The West Memphis Three are Free: An Amazing Day Laced in Absolute Tragedy
I have not blogged here in over three months, but I cannot think of a better day to start again than today.
Today is an amazing day. The West Memphis Three were released from prison. This is both extraordinary and incredibly tragic, as they have served 18 years–half of their lives–behind bars for a crime that they did not commit.
I slept in today. When I woke up, I took it easy, made coffee and took my time getting to my computer and settling in for the rest of the day to work–something I have not allowed myself to do in months. When I checked in on Facebook, I saw one single story pop up declaring that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. were finally given the freedom that they have always been deserving of. I didn’t believe it. By the time I made it half-way through the first article, several others had been posted, assuring me that it really happened. I immediately started crying.
I have been following the story of the West Memphis Three for the past ten years. When I first heard about their case and watched the documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, I was 14 years old. Like countless other people who have heard about the West Memphis Three, have seen the facts of their case and have long witnessed the corruption at work within an already incompetent justice system, as perpetrated by everyone who sought to convict them, I have developed a strong emotional connection to this case and to the three teenagers–now men–who had half of their lives literally stolen from them.
After they were tried and found guilty for the murder of three young, 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, Damien Echols, who was 18 years old at the time, was sentenced to death and spent the past 18 years on death row; Jessie Misskelley, Jr., who was 17 years old, was sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional forty years and Jason Baldwin, just 16 years old at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
One of the factors that made me so emotional from the very first time I ever heard of the West Memphis Three is that I saw so much of my teenage-self in them; a feeling that a great deal of other supporters have acknowledged as well. When I was 13 and 14 years old, I was beyond fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials (still am), and I had begun learning about as many different religious beliefs as I possibly could, including Wicca. The practice of becoming educated on the many different religious affiliations and beliefs that are out there in the world is what predominantly led to my now strongly-held staunch atheist beliefs. But at the time, up until I was 17 years old, I was a black clothes and fishnets-wearing teenage girl with knee-length, ass-kicking black boots, arms that were filled with black jelly bracelets up to my elbows and more black eyeliner on my face than what many probably have in their makeup collections. If these three teenagers could face murder charges and be convicted based mostly on the fact that the system had labeled them as the “town freaks”, surely I could have gone through the same ordeal; as could anyone who illustrated the same qualities in their teenage years.
That these men are finally able to go home after 18 years is amazing, but how they were made able to walk out of those prison doors is disgraceful both to the state of Arkansas, as well as to the entire justice system.
In order for the West Memphis Three to be released today, they were practically forced into accepting an Alford plea deal, in which they all pled guilty while being able to continue to claim their innocence. For their guilty plea, they were sentenced to 18 years with credit for time served, as well as a Suspended Imposition of Sentence for 10 years. It is also stipulated that if they “re-offend”, they can be sent back to prison for 21 years.
I say that they were practically forced to take the Alford plea deal because firstly, DNA evidence that was finally tested in July 2011 concluded that the West Memphis Three are not guilty of the crime in which they have been serving time for. After serving 18 years in prison for a crime that they now have proof that they did not commit, the state of Arkansas would only give them the freedom that they are entitled to as long as the state could protect itself from one of the most corrupt acts that they are totally and completely guilty of. That is outrageously disgusting and an obscene abuse of power.
In response to the plea deal that was accepted, a press conference was conducted with the West Memphis Three (video below); here is what Jason Baldwin had to say about taking the plea deal:
“This was not justice. In the beginning we told nothing but the truth–that we were innocent and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. We had to come here and the only thing the state would do for us is say, ‘Hey we will let you go only if you admit guilt,’ and that is not justice any way you look at it. They’re not out there trying to find who really murdered those boys, and I did not want to take the deal from the get-go. However, they are trying to kill Damien, and sometimes you just got to bite the gun to save somebody.”
A portion of Damien Echols’ statement is below, you can read it in its entirety here.
I have now spent half my life on death row. It is a torturous environment that no human being should have to endure, and it needed to end. I am innocent, as are Jason and Jessie, but I made this decision because I did not want to spend another day of my life behind those bars. I want to live and to continue to fight for our innocence. Sometimes justice is neither pretty nor is it perfect, but it was important to take this opportunity to be free.
I am not alone as there are tens of thousand of men and women in this country who have been wrongfully convicted, forced into a false confession, sentenced to death or a lifetime in prison. I am hopeful that one day they too will be able stand with their friends and family to declare their innocence.
