Damien Echols

Case overview

Damien Wayne Echols was one of the three men known as the West Memphis Three. He was convicted in the killing of eight-year-olds Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore at Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis, Arkansas, on May 5, 1993.

Echols was sentenced to death by lethal injection and was on death row under a 23 hours per day lockdown at the Varner Supermax. He entered the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) system on March 19, 1994. As of 2010, he was incarcerated at the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) Varner Unit Supermax.

Timeline

• May 5, 1993 — Three eight-year-old boys were reported missing; Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore were last seen together in West Memphis, Arkansas.
• May 6, 1993 — A boy’s black shoe was spotted floating in a muddy creek in Robin Hood Hills; the bodies of the three boys were found.
• May 1993 — Echols was arrested and police questioned him.
• May 5, 1993 (around 7:00 pm) — The first report to the police was made by John Mark Byers, adoptive father of Christopher Byers.
• May 6, 1993 (around 6:00 pm) — A neighbor reported the boys had been called by Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Steve Branch.
• May 6, 1993 (around 8:00 am) — A more thorough police search began with Crittenden County Search and Rescue personnel and others.
• May 6, 1993 (around 1:00 pm) — Searchers broke for lunch; police and others continued searching.
• May 6, 1993 (around 1:45 pm) — Juvenile Parole Officer Steve Jones spotted a boy’s black shoe floating in a muddy creek.
• February 5, 1994 — Jessie Misskelley was convicted by a jury of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life plus 40 years.
• March 19, 1994 — Echols and Jason Baldwin were found guilty on three counts of murder.
• April 19, 1994 — Echols was sentenced to death.
• May 1994 — The three appealed their convictions; convictions were upheld on direct appeal.
• February 17, 1994 — Misskelley made another statement to police with his lawyer Dan Stidham in the room advising Misskelley.
• September 30, 2010 — The Arkansas Supreme Court heard oral argument on Burnett’s decision.
• November 4, 2010 — The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a lower judge to consider whether newly-analyzed DNA evidence might exonerate three men convicted in the 1993 murders; the court also required examination of juror misconduct claims and ordered new evidentiary hearings for Misskelley and Baldwin.
• Early December 2010 — Circuit Court Judge David Laser was selected to replace David Burnett as judge in appeal hearings.
• October 29, 2007 — The defense filed a Second Amended Writ of Habeas Corpus outlining new evidence.
• October 2007 — Advanced DNA and other scientific evidence and additional testimony and expert evidence were presented that were said to throw the original ruling into question.
• July 17, 2007 — A status report jointly issued by the State and the defense team stated: "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants."
• July 2007 — DNA collected from the crime scene was tested and excluded the defendants as contributors.
• July 2008 — It was revealed that Kent Arnold, the jury foreman, discussed the case with an attorney prior to deliberations and advocated guilt based on inadmissible Jessie Misskelley statements.
• September 2008 — Judge David Burnett denied Echols’ application for a hearing on the new DNA evidence.

The offence

Victims and missing persons

Three eight-year-old boys—Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore—were reported missing on May 5, 1993. The first report to police was made by John Mark Byers, adoptive father of Christopher Byers, around 7:00 pm. They were last seen together by a neighbor who reported they had been called by Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Steve Branch, around 6:00.

Hobbs later denied seeing the boys at all on May 5.

Search and discovery of bodies

Initial police searches that night were limited. Friends and neighbors conducted an impromptu and unsuccessful search that night, including a cursory visit to the location where the bodies were ultimately found.

A more thorough police search began around 8:00 am on May 6, aided by Crittenden County Search and Rescue personnel, along with several others. Searchers canvassed all of West Memphis, but focused primarily on Robin Hood Hills.

Despite a shoulder-to-shoulder human chain search of Robin Hood Hills, searchers found no sign of the missing boys. Search and Rescue personnel broke for lunch at 1:00 pm, but police and others continued searching.

Around 1:45 pm, Juvenile Parole Officer Steve Jones spotted a boy’s black shoe floating in a muddy creek that led to a major drainage canal in Robin Hood Hills. A subsequent search of the ditch found the bodies of three boys.

