Divers hired by the Arkansas State Police search a lake behind the trailer where Baldwin and Echols lived. They find a nine-inch long knife with a serrated edge in water about 50 feet behind Jason's trailer.
Defense attorney Ron Lax interviews neighbors of the Hutchinson and is told that Aaron Hutchinson was at the trailer park at the time of the murders, not in Robin Hood Hills witnessing the murders, as he had told police.
John Mark Byers is questioned by police about a knife belonging to him and that he had given to documentary film producers. The knife was found to have blood on it consistent with that of his stepson, Christopher Byers as well as John Mark Byers--even though the two were not biologically related. A jury convicts Misskelley on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. He is sentenced to forty years in prison. He is sent to a facility in Pine Bluff. After being pressured by prosecutors, and receiving a promise that his girlfriend would be allowed to visit him in jail, Jesse tells prosecutors he will testify against Echols and Baldwin in their upcoming trial.
He makes a statement under oath accusing Echols and Baldwin of murdering the three boys. Jesse changes his mind again and decides that he will not testify in the upcoming trial.
Jury selection begins. Jury deliberations begin in the Echols and Baldwin trial. The jury finds Echols and Baldwin guilty of capital murder in the deaths of the three children. In the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury sentences Jason to life in prison and Damien to death.
The date for Damien's execution is set for May 5. Jason is incarcerated in the penitentiary at Pine Bluff, while Damien is sent to death row in the state's maximum security prison near Varner, Arkansas. Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley appeal their convictions. The film suggests that Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were wrongfully convicted. A website, wm3. Judge Burnett denies a petition for a new trial, filed under Arkansas Rule 37, for Echols.
The film suggests that John Mark Byers was the actual murderer. Edward Mallett, attorney for Echols, files a writ of error coram nobis in the Arkansas Supreme Court, arguing that Echols should never been tried in because of his mental condition at the time. The Arkansas Supreme Court rules that Judge Burnett failed to give sufficient attention to Echols's arguments in his rejection of Damien's Rule 37 petition. The Supreme Court sends the case back to Judge Burnett for further consideration of the issues presented in the petition.
The book strongly suggests a miscarriage of justice occurred in the Memphis Three trials. And in publicly making the case against him, they perpetrate a similar sort of injustice to the one they originally set out to correct: relying on questionable evidence to prosecute in the court of public opinion.
Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch were found dead in a ditch, naked, bound, and mutilated, on May 6, They had been slain the night before. The ensuing manhunt, trials, and convictions captivated the small town and drew big-time media attention. Subsequently, HBO produced three documentary films about the case—the Paradise Lost trilogy—all of which strongly insinuate, and in some cases outright argue, that the Three are innocent.
In the meantime, the Three's cause picked up celebrity support. One of the Three's most ardent supporters, Lorri Davis, became pen pals with Echols and eventually married him in jail. Jackson and friends argue that the West Memphis Three were the victims of a witch hunt in bible-belt Arkansas, convicted in throes of "Satanic Panic. Based on the flimsiest of evidence, including a confession from Misskelley that the filmmakers say was coerced, Misskelley and Baldwin got life sentences while Echols, the supposed ringleader, was sentenced to death.
Last year, the Three were freed from prison after their lawyers successfully argued that new evidence dug up in the years since the convictions warranted an appeal in front of the Arkansas Supreme Court. The filmmakers present a series of findings that seem to bode ill for Hobbs. For a start, there's the minimal DNA evidence found at the crime scene.
Rain, it seems, had washed away any incriminating trails or threads. The most significant specimen was a hair found in one of the shoelaces used to tie up the dead boys. The DNA was consistent with only 1. Even if it could be proven to be Hobbs's, however, there's a chance it got on the shoelace through "secondary transfer"—in other words, Stevie's shoes might have picked up one of Hobbs's hairs just from lying around at home.
The filmmakers then call into question Hobbs's alibi, getting his friend, David Jacoby, to express doubt about how much time he spent with Hobbs on the night of the murders. However, Jacoby can't seem to recall the exact sequence of events that night—perhaps understandably, given that it took place 18 years ago. Then the filmmakers highlight Hobbs's history of abuse. He has admitted to assaulting his wife, and he has been accused of beating his kids.
A neighbor once accused him of attacking her. A different neighbor recalled seeing Hobbs with the three boys soon before they disappeared on the night of the murders, even though Hobbs denies it. Benca had a working relationship with Arkansas attorney general Dustin McDaniel. The two met to discuss the case. During that meeting, Benca asked McDaniel if his team would consider skipping the hearing in order to move straight to new trials.
The judge, Benca argued, would certainly grant new trials after considering the jury misconduct discovered years before. McDaniel agreed to discuss the idea with his team.
As negotiations between the lawyers continued, Benca and Braga suggested that both sides agree to an Alford plea, with time served, in order to avoid the risk to both sides that a new trial would bring. An Alford plea required the three defendants to plead guilty to a series of lesser charges while at the same time stating for the record that they were innocent and only pleading guilty because it was in their best interest.
Both legal teams agreed that the plea would be acceptable provided that all three defendants were willing to cooperate. Despite this hopeful new development, Benca and Braga were still concerned. Jason Baldwin, by this time in his late thirties, had the most to lose by accepting this plea.
Untainted by false confession as Misskelley was and without the threat of death row that Echols faced, Baldwin was unsure that pleading guilty was the answer. On August 19, , Judge Laser approved the Alford plea. Each of the defendants pleaded guilty while maintaining their innocence and were released on time served. Benca suggested that the defense team would continue pursuing the West Memphis Three case by petitioning Governor Mike Beebe for pardons.
However, Beebe suggested that those petitions would be unsuccessful. Despite the release of the West Memphis Three, the case remains unresolved, and the legal conduct of both the prosecution and the defense remain relatively unexamined. Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin will not receive compensation for time spent in prison, and they may never be cleared of the crimes to which they pleaded guilty.
However, the case continues to inspire media attention. For additional information: Dunning, Eric Moore. Echols, Damien, and Lorri Davis. New York: Blue Rider Press, Farrar, Lara. Koon, David. Lancaster, Bob. Leveritt, Mara. New York: Atria Books, Leveritt, Mara, with Jason Baldwin. Dark Spell: Surviving the Sentence.
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