to run away with his girlfriend. They also believed he was involved in cult activities.
But they could find little evidence against him until Mr. Misskelley, mildly retarded and with a history of substance abuse, came in to speak with them. At the time there was a $30,000 reward.
After hours of questioning, Mr. Misskelley, 17, gave the police a taped statement that implicated himself, Mr. Baldwin, then 16, and Mr. Echols, then 19. Despite coaching by the investigators, Mr. Misskelley was incorrect in several significant details, including the time of the crime, the way the victims were tied and the manner of death. He said the children had been sodomized, an assertion that even the state medical examiner’s testimony appears to refute.
The team of forensic experts assembled by Mr. Echols’s lawyers, which included Dr. Michael Baden, the former medical examiner of New York City, also said there was no evidence of sexual abuse. Many of the wounds sustained by the victims were caused by animals, they said, including the castration of Christopher.
As for the stray hair, the West Memphis Police Department and the stepfather it appears to belong to, Terry Hobbs, have discounted the finding, saying it could easily have been picked up at home by his stepson, Steve Branch. But Dennis P. Riordan, a lawyer for Mr. Echols, said the hair was found in the shoelaces tying Michael Moore, not Steve Branch.
Further, Mr. Riordan said, a hair was found at the scene that most likely belongs to a friend of Mr. Hobbs who was with him for part of the evening.
The court filing also argues that jurors relied on the statement Mr. Misskelley gave the police to convict Mr. Echols and Mr. Baldwin, even though it was deemed inadmissible except in Mr. Misskelley’s trial. Several jurors have acknowledged that they knew about the confession before the trial, though they did not say so during jury selection.
The passing of time has not only allowed the defense to gather new information, but has also softened the public’s belief in the guilt of the convicted men, said Mara Leveritt, the author of “Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three.”
“What I’ve seen in the past 14 years has been not quite a 180-degree, but maybe a 170-degree turn,” Ms. Leveritt said. “It all comes down to, ‘Where’s the evidence?’”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/30satanic.html

[Shelley420]

Wow...this is exciting. I have been following this case for about 7 years. Anyone who has read about it would know that there was no evidence to convict the "WM3" but they were convicted anyway.

I really, really hope this "new" evidence can help them. A hair in the shoelace knot on one of the victims cannot be ignored. It would have to have come from the perp.

Lets just hope the 3 poor young boys who were killed get some sort of real justice and their true killer/s are caught and the WM3 freed...wouldn't that be a wonderful day?

[Shelley420]

I got this from the WM3 website http://www.wm3.org posted by Lorri Davis, Damien's wife...

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.

How can the "authorities" ignore this??

I would love to know what the "strong evidence" Pam Hobbs has on her former husband is!!!

[Jo_Momma_82]

DNA could clear 'Satanic' triple murder teenagers



After 15 years, the verdict in case that shocked America is denounced as a travesty of justice

Paul Harris in New York
Sunday November 4, 2007
The Observer


The horrific crime shocked a nation. Three young boys, cub scouts, were tied up, murdered and their naked bodies dumped in a drainage ditch.
As a Deep South community bayed for justice, attention focused on a group of misfit teenagers, heavy metal fans accused of killing the children in a Satanic ritual. The case became a sensation at a time when a 'Satanic panic' over cults was gripping 1990s America. All three were found guilty. Jason Baldwin, then 16, and Jessie Misskelley, 17, got life sentences. Damien Echols, 18, was put on death row, where he remains.
Article continues
</IMG>Now evidence, including DNA samples, has emerged to suggest the real killers are still at large and that three innocent men have been behind bars for almost 15 years. 'No reasonable juror would convict... knowing what we know today,' said defence lawyer Dennis Riordan.


