West Memphis 3
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The West Memphis 3 were three people tried and convicted for triple homicide in the 1993 murders of three children in the Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis, Arkansas in the United States.
The case has received considerable attention, and many critics charge that the arrests and convictions were a miscarriage of justice inspired by a misguided moral panic, and that the defendants were wrongfully convicted,
Damian Echols, the alleged ringleader, was sentenced to death; Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin were sentenced to life in prison.
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The Crime
Three eight-year-old boys - Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore - were reported missing on May 5, 1993, by Chistopher Byers's stepfather, Mark Byers. The next day, their bodies were found in a creek near Robin Hood Hills. They were nude and had been tied ankle-to-wrist with their own shoelaces. All had been severely beaten and abused, but Byers was most injured, suffering bites, stab wounds to his groin and being partially castrated. Autopsies determined that the boys were probably killed the evening they vanished, and that while Byers died of blood loss, the others drowned.
Actually, at trial, the medical examiner stated that the likely time of death was the early morning of the day the bodies were found.
From the beginning, critics charge, area police mishandled the crime scene, due to either negligence or ignorance. With little experience in investigating violent crime (especially such a bizarre triple-murder), police have been accused of not securing the crime scene, with improperly collecting physical evidence, and with not documenting their duties. Mara Leaveritt says that "police records were a mess—to call them disorderly would be putting it mildly. Some of the evidence was stored in grocery sacks, with the names of the grocery stores printed on them."[1] (http://www.southernscribe.com/zine/authors/Leveritt_Mara.htm) A crime-scene video, for example, depicted a few unidentified individuals--not police--loitering in and near the crime scene shortly after police arrived.
The night of the murders, witnesses reported an African-American male, "dazed and covered with blood and mud" who had been inside a women's restroom at a restaurant near the crime scene. When a police officer arrived (incidentally, this same officer had taken the first missing-child report from Byers' stepfather shortly before responding to the restaurant), the man had gone, and police did not enter the establishment, instead speaking to employees at the drive-up window. After the victims were found, the restaurant manager--thinking there was a possible connection between the bloody, disoriented man and the killings--twice called police. Only after the second telephone call did police gather evidence from the restroom. This apparent neglect of an important lead was especially criticized after a hair identified as belonging to an African-American was recovered from one of the victims' clothes. The evidence collected at the restuarant was mislaid before it could be analyzed, and in any case, would probably have been inadmissable as the police officers that visited to scene did not take precautions to protect the evidence and prevent contamination. For example, they told the mangeress to discard a roll of toilet paper that had been soaked to to cardboard with blood, and did not change their clothes from the ones they had worn at the crime scene earlier on.[2] (http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/memphis/suspects_10.html?sect=13)
The Investigation
A juvenile probation officer was at the crime scene shortly after the bodies were discovered. When police speculated about the assailant, the probation officer speculated that Echols was "capable" of committing the murders. Echols was noted as his "goth" appearence attracted disapproval in the conservative West Memphis, and his dark clothing and moody demeanour were seen as suspicious.
The West Memphis area was one of many communities then-swept with keen interest in satanic ritual abuse, the widely-criticized belief that vast networks of satanic cults were engaged in widespread crimes, including child abuse, rape and human sacrifice. Police quickly assumed that the triple-homicide was the work of such a "cult" and that Echols was involved.
Police interviewed Echols on May 7. He denied any involvement. After a month had passed, with little progress in the case, police continued to focus their investigation upon Echols, interrogating him twice more.