Condition of the bodies and injuries described

The three boys were stripped naked and hogtied with their own shoelaces. Their right ankles were tied to their right wrists behind their backs, and the same with their left limbs. Their clothing was found in the creek, with some clothing twisted around sticks thrust into the muddy ditch bed. The clothing was mostly turned inside-out, and two pairs of the boys’ underwear were never recovered.

Christopher Byers had deep lacerations and injuries to his scrotum and penis, most likely caused by post-mortem animal predation. The original autopsies were inconclusive as to time of death, but the Arkansas medical examiner determined that Byers died of blood loss, and Moore and Branch drowned.

A later review by a medical examiner for the defense determined that the boys had been killed between 1:00 am and 5:00 am on May 6, 1993.

Forensic interpretations disputed

The official interpretation of crime scene forensics remained controversial. Prosecution experts claimed Byers’ wounds were the results of a knife attack and that he had been purposely castrated by the murderer. Defense experts claimed the injuries were more probably the result of post-mortem animal predation.

Police suspected the boys had been raped or sodomized; later expert testimony disputed this finding despite trace amounts of sperm DNA found on a pair of pants recovered from the scene. Police believed the boys were assaulted and killed at the location where they were found; critics argued that the assault, at least, was unlikely to have occurred at the creek.

Drugs and prescriptions in the victims

Byers was the only victim with drugs in his system. He was prescribed Ritalin in January 1993 as part of attention-deficit disorder treatment. (The initial autopsy report described the drug as Carbamazepine.) The dosage was found to be at a sub-therapeutic level, consistent with John Mark Byers’ statement that Christopher Byers may not have taken his prescription on May 5, 1993.

Investigation

Parties and background involving the victims’ families

Steve Branch

Stevie Branch was the son of Steve and Pam Branch. Steve and Pam divorced when he was an infant. Pam was awarded custody, and Steve had visitation only when Pam was present. Pam later married Terry Hobbs.

When Stevie was murdered, his biological father owed over $13,000 in child support and was under investigation for state tax violations.

Christopher Byers

Christopher Byers was born to Melissa DeFir and Ricky Murray. After divorcing Murray, Melissa married John Mark Byers, who later adopted her two sons.

John Mark Byers had a long criminal history, including charges for making "terroristic [death] threats" against his first wife and multiple drug and theft offenses. He was a frequent paid informant for the West Memphis Police Department (WMPD). When the boys were murdered, he was under Federal investigation for suspected grand theft from the U.S. Postal Service.

John Mark Byers admitted whipping Christopher with a belt only a few hours before the boys went missing because Christopher tried to break into his own home. Christopher did not have a house key, and the empty house was locked when he arrived home after school.

Prosecutor John Fogelman said police and other officials suspected John Mark Byers of committing the murders the day the victims were discovered.

Michael Moore

Michael Moore was the son of Todd and Dana Moore. Of the three murdered boys, Michael’s parents were still married and had never had any serious criminal charges or investigations made against them.

Suspects and background

At the time of their arrests, Jessie Misskelley was 17, Jason Baldwin was 16, and Damien Echols was 18.

Baldwin and Misskelley had previous records for minor juvenile offenses (vandalism for Baldwin and shoplifting for Misskelley), and Misskelley had a reputation for being hot-tempered and engaging in frequent fistfights.

Misskelley and Echols had dropped out of high school. Baldwin earned above-average grades and demonstrated talent for drawing and sketching, and he was considering studying graphic design in college due to encouragement from a school counselor.

Echols and Baldwin were close friends due partly to their similar tastes in music and fiction and a shared distaste for the prevailing cultural climate in West Memphis, described as politically conservative and strongly Evangelical Christian. Baldwin and Echols were acquainted with Misskelley from school but were not close friends with him.

Echols’ family was poor with frequent visits from social workers, and he rarely attended school. His tumultuous relationship with an early girlfriend culminated in the two running off together. After breaking into a trailer during a rain storm, the pair were arrested, with Echols charged with burglary.

Police heard rumors that the young lovers had planned to have a child and sacrifice the infant; based on this story, police institutionalized Echols for psychiatric evaluation. He was diagnosed as depressed and suicidal and was prescribed imipramine. Subsequent testing demonstrated poor math skills but showed that Echols ranked above average in reading and verbal skills.

Echols spent several months in a mental institution in Arkansas and afterwards received "full disability" status from the Social Security Administration.

