The three men convicted in the grisly murders of three West Memphis Cub Scouts won new hearings Thursday to argue their innocence, more than 15 years after they were sent to prison despite scant physical evidence linking them to the crime scene.Free the West Memphis Three has been the subject of many a tribute album, benefit and song over the years, the likes of which have come from names like Henry Rollins, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Winona Ryder, Sheperd Fairey, Johnny Depp, Tom Waits, Killing Joke, and countless others. Why? Because for lack of any real evidence, things like heavy metal t-shirts and Stephen King novels were used as evidence to prove the guys committed the murders as part of a satanic cult ritual. For more on the details behind the case, head to their website and check out a video on the recent development below.The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the hearings to decide whether new DNA analysis - and other evidence not introduced at the 1994 trials - could lead a reasonable jury to acquit death-row inmate Damien Echols as well as Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who are serving life sentences.
The ruling was a major win for Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley, who are known to sympathizers as the West Memphis Three and have gained the support of celebrities as well as legal scholars who say they were wrongfully convicted. Echols has been on Arkansas' death row since 1994, when he was 20, after being convicted in the deaths of 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore. The three boys were found beaten, nude and hog-tied in an area known as Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis. -[Washington Post]
--
Comments (18)
Leave a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: If your comment does not appear immediately, it will show up shortly.
Recently
Recent Comments
- GoogaMooga Sunday CANCELLED due to rain (19) Anonymous wrote: Nice job guys, you send out an email this morning saying you have t... [more]
- What's going on Saturday? (23) HollaMan wrote: Any Dropkick Murphy's fans out there. I find a lot of us are foot f... [more]
- What's going on Sunday? (2) Anonymous wrote: anyone know what time liars go on?... [more]
- It's 4:45 & The Darkness have taken the stage #GoogaMooga (36) Anonymous wrote: This festival is created for people that can't figure out how to ha... [more]
- NYHC vets Judge reuniting to headline Black and Blue Bowl! (107) Anonymous wrote: ^man D trolled the shit out of this dude. he's all kinds of bent ou... [more]
- No Joy played Glasslands with Weekend who are playing Northside (pics, dates) (19) Anonymous wrote: missed grand resort. weekend was ok. no joy was awesome. ... [more]
- download 2 new songs from Liars who play NYC this weekend (11) Anonymous wrote: That makes sense since Brooklyn is part of Long Island... [more]
- David Bowie releases new song & video!!! New album soon (54) mike wrote: David Bowie is a amazing artist. Give love now to Bowie.... [more]
Recent Galleries
-
Foxygen, Amen Dunes, LODRO & Prince Rupert's Drops played first BV-curated RBSS show at the Knit (pics)
-
Phoenix played The Apollo with Blood Orange (pics, setlist)
-
Coachella Weekend 2 Day 3 in pics (Ghost BC, The Three O'Clock, DIIV, Thee Oh Sees, Nick Cave, Grimes & more)
-
Coachella Day 3 Photos (Wu-Tang Clan, Vampire Weekend, Father John Misty, Grimes, Kurt Vile, James Blake ++ more)
Most Popular
- What's going on Saturday? (23)
- It's 4:45 & The Darkness have taken the stage #GoogaMooga (36)
- GoogaMooga Sunday CANCELLED due to rain (22)
- download 2 new songs from Liars who play NYC this weekend (11)
- No Joy played Glasslands with Weekend who are playing Northside (pics, dates) (19)
- Dan Deacon's Ultimate Reality Part 3 @ Bang on a Can 2008 (1220)
- Michael Musto, Robert Sietsema, Michael Feingold and more let go from 'Village Voice' (27)
- Blur and The Stone Roses are finally returning to America (23)
Browse Categories (or Browse Tags)
Blogroll
Blogroll Links
- Todd P
- BV Austin
- Stereogum
- BV Chicago
- Thighs Wide Shut
- music snobbery
- done waiting
- Invisible Oranges
