I've been wanting to talk about this case for a while since I had the opportunity to watch Paradise Lost 3 a month ago. I was surprised that I hadn't known about this case before because I am a "crime freak". I've been obsessed with the solving of homicides cases from an early age; since I was 7. That's weird but not so weird. I just had a strong interest in crime investigation and a sense of justice.
I am not going to lie to you. During my entire childhood until I was maybe 14 I was fixed on the idea of becoming a crime investigator, yet I ended up going for an opposite career. All my life (especially when I was little) I would watch documentaries of cold cases and real crime investigation shows on Discovery Channel or A&E.
This case stirred me up from the very beginning. I watched Paradise Lost 1, 2 and 3 in a day, and it was crazy just how some kids got sentenced for a crime they didn't commit.
For those of you who are still not familiar with the case there is a short video of Paradise Lost 3 in this post.
Paradise Lost is a documentary directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. It is about three 8 year old kids (Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore) that were murdered in West Memphis. They ended up accusing Damien Echols (18 years old when arrested), Jason Baldwin (16 years old when arrested), and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (17 years old when arrested) of committing this crime. And you want to know how they got to that conclusion? Well, West Memphis was, and maybe still is, a place with many prejudices and they used that fear of the devil to their advantage by making everyone believe that this murder was some kind of satanic ritual. These people were the kind of people that would believe that any evil was always the work of the devil at its fullest. Unfortunately for these teenagers, they fitted perfectly to the kind of people they thought capable of such things. They were judged by their appearance and taste in music. Wearing black and listening to Metallica and such things made them seem guilty. They lost their entire youth, almost 20 years of their lives that won't come back, in a prison for a crime they didn't commit. It infuriates me because it seemed as if people didn't care of the kind of mental damage a person could have after going through hell for a poorly-handled crime investigation. It's selfish to just throw anyone in prison to get be done with an investigation and to ensure your political position. So, after many years of fighting, of people united donating money and resources to make this investigation right, a new DNA evidence proved that these kids weren't guilty of the crime. They've been free since August, 2011, but they HAD to declare there was enough evidence to convict them (which is pretty much saying "Yes, I am guilty"), to be able to be free. That is the Alford Plea. And as of now, they haven't been fully exonerated and whoever was really responsible for that crime is still out there.
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky were allowed to record everything that happened in the court room in the first documentary. And you can see everything that was taking place in this investigation, and got Jason and Jessie sentenced to life imprisonment and Damien, sentenced to death.
From the very beginning I was sure that they didn't commit the crime. I can't tell you how. I just knew. All along I just knew it wasn't them, and I knew this before knowing that they were now free.
Damien's attitude at the beginning may have risen suspicion to others, but it didn't do that to me. I just figured that he was really confident that he was going to get out of that mess because he knew he didn't do anything. That's how I saw him. And Jason and Jessie, were just scared, young and really confused on what was going on.
There are so many things I could say about this case but I'm going to give you some facts that I drew out from all this and give you my personal opinion as well.
1. Guilty by association: I don't like how someone can be blamed of such atrocities just because they happen to hang out with a person that seemed like the leader. That doesn't mean anything. Sure, you have to look into it but not try to push it to make it seem like your hypothesis is right. In addition to that, I think it's silly to think that just because you're weird to mostly everyone that you are hiding something or that you are guilty of a crime. I find it funny because there are a lot of people that dress so well, like business people, and some of them commit many crimes on the daily basis. Maybe they don't necessarily kill someone (though, that doesn't make them less capable of doing so) but they still commit crimes. And they are the last kind of people you would blame for such atrocities like murder because "Oh, no. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He's such a respectable man." Yeah, right! You have to put the blame in someone you think no one would really care about, right? It makes it easier... That's just wrong. Like I said, being wealthy or someone important doesn't make someone less capable of murder. ANYONE could have done it! No matter the race, sex, religion. No matter the appearance!