The facts were simple enough. The victims - Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and James Moore - were last seen riding their bikes on 5 May, 1993. Their bodies, tied with shoelaces, were discovered a day later near the Arkansas town of West Memphis, close to the Mississippi river. They were only a few miles from home. Police were shocked by the terrible knife wounds and signs of torture and concluded that some sort of cult ritual had occurred. Attention quickly focused on the town misfits. Under pressure, Misskelley confessed to the killings and all three were found guilty.
Now lawyers for Echols have lodged new evidence seeking to prove his innocence. The case against the West Memphis Three appears to have been more about rushed police work and hyped-up paranoia over non-existent Satanism than evidence. The suspects were just unfortunate to be social outcasts and to like rock music.
First there was Misskelley's confession. Despite coaching by investigators, Misskelley - who was mentally retarded and had a drug problem - described the murders incorrectly. He described sexual abuse that forensics proved had not happened. He said the murders were in the morning, when the victims were in school, and that they were tied with ropes, not shoelaces. Much of his confession seemed to be suggested by police interrogators.
The prosecution's assertion that a Satanic ritual had taken place has also now been discredited. The key expert witness on cults, Dale Griffis, had claimed in court that the marks on the bodies were clearly Satanic. However, it was later proved that Griffis had got his 'PhD in cult studies' from a fake Californian university that was later closed for being a 'diploma mill'. 'Apart from being a travesty of justice, this is not a Satanic murder. There is no ritual,' said John Douglas, a veteran of the FBI who is working with the defence team.
The wounds that police claimed were ritually inflicted, including sexual mutilation, have also been shown to have been caused by wild animals, probably stray dogs, clawing at the bodies after death. 'To sell that to a jury was unconscionable. They are scratch marks from some kind of animal,' said Dr Richard Souviron, a forensics expert in bite marks. Defence lawyers have tested two hairs found at the scene. One was found entangled in one of the ligatures tying up one of the boys. It has been matched with DNA samples from Terry Hobbs, a stepfather of one of the victims. Another hair, found on a tree stump, has been linked by DNA sampling to David Jacoby, a friend of Hobbs who was with him on the day of the murder and provided him with an alibi. No DNA evidence of any kind has been found at the scene to match any of the West Memphis Three. Douglas, who pioneered the profiling of serial killers at the FBI, also believes they do not match the psychological profile of whoever carried out the crime. He said the way the boys were killed, and their bikes, clothes and bodies hidden, suggested a sophisticated adult who knew the victims.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world...204901,00.html

[Jo_Momma_82]

Originally Posted by Shelley420

I got this from the WM3 website http://www.wm3.org posted by Lorri Davis, Damien's wife...



How can the "authorities" ignore this??

I would love to know what the "strong evidence" Pam Hobbs has on her former husband is!!!

I think their referring to the knife Pam Hobbs found.... it was her son, Stevies, knife and apparently it was always with him so Ms. Hobbs assumed thast the killer took it...... she found it in Terry Hobbs' collection of knives and turned it over to police.

Here's a link where she speaks out about the dna evidence and the knife... also, she says that she suspected him all along !
http://crimene.ws/archives/3185-West...-evidence.html

At first I wasn't so sure about that one hair implicating Hobbs but, now that I know that the 2nd hair found there was of his friends who said he was with Hobb's at the time, I'm alot more convinced than I originally was.
I do think that the WM3 are innocent though.

[packy]

Thanks for the update. I've followed this case for a long time too. And right at the onset heard about the man who was supposedly all bloody in the gas station restroom I believe, and as far as I know it was never followed up on to any degree. Back then I would find it easy to believe that paranoia had a lot to do with this case.

Hopefully someone can get the Arkansas state attorney to move forward with this.

[Shelley420]

Yes the guy from the restaurant bathroom, I believe, left blood everywhere and by the time LE attended he was gone. I don't think any blood samples were ever collected and this guy was never followed up, just dismissed as they already had their eye on Damien, Jason and Jessie. I am not sure if this guy was involved or it was just a coincidence that he showed up on the same night the boys disappeared.

I can remember Pam Hobbs in the Paradise Lost movies, saying she would personally kill Damien, Jason and Jessie if they ever got out (I was shocked, as they were clearly innocent) but as a mother, I can understand. I think it is great she has changed her mind on who is/may be responsible. I really, really hope these innocent guys are released. It is just a pity it has taken so long....

[Jo_Momma_82]

Shelley, I read somewhere that some of the hairs found at the scene were identified as belonging to someone of african descent....... it amazes me that the tiny bit of evidence collected pointed in every direction except for in Damien, Jessie, and Jason's direction yet, their the ones sitting in prison.

[RaVeN71806]

This is great news I hope they move forward on this and get them three guys out of jail already...I've been with this story from the begining as soon as I seen the first documentary and I knew from the gecho they were innocent and still our...and I alway suspected the step-father had some kind of involvment...

[Shelley420]

Originally Posted by Jo_Momma_82

Shelley, I read somewhere that some of the hairs found at the scene were identified as belonging to someone of african descent....... it amazes me that the tiny bit of evidence collected pointed in every direction except for in Damien, Jessie, and Jason's direction yet, their the ones sitting in prison.

Yes now that you mention it, I have heard that somewhere too. I wonder if Terry Hobbs had any other friends of African descent...

I have always wondered about John Mark Byers too, especially after his wife died under suspicious circumstances. After seeing the second movie, I have to admit he sure is weird, but I was less sure of whether he had anything to do with it or not.

[Shelley420]

I was just doing a little googling and I came across some interesting info in an interview of Bruce Sinofsky, director of Paradise Lost.



