The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
Please vote in the Forum Structure Poll. Polling will close at 2PM EST on January 21, 2025.
West Memphis Free
Aneurhythmia
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Looks like the West Memphis 3 are being released.
Evidence in the case has been falling apart under scrutiny, and it looks like DNA evidence has essentially cleared them. However, they had to make a special plea arrangement to end the whole mess.
For those who don't know the whole back story:
The case was super controversial, because of the association with Satanism and the questionable nature of the investigation and trial proceedings. This came to national attention with an HBO documentary called Paradise Lost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXobZPf97FA
It's an interesting movie. Even if you don't care about the case or the judicial system or young children or our dark lord Satan, you should track down a copy and give it a look.
Critics of the case against the men argued that no direct evidence tied the three to the murders and that a knife recovered from a lake near the home of one of the men could not have caused the boys' wounds. More recent DNA testing also demonstrated no links, according the men's supporters.
Evidence in the case has been falling apart under scrutiny, and it looks like DNA evidence has essentially cleared them. However, they had to make a special plea arrangement to end the whole mess.
Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 18 years in prison with credit for time served, a prosecutor said.
The three entered what is known as an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to maintain innocence while simultaneously acknowledging that the state has evidence to convict, Ellington said.
For those who don't know the whole back story:
Three men were tried and convicted of the murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas on May 5, 1993, subsequently referred to as the West Memphis Three. During the trial, the prosecution put forth the idea that the only purported motive in the case was that the slayings were part of a Satanic ritual. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. was sentenced to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The case was super controversial, because of the association with Satanism and the questionable nature of the investigation and trial proceedings. This came to national attention with an HBO documentary called Paradise Lost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXobZPf97FAIt's an interesting movie. Even if you don't care about the case or the judicial system or young children or our dark lord Satan, you should track down a copy and give it a look.
Aneurhythmia on
0
Posts
is this a "oh good they're free because they didn't do it" thing?
or a "fuck i can't believe they set these murderers free" thing?
DAMN
Chupacabra
Look, don't you go blaming the police just because satanic murderers are so good at hiding all evidence of their involvement in the crime, ok?
They could have done it, but the evidence the prosecution put forward was pathetic and proved nothing. So it's more not guilty due to lack of any evidence besides look at them and Teh DEVIL!
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
is pretty metal
My cousin is named Damien, and he's a priest.
Surely that is a sign of the Apocalypse!
Oh wait, he's actually like a second cousin, so that's probably just like 7 years of bad luck or something.
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
You can't look at it in a vacuum. These people wore black, and listened to metal. And one of them was named Damien. If that's not enough evidence to convict, what is???
That step-father is insane.
god I hope they get some kind of settlement from the state
These fuckers who think being tough on crime equals locking people up because they look guilty or are different/weird/eccentric/aren't grieving "the right way" completely miss the point of our legal system. Innocent until proven guilty is not that you did or didn't do the crime, it's that nobody can prove it.
Also, people who try to make the evidence just fit their theory piss me off. The evidence is the evidence. If it doesn't fit your theory, then most likely it's not the evidence that is wrong. Go back and work it again.
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
I want to say the prosecutor should be fired
you posted a screenshot of your own twitter?
why would you do that?
narcissism, mostly
They entered an "alford plea". Which means they plead guilty, and sufficient evidence exists that they could be convicted.
and then they get to walk.
but, I'm not a lawyer and could totally wrong.
what the fuck is this alford plea bullshit
TO THE WIKIMOBILE
So it looks like this kind of plea basically says that they claim they're innocent, but recognize that they could get convicted because the prosecutor has enough evidence, or the right kind of evidence, to convince a jury they're guilty.
And we already know the second half of that situation is true, because people are idiots.
So I can live with this as long as they walk.
Man, are they gonna flip and murder someone when they see 4th edition.
CNN has a helpful article
How can West Memphis 3 walk free?