Tag Archive for: west memphis three

No DNA link to West Memphis Three

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DNA

Newly tested DNA evidence tested in the West Memphis Three case from Arkansas is no match for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr, who all were convicted of killing three 8-year old cub scouts.  The three boys dubbed The West Memphis three, who were teenagers at the time of the crime, have now served 18 years in prison.

The DNA that was tested recently has excluded the West Memphis Three and has instead identified two unknown males and a hair reveals a third.

The three boys that lost their lives are not to be forgotten.  We need to find their real killers.  They were Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.

To read my original thoughts on this case, click here. Or click on the labels below to read all I have written on this case.

Reuters Article

West Memphis Three Get Hearing

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If the video doesn’t load, click here.

To read my thoughts on the West Memphis Three, click here.

Damien Echols: West Memphis Three

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Damien Echols, convicted of murder 16 years ago and sentenced to death, speaks to CNN. He is hoping to get a new trial. You can read more here at CNN.

I wrote about the West Memphis Three earlier this year after watching the documentary Paradise Lost. You can read my thoughts here.

Larry King: Singers want West Memphis 3 Released

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Click here to read my review of “Paradise Lost”, the documentary made about the Memphis 3. I believe that the boys are being honest that they were not involved.

Paradise Lost

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One reader was kind enough to share with me that Paradise Lost was on YouTube (Thanks, Angel). It’s in 15 segments that are 10 minutes long each. Thanks to all the people who shared links with me. I was fortunate enough, yesterday, to have the time to watch all but one segment of the documentary (segment 7 wouldn’t load for me, so I skipped it), and it is an excellent documentary.

Read moreIf the footage shown in the documentary is in actual sequence of events–that is, the footage of the boys talking in the videos were recorded prior to or during trial, I believe what these boys are saying in the segments shown in the documentary is truthful. That is all I can say. If, however, I find out differently, that any of the footage comes from after the trial, I retract this statement.

I was troubled by two things I saw in the while watching the trial. I was troubled by Mark Byers’ testimony about the knife that he gave to the HBO crew while they were shooting the documentary. The crew found what they thought was flesh and blood in the crevice of the knife, and so they gave it to police.

Police sent Byers’ gift knife to HBO to the crime lab, and the DNA matched both Byers and his son, Chris. With that, the defense team decided to put Byers on the sand. Byers, however, couldn’t remember a lot of things on the stand. When he was asked tough questions about the DNA on the knife, only then does he conveniently remember he cut his thumb out of the blue, when minutes before he didn’t. It was alarming, yet it is later discussed that he had a brain tumor. This may or may not explain his erratic behavior, but it needs to be taken into account.

Also, at the end of the documentary, I was really taken back at the footage that is shown of Byers after the verdict was read. They show him in utter surprise when hearing the verdict. Why on earth would he be surprised?

Everyone else in the courtroom seemed to feel the convictions were coming, or they were overwhelmed with grief. Yet in a strange twist, he was utterly shocked! So much so, you couldn’t miss it. It makes you wonder, does he know something that no one else knew? Even Damien and Jason felt like they had lost the case before the verdict. That’s what so surprises me about Byers’ behavior. Why on earth the shock? It’s very perplexing to me.

Clearly, this case is a travesty of justice, and needs new hands and fresh eyes. Where was Byers that night? Does he have a credible alibi? How about Terry Hobbs? Does he have a credible alibi? And last, who was that guy at the fast food restaurant that was all bloody? We need many more answers, I think, before we will know the truth.