"Well, as you know Melissa took a nap one day with Mark and simply didn't wake up. But the toxicology report from her autopsy has not been released, and is being closely guarded for some reason. We think drugs were probably involved. (Interviewer's note: a medical examiner's report has since been released but the media has not yet stated the exact cause of her death, except to say that there were not sufficient levels of drugs in her system to have killed her. Her death is still under investigation.) She was taking a number of anti-depressants, including Zanax, Prozac and others. Some days during the filming she was really out of it, her face drooping and looking awful; towards the end she was very bloated. We have caught some flak for doing what some people call "making people look bad" in the film, but we didn't ever try to do that, we simply filmed people as they were. But we did intentionally leave out some footage of Melissa Byers where she looked really awful.

As for the others, a lot of strange things have happened. Damien's parents split up, and his mother had a duel fought over her, and one of the men died. And Jessie's father has had problems with several girlfriends. John Mark Byers has a new girlfriend, who two or three years ago shot her sixteen-year old son dead in self-defense. (Interviewer's note: an article appearing in the Village Voice in October mentioned other details about the lives of the victims' families. Victim Michael Moore's mother was charged with vehicular homicide after she hit a young mother of two while driving drunk. Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Stevie Branch, beat his wife Pam "to a pulp" in November 1994; he later shot Pam's brother. Jessie Misskelley, Sr. suffered severe burns from a gasoline fire; this after his mobile home was wrecked and he had moved into his pick-up truck. Byers and the late Melissa had been accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of furniture from neighbors and selling it at pawnshops. Byers was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by coercing two teenage boys to fight with knives. Before the trial, Byers' record was already full of many disturbing run-ins with the law, including holding his parents at knifepoint when he was a teenager.) The thing is, these are all people whose lives were pretty messed up well before the murders happened. And then after something of this magnitude, it stands to reason things aren't going to suddenly improve."

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.htm...&c=wm3&id=1897

[baked_tater]

I too have followed this case for years, and am appalled the wm3 are still rotting in prison. I actually read online recently the father of Chris Byers now thinks the wm3 should be freed!

I cannot wait to come online and read that they are finally freed. This case is one of the biggest travesties of justice I have ever read about in our country.

[Tap Dancer]

I'm not familiar with this case. I read the posts but maybe I missed something. Why were these three men accused of the murders? Is it because of what Jessie Misskelley told police? It was said that Jessie is mildly retarded and had many of the details wrong (including the date and time of the murders). How can the police go by what he said?

[Shelley420]

Apparently Jessie was interviewed for hours and hours but only a fraction of the interview was recorded. He was coached, threatened... there were so many inconsistencies in his "confession" that it was an absolute joke that anyone took it seriously. He changed the supposed time of the murders five times, ranging from 9 am to 8 pm!!!

This whole case was a product of narrow mindedness, greed (supposed witnesses lying to get reward money and/or fame), and hate.

Damien was targeted even before the "confession" as the cops mistakenly thought the crime was 'satanic' and Damien was know around town for wearing black and being into Metallica, so obviously it had to be him!!!

It is pretty unbelieveable...you can read the whole story at Crime Library
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notoriou...s/index_1.html

[rph3664]

I just watched "Paradise Lost." I'll need to read more about this fascinating and disturbing case.

[Johnna Depp]

I am so glad there is a thread about this. I have been following this case from the beginning, and after careful research, I believe these 3 to be innocent. I have thought that from almost the beginning.

The new evidence is incredible. I re watched both movies after hearing of the "Hobbs evidence." I have always thought it was John Mark Byers. Hearing it could be "Hobbs, and a friend" is amazing. I could see how maybe Hobbs hair was present, but his friend and alibi too?

This takes things in a whole new direction....to say the least.

I check their site often, and was disappointed when I read this:


August 12, 2008
LATEST NEWS: Hearings for the West Memphis Three motions originally scheduled for September 8th may be postponed. Watch this site for announcements on or around September 5th.

I will definitely be watching then to see what happens!

Originally Posted by Shelley420

I was just doing a little googling and I came across some interesting info in an interview of Bruce Sinofsky, director of Paradise Lost.



"Well, as you know Melissa took a nap one day with Mark and simply didn't wake up. But the toxicology report from her autopsy has not been released, and is being closely guarded for some reason. We think drugs were probably involved. (Interviewer's note: a medical examiner's report has since been released but the media has not yet stated the exact cause of her death, except to say that there were not sufficient levels of drugs in her system to have killed her. Her death is still under investigation.) She was taking a number of anti-depressants, including Zanax, Prozac and others. Some days during the filming she was really out of it, her face drooping and looking awful; towards the end she was very bloated. We have caught some flak for doing what some people call "making people look bad" in the film, but we didn't ever try to do that, we simply filmed people as they were. But we did intentionally leave out some footage of Melissa Byers where she looked really awful.

