Damien Echols, of the West Memphis Three, may soon be a free man.
In 1994, three teenagers from West Memphis, Arkansas, named Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin went to jail for a crime most people believe they did not commit. The three teens, who listened to heavy metal in a town where heavy metal is tantamount to worshiping Satan on a blood altar, were convicted of the brutal killings of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore in spite of a lack of physical evidence that would tie them to the crime and no real evidence worthy of conviction. Echols got death; Misskelley and Baldwin got life in prison. Now, the West Memphis Three may be freed from jail as soon as Friday.
Legal experts have said the three young men probably aren’t guilty. Celebrities and musicians have raised money to get the WM3 a new, fair trial. DNA evidence has repeatedly been left unexamined by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Even the victims’ families have doubted that the right parties have been in jail for the crime. Now, thanks to the power of an Alford plea, two of the WM3 may be free as soon as Friday. In an Alford plea, parties maintain their innocence while admitting there might be enough evidence to gain a conviction.
“There’s certainly no justice for the three men that’s been in prison or my son and his two friends,” said John Mark Byers, stepfather of Christoper. “To me, this is just a cop-out from the state for not wanting to admit that they made a mistake.”
As long as those innocent kids go free, who cares how the state lets them loose? The DNA evidence has exonerated those boys since 2007; they should’ve been free four years ago. Still, better late than never.
Tags: West Memphis Three, WM3, West Memphis, Arkansas, David Laser, Alford Plea, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, John Mark Byers, unusual court pleas, court cases, justice, freedom for the WM3, WM3 to be set free, two of the West Memphis Three to go free by Friday, miscarriage of justice, DNA evidence
