West Memphis 3 Receive New Hearing

The notorious case of the West Memphis Three is in the news again this week. The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled on Thursday morning that the three convicted men are to receive an evidentiary hearing in light of new DNA evidence. The West Memphis Three is another sad story about how the legal system has failed to protect society. Instead, the legal system chooses swift action over just action, and that inevitably leads to more convictions of innocent people.

The West Memphis Three refers to three men who were, many believe, unjustly convicted of killing three young boys in 1993. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were blamed for the deaths of 8-year-olds Michael Moore, Christopher Byers and Steven Branch. The boys’ bruised and mutilated bodies were found in May 1993 in West Memphis, Arkansas, their arms and legs hogtied with their own shoelaces. The conviction has been the source of several documentaries and has gained a great deal of public support and celebrity advocates. Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were only teenagers at the time of the murders and the prosecution painted the young men as part of a satanic cult for their choices in music and dress.

In addition, prosecutors secured a confession from Misskelley, although his defense attorneys argued that he had a learning disability and an IQ of 70. They also claimed the confession was coerced and riddled with inconsistencies. Neither Misskelley’s parents nor an attorney was present, even though Misskelley was under 18 at the time. Nevertheless, the young men were convicted. Echols is on death row, while Baldwin and Misskelley are serving life sentences. However, the defense for the West Memphis Three has since tested evidence found at the scene of the crime for DNA samples. According to the Arkansas Supreme Court, the material included hair from a ligature used to bind Moore and a hair recovered from a tree stump near where the bodies were found. DNA testing was conducted between 2005 – 2007. The hair found in the ligature was consistent with Branch’s stepfather, Terry Hobbs, while the hair found on the tree stump was consistent with the DNA of a friend of Hobbs’, according to the documents. Police have never considered Hobbs a suspect, and Hobbs maintains that he had nothing to do with the murders. Anyone who watched the documentary, “Paradise Lost”, knows that Hobbs certainly seemed to be the most likely killer.

The evidentiary hearing will determine if the West Memphis Three will be granted a new trial. Along with the new DNA evidence, the defense will present forensic evidence that disproves the theory that the murder was part of a satanic ritual and evidence of juror misconduct. The good news for the Three is that Judge David Burnett, a newly elected state senator who has presided over the case from the start will no longer be involved with the case. It is difficult to get another chance when the same Judge is reviewing his own work. Defense attorneys are now asking the Attorney General’s Office and the Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District to join with them to seek a stipulated order skipping the evidentiary hearing and granting them a new trial. There is no decision yet on if that will be granted.

Source: Africana Online, November 5, 2010

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