As for the others, a lot of strange things have happened. Damien's parents split up, and his mother had a duel fought over her, and one of the men died. And Jessie's father has had problems with several girlfriends. John Mark Byers has a new girlfriend, who two or three years ago shot her sixteen-year old son dead in self-defense. (Interviewer's note: an article appearing in the Village Voice in October mentioned other details about the lives of the victims' families. Victim Michael Moore's mother was charged with vehicular homicide after she hit a young mother of two while driving drunk. Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Stevie Branch, beat his wife Pam "to a pulp" in November 1994; he later shot Pam's brother. Jessie Misskelley, Sr. suffered severe burns from a gasoline fire; this after his mobile home was wrecked and he had moved into his pick-up truck. Byers and the late Melissa had been accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of furniture from neighbors and selling it at pawnshops. Byers was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by coercing two teenage boys to fight with knives. Before the trial, Byers' record was already full of many disturbing run-ins with the law, including holding his parents at knifepoint when he was a teenager.) The thing is, these are all people whose lives were pretty messed up well before the murders happened. And then after something of this magnitude, it stands to reason things aren't going to suddenly improve."

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.htm...&c=wm3&id=1897

[Johnna Depp]

It is very disturbing, but a very sloppy prosecution.

Originally Posted by rph3664

I just watched "Paradise Lost." I'll need to read more about this fascinating and disturbing case.

[rph3664]

The little boy who was Byers' stepson (don't recall his name right now), if he was still alive, would probably be someone we write about on webpages like this.

At 8 years of age, he had been kicked out of school numerous times and was notorious for smearing his own body waste all over the house. DEFINITELY a sign of very disturbed behavior. Someone said he had ADD but behavior like that is NOT a component of ADD!

All of the people involved were from very disadvantaged backgrounds, and inhabited a world those of us who were raised middle class can't even imagine.

Edit: The second movie mentioned that Damien Echols had been raped numerous times by other inmates, because he had "molested" a child. How horrible if he's innocent of this, which I believe he is.

[Jules100]

Originally Posted by Shelley420

Wow...this is exciting. I have been following this case for about 7 years. Anyone who has read about it would know that there was no evidence to convict the "WM3" but they were convicted anyway.

I really, really hope this "new" evidence can help them. A hair in the shoelace knot on one of the victims cannot be ignored. It would have to have come from the perp.

Lets just hope the 3 poor young boys who were killed get some sort of real justice and their true killer/s are caught and the WM3 freed...wouldn't that be a wonderful day?

I have the dvd's about the case and whilst i was watching them , i kept thinking 'what evidence have they got' I hope that at the very least they get a new trial/ new judge and a jury that is not so stupid as to convict 3 boys on such flimsy evidence

[Johnna Depp]

I seriously cried.....




JUDGE BURNETT: MOTIONS DENIED
September 11, 2008



Judge Burnett has denied Damien's, Jessie's, and Jason's Motions for a New Trial. In Echols' Order, the Judge claimed "the Petitioner's DNA testing results are not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted." Judge Burnett also refused to consider the jury issues: "The Court agrees with the State that it cannot entertain the Petitioner's juror bias and misconduct claims under the DNA-testing statute and that the Court's consideration of them in any proceeding is foreclosed by law of the case." According to KATV, the defense team plans to appeal.


Judge: No New Trial for West Memphis Three
Wednesday, 10 Sep 2008
By Jill Zeman
Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK (FOX13) --

A circuit court judge Wednesday rejected claims that new DNA evidence proves the innocence of three men convicted of killing three boys 15 years ago, and denied their requests for a new trial.

Circuit Court Judge David Burnett issued a 10-page order Wednesday denying requests for a new trial. Lawyers for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley -- known by supporters as the "West Memphis Three" -- had requested a new trial, arguing that new DNA evidence clears their clients.

Both Baldwin and Misskelley claim their lawyers failed to adequately represent them during their separate trials. Their lawyers also say DNA evidence provided by Echols' defense team shows the men did not kill Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.

"The court finds that (Echols's) DNA-testing results are inconclusive because they do not raise a reasonable probability that he did not commit the offenses; that is, they are inconclusive as to his claim of actual innocence," Burnett wrote in the order.

In his appeal, Echols argued that newly analyzed DNA found no trace of him, Misskelley or Baldwin at the crime scene. But Burnett said he agreed with prosecutors' arguments that the absence of DNA didn't equal innocence.

"Proof of actual innocence requires more than his exclusion as the source of a handful of biological material that is not dispositive of the identity of a killer," Burnett wrote.

Burnett also said that even if he agreed that the new DNA evidence should be heard in court, he would deny Echols' request for a trial because there was "not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted."

Police found the three boys' bodies in a drainage ditch a day after their May 5, 1993, disappearance. A month passed before police arrested the three teens. Misskelley told investigators how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape.

A separate jury gave Misskelley a life-plus-40-year sentence for the killings. Baldwin received a life sentence without parole, and Echols was sentenced to death.

U.S. District Court Judge William R. Wilson Jr. ruled in November that claims about the DNA evidence first needed to be heard in state courts. The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld their convictions.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press.