During Echols’ trial, Dr. George W. Woods testified for the defense that Echols suffered from: "... serious mental illness characterized by grandiose and persecutory delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, disordered thought processes, substantial lack of insight, and chronic, incapacitating mood swings."

At the time of his arrest, Echols was working part-time with a roofing company and expecting a child with his new girlfriend, Domini Teer.

Alternative suspects mentioned during the investigation

Chris Morgan and Brian Holland

Early in the investigation, the WMPD briefly regarded two West Memphis teenagers as suspects: Chris Morgan and Brian Holland, both with drug offense histories, who departed for Oceanside, California four days after the bodies were discovered.

Morgan was presumed to be at least casually familiar with all three murdered boys because he had previously driven an ice cream truck route in their neighborhood. Both men were arrested in Oceanside on 17 May 1993 and took polygraph exams administered by California police. Examiners reported both men’s charts indicated deception when they denied involvement in the murders.

During subsequent questioning, Morgan claimed a long history of drug and alcohol use with blackouts and memory lapses, and claimed he "might have" killed the victims but recanted that part quickly. California police sent blood and urine samples from Morgan and Holland to the WMPD, and there was no indication WMPD investigated Morgan or Holland as suspects after their arrest in California. The relevance of Morgan’s recanted statement was later debated in trial and was eventually barred from admission as evidence.

"Mr. Bojangles"

Early in the trial, the possibility of a black male alternate suspect was implied. Local West Memphis police officers reported that on the evening of May 5, 1993 at 8:42 pm, workers in a Bojangles restaurant about a mile from the crime scene reported seeing a black male "dazed and covered with blood and mud" inside the ladies’ room.

The man was bleeding from his arm and brushed against the walls. He had defecated on himself and on the floor. Police were called, but the man left the scene. Officer Regina Meeks responded by inquiring at the drive-through window about 45 minutes later. By then, the man had left and police did not enter the restroom on that date.

The following day, when the victims were found, Bojangles manager Marty King called police twice to inform them of his suspicions. During Echols/Baldwin trial, Meeks’ testimony described that after the second telephone call police gathered evidence from the restroom. Investigators wore their same shoes and clothes from the Robin Hood Hills crime scene into the Bojangles bathroom, described as conceivably contaminating that scene. Detective Bryn Ridge later stated he lost the blood scrapings taken from the walls and tiles of the restroom.

A hair identified as belonging to an African-American male was later recovered from a sheet used to wrap one of the victims.

Investigative criticism described

There was widespread criticism of how the police handled the crime scene. Dan Stidham cited errors, characterizing the creek bed as "literally trampled, especially the creek bed." Stidham said bodies were removed from the water before the coroner arrived, allowing the bodies to decay on the creek bank with sunlight and insects. Stidham said police did not telephone the coroner until almost two hours after the floating shoe, resulting in late coroner arrival. He said officials failed to drain the creek timely and secure possible evidence in the water, which was sandbagged after the bodies were pulled from the water.

Stidham called the coroner’s investigation "extremely substandard." He also said a small amount of blood found at the scene was never tested.

Mara Leveritt was quoted describing police records as "literally trampled, especially the creek bed" and later said: "Police records were a mess. To call them disorderly would be putting it mildly."

Leveritt also said police refused an unsolicited offer of aid and consultation from the violent crimes experts of the Arkansas State Police and suggested critics saw this as due to WMPD being investigated by the Arkansas State Police for suspected theft from the Crittenden County drug task force. She noted some physical evidence was stored in paper sacks with a supermarket name pre-printed rather than in known controlled origin containers. She said Leveritt mistakenly presumed a crime scene video was shot minutes after detectives recovered two bodies, but that the camera was unavailable for almost thirty minutes afterwards.

In discussing speculation about the assailant, a juvenile probation officer at the scene was said to have speculated Echols was "capable" and said: "it looks like Damien Echols finally killed someone."

One expert in Paradise Lost 2 was said to have stated human bite marks could have been left on at least one victim, but the potential bite marks were first noticed in photographs years after the trials and were not inspected by a board-certified medical examiner until four years after the murders. The defense’s own expert testified that the mark was not an adult bite mark, consistent with the testimony of experts put on by the State who concluded there were no bite marks. State experts were described as having examined bodies for marks and conducted expert photo analysis of injuries. Upon further examination it was said that even if marks were bite marks they did not match the teeth of the three convicted.

