“Paradise Lost” West Memphis 3 Get New Court Hearing
Posted on November 7, 2010 in Off Topic | No Comments
The so-called West Memphis 3 (Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin) have been in prison in Arkansas since they were convicted of the 1993 killings of three West Memphis, Arkansas Cub Scouts. It is a murder case that has become a cause celebre for many who believe the men were wrongly convicted.
As reported by the Associated Press the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a lower-court judge to examine whether the three inmates should be exonerated in light of new DNA evidence. The Courts lead opinion, concerning Echols.
From Wikipedia:
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is a 1996 documentary film directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky about the trials of the three boys.
Despite a lack of any significant evidence indicating that they are connected to the case at all, the three boys are charged and tried for the murders. A common theme throughout the film is the treatment of the boys based on their appearances and tastes in music, possibly as a Satanic ritual abuse.
During the course of the filming, John Mark Byers, the stepfather of one of the victims, gives the filmmakers a knife which has blood in the hinge. The filmmakers turn the knife over to police, who examine it; the DNA is similar to that of himself and the boy but the evidence is nonetheless inconclusive since the DNA evidence produced was fragmented and can not provide concrete links. Other evidence is lost. All three teenagers are convicted.
The film was followed by a sequel, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), which suggests that further evidence was missed or suppressed and attempts to prove Echols’ innocence.
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