I’ve blogged before about the West Memphis Three. This is the name given to those found guilty of a terrible crime that sticks out in my mind because it happened just across the Mississippi River from my native Memphis.
In 1993, three young boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Ark. In 1994, three teenagers – Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley – were convicted of the murders. Baldwin and Misskelley received life sentences while Echols was sentenced to die.
Since those convictions, there has been nothing but controversy about this case. Some say that it was a witch hunt, that the police were just looking for someone to pin the murders on to calm the close-knit community.
There have been numerous books and documentaries about the discrepancies in the case and celebrities have been taking up the cause of the West Memphis Three for years. The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Mayne was sued by one of the boy’s stepfather for “malicious, libelous, slanderous, and false statements” when she defended the Three on her band’s web page.
Still, celebrities are continuing to speak out about this case. This Saturday, Johnny Depp will appear on “48 Hours Mystery” in support of the Three. “I firmly believe Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley are totally innocent.” Depp went on to say, “There’s nothing from the crime scene that links Damien or Jason or Jessie to these crimes. There’s not a shred of evidence, nothing there, there’s no physical evidence.” The show will look at DNA and forensic evidence that if introduced, might clear the Three of the crimes.
Maybe the support of stars such as Depp, Maines, Eddie Vedder, Winona Ryder, Henry Rollins, and even Disney’s Demi Lovato is giving Echols hope. He has said he believes “with all my heart” that he will be allowed to leave death row one day because “I don’t believe that everyone is just gonna sit on their hands and allow them to execute an innocent person.”
Wouldn’t be the first time it had happened Damien.
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