Evidence gathering and interviews described

Echols

Police interviewed Echols two days after the bodies were discovered. During a polygraph examination, he denied involvement. The polygraph examiner claimed Echols’ chart indicated deception, but when asked to produce the record the examiner said he had no written record.

On 10 May 1993, four days after bodies were found, Detective Bryn Ridge questioned Echols and asked him to speculate how the victims died. Ridge’s description of Echols’ answer was given as abstracted: he stated the boys probably died of mutilation; some guy had cut the bodies up; he heard they were in the water and they may have drowned; at least one was cut up more than the others; purpose may have been to scare someone; he believed it was only one person to prevent squealing by another involved.

At trial, Echols testified that Ridge’s description of the conversation was inaccurate. The narrative said that at the time of the alleged statements police thought there was no public knowledge that one child had been mutilated more severely than the others; this contradicted John Mark Byers’ statement to reporters minutes after the bodies were found: "that two boys had been badly beaten and that the third had been even worse." It said that at the time Det. Gitchell had not released that information and that Gitchell later said he told John Mark Byers details before official media release.

After a month passed with little progress, police continued to focus investigation on Echols, interrogating him more frequently than any other person, but they claimed he was not regarded as a direct suspect but a source of information.

After the polygraph, Echols replied to the question about what he was afraid of: "The electric chair."

Echols testified that the conversation description (which was not recorded) was inaccurate.

Misskelley

On 3 June 1993, police interrogated Jessie Misskelley Jr. Misskelley’s IQ was reported as 72 and described as borderline mentally retarded. He was questioned alone and his parents were not present. Misskelley’s father gave permission for Misskelley to go with police but did not explicitly give permission for minor son to be questioned or interrogated. Misskelley was questioned roughly twelve hours, with only two segments totaling 46 minutes recorded.

Misskelley quickly recanted his confession citing intimidation, coercion, fatigue, and veiled threats. During Misskelley’s trial, Dr. Richard Ofshe testified that the brief recording was "a classic example" of police coercion.

The narrative said critics said the confession was inconsistent with crime scene particulars, including an "admission" that Misskelley "watched Damien rape one of the boys." Police had initially suspected rape based on dilated anuses, but forensic evidence later was described as conclusively proving the boys had not been raped and dilation was a normal post-mortem condition.

After conviction, a police officer alleged Misskelley confessed to her, but it said no reliable details were provided. The narrative said Misskelley claimed he did not fully understand Miranda rights and that the Arkansas Supreme Court determined his confession was voluntary and that he understood the Miranda warning and consequences.

Misskelley said he was "scared of the police" during his first confession. Portions of Misskelley’s statements were leaked to the press and appeared on the front page of the Memphis Commercial Appeal before any trials began.

An additional statement was made by Misskelley on February 17, 1994, with lawyer Dan Stidham, continually advising him not to say anything. It said Misskelley detailed that Damien and Jason abused and murdered the boys and that he watched until deciding to leave.

Vicki Hutcheson

Vicki Hutcheson later recanted testimony, stating her statements were fabricated due in part to police coercion. On 6 May 1993, the day the murder victims were found, Hutcheson took a polygraph exam by Detective Don Bray at Marion Police Department to determine whether she had stolen money from her West Memphis employer. Her young son Aaron was present and distracted Bray so a polygraph was unable to be administered. Aaron mentioned that the boys had been killed at "the playhouse." When bodies were discovered near that location, Bray asked Aaron for more details. Aaron claimed he witnessed murders committed by Satanists who spoke Spanish. Aaron’s statements were described as inconsistent and he was unable to identify Baldwin, Echols, or Misskelley from photo lineups, and there was no "playhouse" at the location Aaron indicated.

Police involvement with Aaron’s statements was described as including a police leak to the press contributing to belief murders were part of a satanic rite.

On or about 1 June 1993, Hutcheson agreed to police suggestions to place hidden microphones in her home during an encounter with Echols. Misskelley agreed to introduce Hutcheson to Echols. Hutcheson reported that Echols made no incriminating statements. Police said the recording was "inaudible," while Hutcheson claimed the recording was audible.

