Arkansas: WASH THE BLOOD OFF OF YOUR HANDS

Free the West Memphis Three

By: Audrey Siders and edited by Adam Siders [A brother-sister duo]

New evidence suggests the West Memphis Three were wrongfully convicted of murdering three eight-year-olds, and it is time for officials within the Arkansas justice system to wash the blood off of their hands, free the Three, and give justice to the families of the slain children by re-opening the case.

On May 5, 1993, the three children never returned home from riding their bikes. By the next day, their bodies were found in a drainage ditch in Robin Hood Hills. They were naked, hogtied, and one appeared to be sexually mutilated. One month later, the WMPD brought in and coached Jessie Misskelley, a mentally handicapped teen, to give details of the crime.

In 1994, two juries found Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin guilty of first-degree murder, relying heavily on a false confession. At the time of his confession, Misskelley was 17-years-old, had an IQ of 72, and was denied parental and legal representation.

The WMPD caused a panic in their small town, claiming that the three teenagers were satanic and belonged to an occult. Mallory Lee, then 10-years-old, remembers what it was like in West Memphis: “The [police] had all of our parents terrified that those boys were Satan worshipers. That’s why the community turned their backs on them and dubbed them murderers.”

Since then, two of the victim’s parents acknowledged they were wrong in suspecting the guilt of the Three. The parents now suspect Terry Hobbs, stepfather of victim Stevie Branch, who, according to sources close to the investigation, has been linked by DNA to the crime scene along with his girlfriend, Sharon Nelson, and his best friend, David Jacoby. Essential to the Defense’s case, Hobbs’ hair is a match to the hair found inside a knot that was used to bound the boys.

Mark Byers, adoptive parent of victim Christopher Byers, is a believer in Terry Hobbs’ guilt. “[The Three] are innocent and I have to right a wrong,” Byers says. It is his goal to bring the three men justice. Byers also says that when he looks to the past he now sees the suspicious behavior that Hobbs had displayed: “There was no emotion; he never cried. Never got mad. Nothing. He was too calm and cool. He was kind of like a deer caught in the headlights.” Staying close to the case, Byers believes that even though there’s a lot of evidence against Hobbs, the police are not checking into him at this moment.

Stevie Branch’s mother, Pam Hobbs, also says that the West Memphis Three are innocent and her ex-husband is responsible for her son and his friends’ murders. She went to the police with a knife she had found in Mr. Hobbs’ belongings—it was Stevie’s, a gift from his grandfather. She said that “he carried it around with him all the time, because it was like part of his granddaddy. He would have had it May the fifth. He carried it with him from the day my daddy gave it to him until the day he was murdered.”

Recently, Echols has filed a motion for a new trial based on DNA evidence and juror misconduct. The original jury foreman admits that the prosecution did not persuade the jurors. It was news coverage and Jessie’s false confession. It is Arkansas law (Ark.Code 16-112-201,et seq.) “A person is entitled to a new trial insofar as he can demonstrate that the DNA test results, when considered with all other evidence that a new trial would result in an acquittal.” What will it take, Arkansas? Free the West Memphis Three.