2. Innocent until proven guilty. No, wait! It seems like it works this way: "Guilty until proven innocent.": this phrase I just quoted came from Jason Baldwin as he was realizing that there was no way out of that mess. He seemed in shock that he was actually going to serve in prison for that crime. I was in disbelief too and I also agree with this quote because that is exactly what they did to those kids. Who would have thought that they were going to prison for real? They sure didn't. They thought everything was going to be fine because they thought "they can't throw you in jail when they don't have proof that you committed the crime." Well, it seemed like they were wrong. And something that stuck in my mind other than this quote was how they all (investigators, "witnesses", justice system, etc.) made it seem like they were guilty. They weren't but they MADE it seem like that anyway. How can you feel safe when the justice system is like this and the police and everyone can manipulate things this way? Unbelievable!
3. Crime investigation handled poorly / Evidence: Ok, so I think that there was stupidity after stupidity in this investigation. Really! How in the world can you lose an important piece of evidence (the blood in the bathroom of the Bojangles' restaurant) that could have led to the real killer?! What is wrong with these people being so careless? Being careful is requisite. Come on! I think this was either lost in purpose or, this detective was simply stupid. And what about the knife? I think that was fabricated evidence. What about the man with blood in the Bojangles' restaurant? Seriously? Why would you ignore something like that as if it was not a big deal? It could have had a connection to the crime, even the manager of the restaurant thought so. And just so many things that were based on theories, on assumptions, not on actual facts or, hard evidence. I believe that at the beginning the investigator was sure that these three were guilty, but as the investigation kept on progressing I am sure he realized that he had the wrong guys, but these people would just NOT admit they made a mistake.
4. Joe and Bruce were a blessing: I am happy that these guys did this film and I'm sure the WM3 are too and everyone else that supported them and believed they were innocent. I think is a blessing when someone decides to take his/her field of work to the next level. Do some good to the world with it because I strongly believe that we can give something to our world by donating our knowledge and time. In this case, I truly see it as a blessing because without the documentary many people wouldn't have known about the case and seen what was happening in the court to feel indignant about this situation. Without it, people wouldn't have started to make their voices be heard and have something done about it. Without it, I highly doubt these kids, now men, would have been even close to being free. A lot of truth was seen and Joe and Bruce took the time and effort to go behind everything they could for justice.
5. The killer(s) is/are still out there: it makes me mad to know that the WM3 spent so much time in prison, that Damien could have be dead right now, and that the responsible is still out there and could have had the chance to do more harm. I just hope that soon the responsible pay for the crime(s) that were committed...
I am not going to lie to you. During my entire childhood until I was maybe 14 I was fixed on the idea of becoming a crime investigator, yet I ended up going for an opposite career. All my life (especially when I was little) I would watch documentaries of cold cases and real crime investigation shows on Discovery Channel or A&E.
This case stirred me up from the very beginning. I watched Paradise Lost 1, 2 and 3 in a day, and it was crazy just how some kids got sentenced for a crime they didn't commit.
For those of you who are still not familiar with the case there is a short video of Paradise Lost 3 in this post.
Paradise Lost is a documentary directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. It is about three 8 year old kids (Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore) that were murdered in West Memphis. They ended up accusing Damien Echols (18 years old when arrested), Jason Baldwin (16 years old when arrested), and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (17 years old when arrested) of committing this crime. And you want to know how they got to that conclusion? Well, West Memphis was, and maybe still is, a place with many prejudices and they used that fear of the devil to their advantage by making everyone believe that this murder was some kind of satanic ritual. These people were the kind of people that would believe that any evil was always the work of the devil at its fullest. Unfortunately for these teenagers, they fitted perfectly to the kind of people they thought capable of such things. They were judged by their appearance and taste in music. Wearing black and listening to Metallica and such things made them seem guilty. They lost their entire youth, almost 20 years of their lives that won't come back, in a prison for a crime they didn't commit. It infuriates me because it seemed as if people didn't care of the kind of mental damage a person could have after going through hell for a poorly-handled crime investigation. It's selfish to just throw anyone in prison to get be done with an investigation and to ensure your political position. So, after many years of fighting, of people united donating money and resources to make this investigation right, a new DNA evidence proved that these kids weren't guilty of the crime. They've been free since August, 2011, but they HAD to declare there was enough evidence to convict them (which is pretty much saying "Yes, I am guilty"), to be able to be free. That is the Alford Plea. And as of now, they haven't been fully exonerated and whoever was really responsible for that crime is still out there.