On 2 June 1993, Hutcheson told police that about two weeks after murders she, Echols, and Misskelley attended an esbat in Turrell, Arkansas. She claimed that at the esbat, a drunken Echols bragged about killing three boys. Hutcheson said she could not recall the esbat location and did not name other participants.

Hutcheson was not charged with theft. She claimed she implicated Echols and Misskelley to avoid criminal charges and to obtain a reward for discovery of murderers.

Arrest and trial

Pleas and severance

Misskelley was tried separately, and Echols and Baldwin were tried together in 1994 under the "Bruton rule." Under that rule, Misskelley’s confession could not be admitted against co-defendants, so he was tried separately. All three pled innocent.

Misskelley trial (1994)

On February 5, 1994, Misskelley was convicted by a jury of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The court sentenced him to life plus 40 years in prison. His conviction was appealed and affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Echols and Baldwin trial (1994)

On March 19, 1994, Echols and Baldwin were found guilty on three counts of murder. The court sentenced Echols to death and Baldwin to life in prison.

Sentencing

Echols was sentenced to death by lethal injection, with the sentencing date stated as April 19, 1994.

Appeals and new evidence

Direct appeal

In May 1994, the three appealed their convictions. Their convictions were upheld on direct appeal.

DNA and post-conviction efforts

In 2007, Echols petitioned for a retrial based on a statute permitting post-conviction testing of DNA evidence due to technological advances made since 1994 might provide exoneration. The original trial judge, Judge David Burnett, disallowed a hearing of this information in his court.

On July 17, 2007, a status report jointly issued by the State and defense team stated: "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants."

In 2007, DNA collected from the crime scene was tested and none was found to match DNA from Echols, Baldwin, nor Misskelley. The narrative further described a hair tied into knots used to bind one victim, and that it was "not inconsistent with" Terry Hobbs, stepfather to Stevie Branch.

On October 29, 2007, the defense filed Second Amended Writ of Habeas Corpus in federal court seeking a retrial or immediate release. The filing cited DNA evidence linking Terry Hobbs to the crime scene and new statements from Hobbs’ now ex-wife. It also presented new expert testimony that the knife marks on the victims were the result of animal predation after bodies had been dumped.

On October 10, 2007, the narrative said a filing was made in federal court seeking a retrial or immediate release; later text described October 29, 2007 as when papers were filed in federal court by defense lawyers.

On 10 September 2008, Circuit Court Judge David Burnett denied the request for a retrial, citing DNA tests as inconclusive. That ruling was appealed. The Arkansas Supreme Court heard oral argument on September 30, 2010.

On November 4, 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a lower judge to consider whether newly-analyzed DNA evidence might exonerate three men convicted in the 1993 murders. The justices also said a lower court must examine claims of misconduct by jurors who sentenced Damien Echols to death and Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin to life in prison. The justices ordered new evidentiary hearings for Misskelley and Baldwin. In early December 2010, Judge David Laser was selected to replace David Burnett for appeal hearings.

Foreman and jury misconduct claim (2008)

In July 2008, it was revealed that Kent Arnold, the jury foreman on the Echols/Baldwin trial, discussed the case with an attorney prior to deliberations and advocated for guilt of the West Memphis Three as a result of inadmissible Jessie Misskelley statements. It was stated that legal experts agreed this had strong potential to result in reversal of the convictions of Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols.

In October 2008, Attorney (now Judge) Daniel Stidham, who represented Jessie Misskelley in 1994, testified at a postconviction relief hearing. Stidham testified that Judge David Burnett approached the then-deliberating jury in the Misskelley matter around 11:50 a.m. and advised they would break for lunch. Stidham quoted exchanges:

• When the foreman answered "we may almost be done", Judge Burnett responded "well, you'll still have to return for sentencing."
• When the foreman asked "what if we find him not guilty?" Judge Burnett closed the door without answering.

Stidham testified that not requesting a mistrial based on this exchange was ineffective assistance of counsel and that Misskelley’s conviction should be vacated.

Other details

The knife and John Mark Byers details

John Mark Byers gave a knife to cameraman Doug Cooper, who was working with documentary makers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky while filming the first Paradise Lost feature. The knife was described as a small utility-type knife manufactured by Kershaw.