On June 3, police questioned Misskelly for over 12 hours. He had been named as a member of a "satanic cult" by Vicky Hutcheson. (Hutcheson's testimony would prove pivotal, but she later retracted her confession, saying police coerced and intimidated her.) It should also be noted that Ms. Hutcheson was a person known to the West Memphis police as a writer of bad checks. Her willingness to implicate Mr. Misskelly in the murders was offered in exchange for dropping theft charges levied against her by the owner of the convenience store where Ms. Hutcheson worked. Misskelly's parents were not present, and less than an hour of the interrogation was recorded. Misskelly initially denied involvement in the crimes, and repeatedly asked for police to contact his father. Police ignored this request, and eventually, Misskelly confessed to the crimes, naming Echols as the leader of a "cult", which also included Echols's friend, Jason Baldwin.
Misskelly is mildly mentally challenged (his IQ is 72), and was a minor when he was questioned, and though informed of his Miranda rights, later claimed he did not fully understand them; these facts have led to widespread condemnation of his "confession" as coerced and unreliable. In fact, Misskelly retracted his confession shortly after making it, claiming he was exhausted and intimidated by police. Critcs have also noted that Misskelly's confession is often wildly at odds with established forensic facts of the murder (such as claiming Echols choked one of the victims with a large stick, when no victim had such trauma), further demonstrating the confession's unreliability.
Shortly after Misskelly's "confession", police arrested Echols and his close friend Baldwin.
Misskelly's attorney, Dan Stidham, has written a detailed critique of what he asserts are major police errors and misconceptions during their investigation.[3] (http://www.wm3.org/live/caseintroduction/synopsis_dan.php)
Background on the Suspects
Baldwin and Misskelly had minor criminal records (for vandalism and shoplifting theft, respectively) and Misskelly had a reputation for frequent fistfights, but Echols had a more troubled past.
His family was very poor, had frequent visits from social workers, and Echols rarely attended school. He had a tumultuous relationship with an on-again-off-again girlfriend, culminating when the pair ran off together. After breaking into a trailer during a rain storm, the pair was arrested, though only Echols was charged with burglary.
Police heard unfounded rumors that the young lovers had planned to have a child and sacrifice the infant, and based on this story, had Echols insitutionalized for psychiatric evaluation. He was diagnosed as depressed and suicidal, and prescribed imipramine. Doctors noted that Echols was troubled, but gave no credence to the wilder rumors about him. Testing demonstrated poor math skills, but also showed that Echols ranked above average in reading and verbal skills.
The Trials
Echols and Baldwin were tried together; Misskelly was tried separately.
No physical evidence (and only limited circumstantial evidence) was presented in court to tie the suspects to the crime scene or the murders. Instead such dubious items as Pink Floyd lyrics from the suspect's notebooks, Stephen King novels and Echols' interest in heavy metal music and Wicca were presented in court as evidence against the teenagers. The state's expert witness on "occult crime" had obtained his degree via mail order, and had taken no classes on the subject.
By early 1994, all three had been convicted of the murders.
The Aftermath
Mark Byers - In a bizarre turn of events, Mark Byers--Christopher's stepfather--gave a hunting knife to documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofky while they were filming the first Paradise Lost feature. After noting what they thought was blood, Berlinger and Sinofsky gave the knife to police, who determined that the blood was human and matched Christopher Byers' blood type. Mark Beyers had initially claimed the knife had never been used, then after blood was found on it, he claimed he'd used it only once, to butcher a deer. When told the blood matched his son's type, Mark Byers said he had no idea how that blood might have gotten on the knife. During interrogation, West Memphis police suggested to Mark Byers that he might have left the knife out accidentally, and Byers agreed with this.