That last part is incredibly important. The West Memphis Three were lucky. They have an incredible amount of supporters and people who have dedicated so much of themselves to doing everything in their power to ensure that these three men would see the freedom that they deserved; including an entire film crew who have worked through the years to put out two documentaries on their case. These documentaries have reached an astounding number of people, making this case known around the world. Without the notoriety that these men received at the hands of their many high profile supporters, they would still be in prison and Damien Echols would have likely been executed years ago.
They were lucky, and yet there are so many people living right now behind bars who had never committed the crimes that they were found guilty of. So, with that in mind, check out The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and who strive to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
Here is a press conference conducted with Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr.:
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Well as they say justice delayed is justice denied
I can feel how you truly care about these three but it must be a different story in the part of the victims’ parents and relatives. There might be some imperfection in the system but this is something we need to probe deeper before we can accuse them of being injustice.
It’s quite unfortunate. But at least they have been released.
I’ve been following this case closely… I don’t think they did it, it was suspicious that one of the stepfathers was acting weird during the search party…
You’re kidding me right? They have to plea guilty just so they can get out when they are in fact innocent? That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I certainly hope they have good lawyers because I would NEVER let this die away.
They deserve better!
I agree. I totally understand why they took the deal, I mean after all the guy was on DEATH ROW. But they can’t just move on and live with the out come. Hopefully some high profile lawyer takes them on pro-bono and crucifies the corrupt officials behind this.
This case should be front page news AGAIN. I can’t believe how little reporting has been going on about this.
At least they have been released.
Yeah, and that can’t be a good thing.
18 years in prison and now at last they are free. They have their life back as free man now.
Wow. This is not a spam comment so don’t think I am trying to butter you up, but wow. Great article. I had no idea they had been sentenced to 18 years and now they were released. The kicker for me is that they had to admit guilt, even though they are not guilty.
The act of “denying the truth” really hit home for me because I base my life on a few philosophical principals. First and foremost is to not deny the truth, ever. If it was me I do not know if I would of been able to admit I was guilty and get out of jail even if it meant my friends had to stay in their with me.
Falsely admitting guilt would completely destroy my sense of self and I do not know if I would ever be able to recover. That is why I feel for these three people. Not only were they wrongly accused, but their subconscious is forced to believe that they are somehow responsible. An attempt to enslave the mind is an injustice of the highest magnitude.
The rights of teenagers are missing in this country, looking at the numbers of kids being institutionalized for being teenagers, and this story omg, it is sick. Being a teenager seems to be a crime these days.
-Survivor of “Wilderness Treatment” and runaway from “Therapeutic Boarding School” shut down for child abuse.
i think they deserve better!
I have often wondered just how many innocent people have been convicted and punished for crimes they didn’t commit. Unfortunately, the justice system is highly influenced by politics. District attorneys often run for high political offices later in life. They salivate from the mouth when thinking about getting a conviction for a high profile case. That is a tragedy of the American justice system. I no longer respect district attorneys who choose a political path later in life. As much as I like Rudy Guliani, he too is a man who made a name for himself by convicting high profile criminals. I just don’t have respect for people who use that office for political gain.
Luckily for them they were freed unlike others who had been framed and still paying for their crime that they didn’t commit
Well said… I just don’t know how they were able to endure for so long. I think Jason said it best “They’re not out there trying to find who really murdered those boys.”
I have been watching this closely andI’m so glad that the’re finally free. The worst part is this could ofme. I wore black through my teen-age years,listened to hardcore rock, and occasionally got high, and my mouth got m into a lot of trouble. Therse young men who are still in many ways children, because of so much lost time in our prison system, now have to adjust to a whole new world. I wish them Luck, Love, Peace, and Happiness in their future endeavors. They survived prison hile keeping the ability to love, care for, and realize compassion for others. All the best.
My heart goes out to these guys and their families. Time and life that can never be replaced and watching them struggle in that press room, the sadness in their eyes, its heartbreaking. A lot of the time, teenagers look different and behave radically because they are attempting to identify with something within themselves that they want to beam out into the world. We work hard to encourage the uniqueness in our children to empower them for their life, and when they take ownership of that, do things differently to most, or appear “abnormal”, we crucify them for it. I have had a long time problem with teachers at schools ignoring the individuality in my children if they haven’t conformed to the “norm” and by law, we have to keep sending them to those places that just keep on knocking them down. What a different world it would be if, in our embrace of each other’s individuality, we could enjoy a journey of exploration instead of condemnation. Thankyou for this article and video. It touched my heart.