Cooper informed Berlinger and Sinofsky of his receipt of the knife on December 19, 1993. After the documentary crew returned to New York, they reported discovering what appeared to be blood on the knife. HBO executives ordered them to return the knife to the West Memphis Police Department. The knife was not received at WMPD until January 8, 1994.

Byers initially claimed the knife had never been used. Blood was found on the knife and Byers later stated he had used it only once to cut deer meat. When told the blood matched both his and Chris’ blood type, Byers said he had no idea how that blood might have gotten on the knife.

During interrogation, police suggested Byers might have left the knife out accidentally and Byers agreed. Byers later said he may have cut his thumb.

Further testing was inconclusive due to small amount of blood and because John Mark Byers and Chris Byers had the same HLA-DQα genotype.

John Mark Byers agreed to and passed a polygraph during filming of Paradise Lost 2: Revelations regarding the murders. The documentary indicated Byers was under the influence of psychoactive prescription medications that could have affected test results.

The narrative also said that during filming, Byers volunteered his false teeth when presented with a challenge he had bitten the boys’ bodies. It said at the time of the murders he had original teeth, which he later had extracted voluntarily, and later claimed there was a medical reason for the procedure.

Possible teeth imprints and belt buckle imprint discussion

As documented in Paradise Lost 2, Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin submitted imprints of their teeth after imprisonment that were compared to apparent bite-marks on Steve Branch’s forehead. No matches were found.

It was said Byers had his teeth removed in 1997 after the first trial. The narrative stated he never offered a consistent reason for removal, with claims that they were knocked out in a fight, that medication made them fall out, or that he long planned removal for dentures.

The narrative described that after an expert examined autopsy photos and noted what he thought might be the imprint of a belt buckle on Byers’ corpse, John Mark Byers revealed he had spanked his stepson shortly before the boy disappeared. The narrative also said Byers had a 1988 conviction for terroristic threats arising from an incident involving his ex-wife, Sandra Byers.

It stated Melissa Byers contacted Christopher’s school a few weeks before the murders expressing concerns that her son was sexually abused.

It also said that after the trial it became known that John Mark Byers had acted as a police informant on several occasions. It said his prior 1988 conviction was expunged in May 1992 upon completion of probation, despite other criminal charges that should have caused revocation.

Witness recantation and interviews

In October 2003, Vicki Hutcheson gave an interview to the Arkansas Times stating "every word she had given to the police was a fabrication" and asserted the police insinuated they would take away her child if she did not cooperate. She also claimed police had photographs of Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley on the wall used as dart targets. She also claimed an audio tape police claimed was "unintelligible" was perfectly clear and contained no incriminating statements, and that the tape was eventually lost. She did not testify at the Echols/Baldwin trial.

Police interview and evidence notes about DNA and court proceedings

The narrative stated that prosecutors conceded no DNA evidence tied the accused to the crime scene and said, "The State stands behind its convictions of Echols and his codefendants."

Habeas corpus and court

A hearing on Echols’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus was pending in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Marriage

Echols was married to Lorri Davis.

Incarceration details

The narrative stated that Echols, ADC# 000931, entered the system on March 19, 1994.

Additional judicial action in 2010 involving defamation litigation

In 2010, district Judge Brian S. Miller ordered Terry Hobbs to pay $17,590 to Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines for legal costs stemming from a defamation lawsuit he filed against the band. The judge dismissed a suit Hobbs filed over Maines’ remarks at a 2007 Little Rock rally implying he was involved in killing his stepson. The judge stated Hobbs had voluntarily injected himself into a public controversy over whether three teenagers convicted of killing the three 8-year-old boys had been wrongfully condemned.

Summary of families and public divided views

The narrative stated families were divided on the belief that the West Memphis Three were guilty. In August 2007, Pamela Hobbs and John Mark Byers joined those questioning the verdicts and called for reopening of the verdicts and further investigation of the evidence.

In late 2007, John Mark Byers announced he believed Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin were innocent. The narrative quoted him: "I believe I would be the last person on the face of the earth that people would expect or dream to see say free the West Memphis 3," and: "From looking at the evidence and the facts that were presented to me, I have no doubt the West Memphis 3 are innocent."