- Blabbermouth
- largehearted boy
- gorilla vs bear
- chromewaves
- my old kentucky blog
- You Ain't No Picasso
- The Bergstrom
- Muzzle of Bees
- La Blogoteque
- Daytrotter
- Fluxblog
- Nah Right
- RCRD LBL
- Arjan Writes
- Free Williamsburg
- Hype Machine
- I Guess I'm Floating
- Hipster Runoff
- An Aquarium Drunkard
- The Daily Swarm
- Boing Boing
- Brownstoner
- Gothamist
- Curbed
- Gawker
- WFMU
- WNYC
Colophon
- Twitter.com/BrooklynVegan
- Twitter.com/AllBVposts
- Twitter.com/BVTicketsOnSale
- Twitter.com/BVNYCShows
- Twitter.com/bvCMJ
- Twitter.com/bvSXSW
- Twitter.com/bvComedy
- Twitter.com/InvisOranges
- Facebook.com/BrooklynVegan
- Facebook.com/BrooklynVeganChicago
- Facebook.com/BVAustin
- Facebook.com/InvisibleOranges
- Instagram.com/BrooklynVegan
- Instagram.com/BVChicago
- Instagram.com/BVAustin
- Instagram.com/InvisibleOranges
- MySpace
- MySpace.com/BrooklynVegan
- NEW.MySpace.com/BrooklynVegan
- Feeds
- RSS
THAT IS FANTASTIC NEWS! And for those of you (most of you, no doubt) who have never seen Paradise Lost 1 and 2, rent them today. It'll make you sick
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 1:47 PM
Thats really great news for them, hopefully real justice will be given.
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 2:01 PM
thanks for posting about this... something my friends and I have been following for a while now
Posted by chris gersbeck | November 8, 2010 2:15 PM
Great! I hope they finally get the proper trial and freedom they deserve.
Posted by Sanskar | November 8, 2010 2:41 PM
stepfather did it, so obvious cmaaaaan justice system
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 2:46 PM
i love the cell phone stock photo that the news cast uses
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 2:47 PM
Fuck YESS. Finally!!
Posted by Stefan | November 8, 2010 2:56 PM
who are these people and why should i care
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 3:21 PM
3:21 they were three kids who were absolutely wrongly convicted of savagely murdering a group of small children and the entire town figured because they were into metal that they did it. virtually no evidence exists linking them to the crime, but the judge, the SAME judge all these years who was the judge on the original trial like 20 years ago, has repeatedly denied them any new hearing despite numerous findings proving that they had nothing to do with it.
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 3:32 PM
They've been in jail for almost 20 years thanks to conservative fundamentalist xtian paranoia.
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 3:33 PM
This is great to read. Second the recommendation of Paradise Lost 1 & 2. Sadly, this is all too common in our country. Check out The Thin Blue Line too (at least justice prevailed there).
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 4:05 PM
This is excellent.
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 4:10 PM
This is so long overdue. What an embarrassment to our legal system.
Especially since the DNA and other revelations since 2007. We know who killed those three boys .... and we know who didn't.
Justice for Six = Free the 3 & Arrest the 1
Anyone looking for more information on the case, there's a great website run by the family of one of the victims (who's also one of the loudest supporters of the West Memphis Three):
http://www.wm3blackboard.com
Posted by David Perry Davis, Esq. | November 8, 2010 4:14 PM
About time
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 6:30 PM
these people should eat hummus and chill-out with some chillwave
Posted by Anonymous | November 8, 2010 7:05 PM
^^^i don't know about the chillwave, but if i was one of them I would eat hummus immediately after getting out of prison. they got thrown in before hummus became a mainstream food in america, especially in their region, so they probably have never even tried it! in all seriousness though, glad this is finally being dealt with.
Posted by Anonymous | November 9, 2010 2:05 AM
j'agree w/2:46. Sooo happy for these dudes! It's about time!
Posted by Anonymous | November 9, 2010 3:41 AM
guitly
Posted by Anonymous | November 9, 2010 9:51 AM