So agree about the teenage image, I know for me I would have played into the stupidity of the situation just trying to be cool and tough.
I can’t believe why someone would suffer for a crime they never committed. Just so you will have someone to blame and for the sake of having the case closed. Is this justice nowadays?
It’s quite unfortunate. But at least they have been released.
jeez, so texas just cant say im sorry the right way?
I wonder how many innocent people have been convicted and punished for the crimes that they didn’t commit. This fact sounds terribly.
At least, they have been released.
This is such a great article and I think about the many people who are sitting in the jail without having done anything.
Yes It is really sad and unfortunate but the best part is that they get justice in the end.
Maybe it’s because I live in the back of nowhere (Australia) but I was quite unaware of this – and the tragedy that has engulfed the lives of all those involved. To lose that many years – their prime years – and have no recourse leaves me without words.
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Some of the worse cases in Judiciary. That why people called it is said JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED
Wow, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this case before. I just read the whole article and I can’t believe the disgraceful treatment they received. I’m glad they’re free but who’s going to answer to the fact that 18 years of their lives were stolen from them unjustly. Disgusting.
This is awful to hear this can happen in our legal system, but at least they have been released.
I think its crazy how the judicial system could make such a crucial mistake, its sad, but I think truthfully it happens a lot more than you’d think. I never heard of these 3 men, but the story is definitely a terrible one, I cant imagine losing 18 years of my life over a crime I did not commit, that would be terrible.
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WOW I %100 agree. I totally and completely understand why they decided to take the deal, come on, I mean after all this guy was on DEATH ROW right? But they can’t just move on and forget it and live with the out come can they? Hopefully sometime soon some high profile lawyer takes them on pro-bono and comes out and crucifies the corrupt officials behind this tragic outcome.
Long life to these three boys who have suffered injustice. The state should be punished, beautiful text.
I couldn’t imagine being holed up for that long for a crime I didn’t commit. Being released must have been so liberating but I bet they’re bitter. Such a sad story.
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Such a waste of life. Combined they spent 54 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit!
Really its painful story.. Totally injustice.. thanks for published this, everyone should know about it.
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I really have a feeling that they were innocent. I know there are quite a number of people who also believe that they are innocent.
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It is said story but sometimes this how the wheels of justice turn.
They are interesting. I know you are an atheist but maybe your readers will find this interesting. They put themselves in prison for past life crimes that went unpunished. Two of them are my soul mates, so I know what they are like, and who they are. The third one is one of my larger soul family (a cadre) but I don’t know him “personally”. I wish I could say I believe this to be justice served, but I don’t. Karma is truly a bitch, because it’s still not fair.
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I pity them for they lost a part of their life.
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This was not justice. In the beginning we told nothing but the truth–that we were innocent and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. We had to come here and the only thing the state would do for us is say, ‘Hey we will let you go only if you admit guilt,’ and that is not justice any way you look at it. They’re not out there trying to find who really murdered those boys, and I did not want to take the deal from the get-go. However, they are trying to kill Damien, and sometimes you just got to bite the gun to save somebod
The system took best time of their life. At least they’ve been released, but this won’t change the fact that their lifes are broken..
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At least they have been released.
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I agree that their lives are ruined… but my #1 thought? Who gets to be their biographers. That’s a hell of a story waiting to be written. I would read that book.
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At least they have been released now…
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I think it is not justice. In the beginning i told nothing but this is true.
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OMG!!! This is one of things that scares me the most in life, it’s injustice… Three young people wasted more than 18 yrs of their life in jail, the best 18 yrs of every person’s life, it’s when you discover life… What did they discover ? they saw injustice, and grey walls holding criminals… I don’t know how would they adapt now and if there’s anything Law can do to compensate their wasted lives.
A terrible case. Who is innocent and who is guilty – law does not answer all questions…
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Yes it was really a injustice for them. This type of things shouldn’t happen in Future.
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Ahhhh….this is really a taking heart out story! i have seen a great injustice here on this post with these guys!
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Hi, this is great! I love reading it it so emotional. I am touched..They deserved to be freed.
no freaking way
Good to see that they are released.
It’s quite unfortunate.
So agree about the teenage image, I know for me I would have played into the stupidity of the situation just trying to be cool and tough.
I couldn’t imagine being holed up for that long for a crime I didn’t commit. Being released must have been so liberating but I bet they’re bitter. Such a sad story.
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