It also said Byers was writing a book and a film biography was being considered.

Documents, media, and publications described

Two films—Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations—were described as documenting the case and being strongly critical of the verdict. It was said the movie marked the first time Metallica allowed their music to be used in a movie and drew attention to the case.

The directors were described as planning two more sequels.

Books included Blood of Innocents by Guy Reel and Devil’s Knot by Mara Leveritt, described as also arguing the suspects were wrongly convicted.

In 2005, Damien Echols completed his memoir "Almost Home, Vol 1." His poetry had appeared in Porcupine Literary Arts magazine (Volume 8, Issue 2), and it said he had written non-fiction for the Arkansas Literary Forum.

Efforts seeking release and public support

The narrative stated critics charged the arrests and convictions were a miscarriage of justice inspired by misguided moral panic and wrongfully obtained during intense media scrutiny and Satanic panic.

It stated that DNA tests completed in 2007 excluded the defendants as contributors.

It stated Echols’ case had received significant support from rock and pop musicians, including fund-raisers, benefit CDs, and an art auction with some of his own work.

It stated Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines were among high profile celebrities actively seeking Echols’ release. It stated they appeared on Larry King Live in August 2010 with Echols’ wife Lorri Davis. Echols co-wrote lyrics to the song "Army Reserve" on Pearl Jam’s self-titled album.

It also stated Punk musician Michale Graves had been writing music to coincide with Echols’ poetry. It said Echols and Graves worked together on an album, illusions, released October 2007.

Additional legal pursuit described

The narrative said Echols was seeking to overturn his conviction based on trial error including juror misconduct and with results of a DNA Status Report filed on July 17, 2007. It also described advanced DNA and other scientific evidence and additional evidence from witnesses and experts released in October 2007.

It stated a hearing on the petition for a writ of habeas corpus was pending in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Quotations included from individuals during proceedings and interviews

The narrative included the following quoted statements:

• "The electric chair."
• "it looks like Damien Echols finally killed someone."
• "Police records were a mess.
• "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants."
• "The State stands behind its convictions of Echols and his codefendants."
• "we may almost be done"
• "well, you'll still have to return for sentencing."
• "what if we find him not guilty?"
• "scared of the police"
• "The Justices also said the lower court must examine claims of misconduct by the jurors"
• "Eleven."
• "There's never been a moment that I've ever doubted that we did not arrest the right individuals. Never in my mind. There's never been a doubt."
• "every word she had given to the police was a fabrication."
• "unintelligible"
• "The invalidity of this exchange was ineffective assistance of counsel" (described as Stidham’s testimony that Misskelley’s conviction should be vacated)
• "I believe I would be the last person on the face of the earth that people would expect or dream to see say free the West Memphis 3"

Motion content excerpt and legal claims (as included in the narrative)

The narrative included a lengthy document titled "MOTION" in the Circuit Court of Craighead County, Arkansas Western District Criminal Division, State of Arkansas v. No.: CR93, with:

• The defendants named as Damien Wayne Echols and Charles Jason Baldwin.
• The motion alleging prosecutorial misconduct and improper contact with Jessie Lloyd Misskelley, Jr.

The motion included the allegation that the defendants requested relief including:

• dismissal of all charges with prejudice,
• suppression of statements made by Jessie Lloyd Misskelley, Jr.,
• an order forbidding any contact with defendants,
• and forbidding the prosecution from calling Misskelley as a witness.

The motion also quoted or referenced legal standards and argued that the prosecutor’s actions constituted a "grandstand play" and that it "seriously prejudiced" the defendants. It included narrative claims that the prosecution obtained and transported Misskelley to Craighead County without counsel consent, and that officers elicited statements during transport.

Additionally, the motion included a "CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE" statement signed by Val Price and George Wadley, describing personal delivery to Brent Davis, Prosecuting Attorney, on an unspecified day in February 1994.

Personal and family details relating to supporting narrative content

It stated Echols’ early girlfriend was Domini Teer. It stated Echols rarely attended school and had social workers frequently visiting his family. It stated Echols and Baldwin had distaste for prevailing West Memphis cultural climate described as politically conservative and strongly Evangelical Christian.

It stated Echols’ trial involved testimony of Dr. George W. Woods with diagnoses of serious mental illness described in a quotation.