West Memphis Three are freed after 18 years

[4play]

That trial/case stunk from the beginning, it seems like they decided not to collect certain evidence, and somehow lost and suppressed evidence. Witness statements were inconsistant, and fabricated.

 

[RidgeHunter]

I was gonna post this but didn't get a chance. I couldn't believe it when I heard it on the radio yesterday.

I had pretty much forgotten about this case until I saw a "West Memphis Three" avatar on an Arkansas based forum right around the same time these new developments came to light last spring. Being a true crime buff I started reading, and man was it some terrifying to learn about what went on during the investigation and trial. Very sad.The "satanic scare" of the 80's was some Salem Witch-esque stuff.

I have my strong suspicions that the step-father of the one boy was involved in the murders.

Sadder yet is this is more common than a lot of people realize.

 

[Billybob]

I got one thing I must express we try our criminals in the press, justice is a fading light.
~Sheryl Crow

 

[dutchwrangler]

I don't think anyone will ever know what really happened...

Except for the real killers who may have gone on to kill others...

 

[J.P.]

I say if they did not do it they should not have made the plea agreement.

Well that's certainly an opinion we can make from the safe confines of our keyboards...and standing on 'principles' it sounds good.
However, I can't say for certain that I wouldn't have made the same decision if facing life in prison or death row, particularly considering how the original case/trial went down.
You gotta' figure a person might jump on ANY chance to "get out now"...



I've been following the case since I saw the original Paradise Lost documentary back in '95 or '96, and to this day I've never been able to form an opinion as to guilt/innocence that I'm comfortable with.

 

[ConstitutionCowboy]

Well now, how sweet a deal is that! They get to create one more victim before they get sent back to prison!

Woody

 

[HMFIC]

wow... the whole "Mr. Bojangles" part of it is wild. How come they weren't looking for THAT guy?

 

[J.P.]

See this:

In 2007, 14 years after the murders, DNA collected at the crime scene was finally tested. No DNA from any of the three convicted killers was found. There was, however, DNA found belonging to the step-father of one of the victims.

This new evidence was scheduled to be presented at an evidentiary hearing in late 2011. However, on August 19, 2011, a special hearing was held in Craighead County Circuit Court in which Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin entered a plea of guilty in exchange for immediate release from prison. Prosecutors felt that the evidentiary hearing would result in a new trial in which the three might have been acquitted. With that in mind, prosecutors agreed to the plea deal to prevent the defendants from clearing their records and from potentially suing the state down the road.

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[HMFIC]

That's pretty F'd up really. If the prosecutors thought they were innocent, then they just screwed them twice. Whoever their lawyers were might have just screwed them too unless they thought they were guilty... why not go forward with the evidentiary hearing if there was a strong chance of gaining an acquittal?

WOW... the whole thing is crazy it seems.

See this:



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[RidgeHunter]

After 18 years where these guys were, I'd probably be jumping at any chance to get out. They have little reason to have faith in the court system at this point; they probably just wanted to see the sunshine.

The investigation and trial was so screwed up the truth will likely never be known. One thing is for sure, there sure as hell didn't seem to be enough evidence to link these three to the murders, much less convict them. Several suspects seem to have been brushed of by the investigators who instead focused in of these three.
This Alford plea thing sounds like it was just an excuse to not fully admit to screwing this up so badly, and to see if it will just "kinda go away", rather than risk the chance of them being acquitted in a hearing. They knew they'd likely take the plea. Who wouldn't.

The one thing I learned from jury duty is that you never, ever, ever want to be a defendant in a criminal trial.