There has been speculation that Mark Byers killed the victims, as he had his teeth removed after the first trial - supposedly to avoid their being matched with numerous bite marks found on his stepson's body, as he never offered a consistant reason for their removal [4] (http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/goth/4.html). Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin had imprints of their teeth taken (after their imprisionment) and compared to the marks on Chris Byers's body; no matches were found. Mark Byers had revealed to the police that he beat his stepson shortly before the boy disappeared, and had a previous conviction for beating his wife, Melissa Byers. Incidentally, she had contacted Christopher's school a few weeks before the murders. She expressed concerns that her son was being sexually abused. A violent nature was deemed a major factor in the hypothetical culprits' personality by an expert criminal profiler that examined the case. The profiler also noted that the culprit was likely to have been close to the child that was assaulted with the most violence - Chris Byers. A fact not revealed until after the trial was that Mark Byers had acted as a police informant for some time, and had several criminal convictions, including the one for domestic abuse. Unusually, these convictions were sealed, and were expunged following probation. Leveritt says that the "involvement of the police and the courts with him (Byers) prior to the murders is very intriguing."[5] (http://www.popmatters.com/books/interviews/leveritt-mara-030610.shtml) Another interesting discovery was that Christopher Byers was the only victim that had been drugged with Carbamazepine, suggesting again that he was the main focus of the attack. The drug was one that Mark Byers was taking at the time of the murders as part of a tumour treament he was undergoing. Christopher had access to the drug himself, as part of an ADD treatment, but the Byers's said that he had not taken it on the day of his death.
In October, 2003 Vicki Hutcheson, whose testimony was used to convict the suspects, gave an interview to the Arkansas Times in which she stated that every word she had given to the police was a fabrication. She further asserted that the police had insinuated if she did not cooperate with them they would take away her child. She noted that when she visited the police station they had photographs of the suspects on the wall and were using them as dart targets. She also claims that an audio tape the police claimed was "unintelligible" (and eventually lost) was perfectly clear and contained absolutely no incriminating statements.
Today, many people still beleive that the right people were arrested for the murders of the three little boys, particularly in Arkansas. People who saw events unfold first hand dislike the outside interference that the case has recieved, and argue that justice has been done legitimately. The many attacks on the police investigation and the ensuing trials have often been accused of bias, and lacking in solid evidence - an accusation that could equally apply to the prosecution. However, although many of the people directly involved with the case beleive the West Memphis Three to be guilty of the crimes they were convicted of (for example, Michael Moore's elder sister, who assaulted Jessie Misskelley's father in early 2005), some called for furthur investigation into the verdict. The biological father of Christopher Byers, Rick Murray, described his doubts in 2000 on the West Memphis Three website - [6] (http://www.wm3.org/live/thevictims/letter.php). At the time of writing, primary forensic evidence tests are underway that may or may not prove the three incarcerated men to be innocent.
Documentaries and Studies
Two films, Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost - Revelations, have documented this case, as have the books Blood of Innocents by Guy Reel and Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt. The documentary films and Leaveritt's book were strongly critical of the case, and argue that the suspects were wrongly convicted.
The first Paradise Lost documentary was filmed during the trial and investigation.
Tributes and Support
The case has seen significant support from some rock and pop musicians, who have popularized the case and staged fund-raisers. Eddie Vedder was often photographed while wearing a "Free The West Memphis 3" shirt. The actress Winona Ryder has also publicly supported the attempts to obtain a retrial.
Metallica--Baldwin's favorite musical group--contributed original music to both Paradise Lost documentaries.
Under the direction of Henry Rollins, various hip-hop, heavy metal, punk, and other musicians came together to record Rise Above, a collection of cover songs originally performed by Black Flag. All profits from the record and the supporting tour were donated to the suspects' defense funds.
Another benefit album was 2000's Free the West Memphis 3 featuring artists such as Steve Earle, Tom Waits, The Supersuckers, Joe Strummer, and Eddie Vedder. This album was organized by Eddie Spaghetti of The Supersuckers.
Metalcore band Zao featured a song named Free the Three on their 2002 album Parade of Chaos.
Alkaline Trio have a song "Prevent This Tragedy" on their 2005 album "Crimson" about the West Memphis Three
External links
- West Memphis Three Support Group (http://www.wm3.org)
- Category at ODP (http://dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Crime_and_Justice/Injustice/Individual_Stories/United_States/West_Memphis_Three/)
- Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117293/), at the Internet Movie Database