Natalie Maines:
“Something I knew in my gut after I watched the film that these three guys didn’t do these crimes,” said Maines.
“In America you have to be proven guilty before a shadow of a doubt,” said Maines
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Maines has written on the official Dixie Chick’s website:
“I encourage everyone to see the documentaries ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘Paradise Lost’; for the whole history of the case. I only discovered the films about six months ago, and when I finished ‘Paradise Lost 2,’ I immediately got online to make sure that these three wrongly convicted boys had been set free since the films were released. My heart sank when I learned that the boys were now men and were still in prison.
I searched for answers as to what had been done and what was being done to correct this injustice. I donated to the defense fund and received a letter from Damien Echols wife, Lorri. She is a lovely woman who has dedicated her time and heart to her husband. I was glad to hear that after so many years of fighting for justice it looked like things were finally happening. Below, I have written what the DNA and forensics evidence shows. I hope after reading it and looking at the WM3.org website, you will know that the wrong guys are sitting in jail right now, and feel compelled to help.”
“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.”
“If I had to have a supporter it wouldn’t be the Dixie Chicks,’’ quipped West Memphis assistant Police Chief Mike Allen, who as a young detective investigated the West Memphis child murders. “I quit listening to them a long time ago. She’s known to put her foot in her mouth and not know what she’s talking about.’’
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In December of 2007, lead singer Natalie Maines spoke at a ‘Free the West Memphis 3’ rally on the steps of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Weeks earlier, she’d posted a letter on the band’s website asking for contributions to the legal defense fund.
In the letter, she implicated Terry Hobbs, the step-father of one of the murdered children. In part, she wrote, “he washed his clothes and sheets at odd hours for no other reason than to hide evidence from the crime.”
Hobbs has always denied involvement in the murders.
“I am not a child killer,” he told Action News 5 last August. “I was a step-parent back then, and we were a family on our feet, doing well.”
http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=9453742
I did hear it wasn’t unusual for the step-father’s DNA to be found on his stepson. They said even a hair from the stepdad’s head could have been on the floor at their house and gotten in the son’s shoelace or piece of clothing.
If people watch the step-father’s TV interviews, he does not come across as a guilty person. Can’t always go by that, but many times you can tell if a person is lying.
I know very little about the case. But one of the websites has Damien’s records from his early brushes with the law, and according to his counselor he had some violent tendencies or episodes IIRC. I’ll try to find that link again, been a long time since I read those notes.