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky were allowed to record everything that happened in the court room in the first documentary. And you can see everything that was taking place in this investigation, and got Jason and Jessie sentenced to life imprisonment and Damien, sentenced to death.
From the very beginning I was sure that they didn't commit the crime. I can't tell you how. I just knew. All along I just knew it wasn't them, and I knew this before knowing that they were now free.
Damien's attitude at the beginning may have risen suspicion to others, but it didn't do that to me. I just figured that he was really confident that he was going to get out of that mess because he knew he didn't do anything. That's how I saw him. And Jason and Jessie, were just scared, young and really confused on what was going on.
There are so many things I could say about this case but I'm going to give you some facts that I drew out from all this and give you my personal opinion as well.
1. Guilty by association: I don't like how someone can be blamed of such atrocities just because they happen to hang out with a person that seemed like the leader. That doesn't mean anything. Sure, you have to look into it but not try to push it to make it seem like your hypothesis is right. In addition to that, I think it's silly to think that just because you're weird to mostly everyone that you are hiding something or that you are guilty of a crime. I find it funny because there are a lot of people that dress so well, like business people, and some of them commit many crimes on the daily basis. Maybe they don't necessarily kill someone (though, that doesn't make them less capable of doing so) but they still commit crimes. And they are the last kind of people you would blame for such atrocities like murder because "Oh, no. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He's such a respectable man." Yeah, right! You have to put the blame in someone you think no one would really care about, right? It makes it easier... That's just wrong. Like I said, being wealthy or someone important doesn't make someone less capable of murder. ANYONE could have done it! No matter the race, sex, religion. No matter the appearance!
2. Innocent until proven guilty. No, wait! It seems like it works this way: "Guilty until proven innocent.": this phrase I just quoted came from Jason Baldwin as he was realizing that there was no way out of that mess. He seemed in shock that he was actually going to serve in prison for that crime. I was in disbelief too and I also agree with this quote because that is exactly what they did to those kids. Who would have thought that they were going to prison for real? They sure didn't. They thought everything was going to be fine because they thought "they can't throw you in jail when they don't have proof that you committed the crime." Well, it seemed like they were wrong. And something that stuck in my mind other than this quote was how they all (investigators, "witnesses", justice system, etc.) made it seem like they were guilty. They weren't but they MADE it seem like that anyway. How can you feel safe when the justice system is like this and the police and everyone can manipulate things this way? Unbelievable!
3. Crime investigation handled poorly / Evidence: Ok, so I think that there was stupidity after stupidity in this investigation. Really! How in the world can you lose an important piece of evidence (the blood in the bathroom of the Bojangles' restaurant) that could have led to the real killer?! What is wrong with these people being so careless? Being careful is requisite. Come on! I think this was either lost in purpose or, this detective was simply stupid. And what about the knife? I think that was fabricated evidence. What about the man with blood in the Bojangles' restaurant? Seriously? Why would you ignore something like that as if it was not a big deal? It could have had a connection to the crime, even the manager of the restaurant thought so. And just so many things that were based on theories, on assumptions, not on actual facts or, hard evidence. I believe that at the beginning the investigator was sure that these three were guilty, but as the investigation kept on progressing I am sure he realized that he had the wrong guys, but these people would just NOT admit they made a mistake.
4. Joe and Bruce were a blessing: I am happy that these guys did this film and I'm sure the WM3 are too and everyone else that supported them and believed they were innocent. I think is a blessing when someone decides to take his/her field of work to the next level. Do some good to the world with it because I strongly believe that we can give something to our world by donating our knowledge and time. In this case, I truly see it as a blessing because without the documentary many people wouldn't have known about the case and seen what was happening in the court to feel indignant about this situation. Without it, people wouldn't have started to make their voices be heard and have something done about it. Without it, I highly doubt these kids, now men, would have been even close to being free. A lot of truth was seen and Joe and Bruce took the time and effort to go behind everything they could for justice.
5. The killer(s) is/are still out there: it makes me mad to know that the WM3 spent so much time in prison, that Damien could have be dead right now, and that the responsible is still out there and could have had the chance to do more harm. I just hope that soon the responsible pay for the crime(s) that were committed...