West Memphis 3 return to court and, perhaps, freedom (murdered three 8yo boys in 1993, now free)

Arkansas Times Blog ^ | Friday, August 19, 2011 - 05:51:15

[DCBryan1]

Much more to come later this morning from Jonesboro, where Circuit Judge David Laser will consider a plea bargain between the state and the West Memphis 3 that could bring their immediate release from prison after more than 17 years.

If the judge approves — and this is an all-important if — the defendants will leave still convicted of first-degree murder for slaying three eight-year-old West Memphis boys in 1993. This will leave their staunchest defenders unhappy and offend even many less interested who will take offense at convictions for crimes that Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin will still say they did not commit.

The alternative to freedom for time served is to risk losing their appeal for a new trial and to remain in prison for life, or, in Echols' case, execution.

I mentioned yesterday that a no-contest plea is one way to produce a conviction without an admission of guilt by defendants. Another is an obscure legal maneuver, a functional equivalent of a nolo contendere plea known as an "Alford plea," which is to be made in court today, our sources say. Here's a full discussion. It is, in short, a guilty plea where the defendant does not admit the crime. Check the link for further details. It requires a case in which likelihood of conviction is high (it certainly was here, having already occurred), though this would be a novel, perhaps unique use of it after the fact.

Meanwhile: Lindsey Millar has compiled an exhaustive summary of the Arkansas Times' coverage of this case over the years. It consists primarily of Mara Leveritt's dogged and important reporting. Her reporting and her book, "Devil's Knot," were key elements in the chain of events that could lead to freedom today. Celebrity interest, HBO movies and the recent rump organizing by dozens of Arkansas lawyers in behalf of freedom were also factors that helped move events.

Mara Leveritt is Twittering this morning and also writing for her blog. She'll be filing reports to the Arkansas Blog as well, so you can get her coverage right here.

[DCBryan1]

Now they have gone and done it.

These three murdeous pricks of three (3!) eight year old boys in Arkansas, are going to be freed today in Jonesboro, AR after they plead guilty to first degree murder and the judge throws out the capital murder convictions.

Melanie Raines and the Follywood propaganda machine have won. What a disaster......! ! ! Casey Anthony and Damien Echols will probably hook up and produce the AntiChrist.

Background: Wiki on the murders, trial, conviction

Current news live: Fox News article on legal proceedings

Pictures of the three murderers, whom will probably be free tonight:

Pictures of the raped, bludgeoned, and murdered victims:

FWIW...one of the father's of the murdered boys has stated since 1994 that if they should get out, he will kill them.

[Grunthor]

I remember that case. Echols is one evil son of a b*tch.

[cherry]

isn’t one of the fathers also a prime suspect?

[WOBBLY BOB]

Celebrity interest, HBO movies and the recent rump organizing

Ok. what's "rump organizing"? is that something these little b*tches learned in prison?

[Darren McCarty]

Wasn’t there a DNA issue in this case, or am I thinking of something else.

[null and void]

FWIW...one of the father's of the murdered boys has stated since 1994 that if they should get out, he will kill them.

Where do we send donations?

[Terry Mross]

You are completely wrong. One, there is no eividence connecting them to the crime. There is DNA evidence tying one of the boys’ stepfather to the crime scene. His own exwife, and mother of one of the victims, is convinced her ex did it.

The father you state wants them out so he can kill them has since apologized and said he was ashamed of how he acted in the past. He now says he is convinced these three had nothing to do with it.

This was the case of a inept small town police department getting a conviction based on an underage retarded kid’s forced confession.

[Venturer]

I was thinking that this was hard to believe, but really it isn’t.

This is todays Justice system.

Aint it grand?

If the father is waiting outside for this killer and gets him. I would like to volunteer for that trial.

[Scythian]

There are some things on this earth to terrible to contemplate, this is one of them, evil beyond evil, it’s frightening, not in a scary movie kind of way, but in an unsettleing kind of way to think man can and will do things that make the human soul turn away in shame of his own existance. I know these three boys are with our Father in heaven.

[Maverick68]

I still believe the stepfather is responsible.

[windcliff]

I always thought they were innocent. I believe bite marks were found on one of the children and then the stepfather of one of them had all his teeth pulled out. He was really one strange dude.

[DCBryan1]

One, there is no eividence connecting them to the crime

Hey genius, they are going to plead guilty to 1st degree murder of the three boys sometime today.

[allmendream]

Yes, IIRC the primary “evidence” against them was their infatuation with the occult and they listened to the wrong sort of music.

[wardaddy]

Are there any freepers here with closer knowledge of this..I was out of country mostly when all this went down or living in Miami..

I recall reading about it

anyone with hard evidence knowledge?...it sounds bad but what was the evidence...I’m purely ignorant on it

I occasionally see some folks with the T-shirts here in Nashville area “ Free the West Memphis...”

one is a bouncer at the Wheel on lower Broadway ..honky tonk...on the smoking side of Broadway across from Tootsies and Roberts

I was tempted to ask the guy but it’s so loud...the infrequent times my wife and I go to bars downtown

[A_perfect_lady]

But wow, when I read the wiki page, that investigation really is a mess and that step-father looks kind of shady. I wouldn’t want to be in charge of making this decision.

[acad1228]

I've been following this case since it first happened and I've never once believed them to be guilty. The prosecution had to spoon feed details of the crime to the mildly retarded boy for his confession. Also, on the night of the murders, there was the man covered in blood in the restroom of a restaurant near the crime scene. The police investigated then lost all the evidence they recovered from the restroom.

There is just too much evidence that provides reasonable doubt.

[BfloGuy]

They may well be innocent. We can hope that modern DNA techniques will help decide.

[Ingtar]

What it sounds like their contention is that there is more evidence that one of the fathers did the deed than these three. They claim to have been railroaded in a rush to judgment and now that the DNA evidence is able to be examined, it cannot place any of the three at the crime scene, but that father’s hair was on the rope.

[cherry]

apparently, the step father of one of the boys has his dna at the scene....

[Scotsman will be Free]

I read the background material that you provided via wikipedia. What a cluster the whole affair is. It appears that the police mishandled many, if not all, aspects of this case. What a shame.