Monday, November 7, 2011
Film Jason Baldwin Makes Appearance at Local Paradise Lost 3 Screening
Posted by Chris Herrington on Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 2:36 PM
By the time the screening ended, it probably wasn't much of a surprise when the recently released Jason Baldwin, one of the “3” came onto the stage for a post-screening discussion. Baldwin's likely appearance had been well-known to those around the festival for several days, but organizers had requested the information be kept under wraps for security reasons.
But a quiet interaction at the end of the question-and-answer session did appear to catch everyone off guard. Baldwin had been asked if he's spoken to any of the victim's families. After apparently citing minor interactions during the trial and subsequent court hearings, Baldwin suggested he hasn't spoken to any relatives of the three murdered boys — Christopher Byers, Steve Branch, and Michael Moore — since his release.
Soon afterward, a young woman in the front row raised her hand and said she didn't have a question but a comment. She identified herself as Amanda Hobbs —Â the younger sister of Branch, now apparently in her early 20s —Â and told Baldwin that she too wears black and loves Metallica and that while she used to believe that he, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were guilty she came to realize that “there were six victims, not just three.”
“I see now that none of us got justice,” Hobbs said. Baldwin, rather than speaking into the microphone, looked down at her and appeared to mouth “thank you.” After the event was over, one of Baldwin's lawyers was seen tracking Hobbs down outside the screening and bringing her backstage, presumably to meet with Baldwin in private.
If that was the most dramatic moment of Baldwin's appearance, it wasn't the only memorable one. Appearing alongside Paradise Lost 3 producer Jonathan Silberberg in a session moderated by the Flyer's Chris Davis, Baldwin radiated a serenity that seemed to impress and move everyone in the room.
Asked if he's had a chance to visit Disneyworld, a wish a younger version of himself expresses in one of the docs, Baldwin said, “I'm still looking forward to it. I haven't been there yet.” Baldwin went on to describe his new freedom: “Life is wonderful. I'm working. Learning how to drive — haven't had a wreck yet. Visiting my family.
And he was insistent on still wanting justice not only for himself but for the victims families.
“We're working to get the truth out,” Baldwin said. “We want to find out what really happened, who really did this crime. Time's wasting. Everyone deserves to know what happened. Chris and Michael and Steve's families deserve to know who did this. My family deserves it too. And Damien's and Jessie's.”
Baldwin recounted a story of working in the prison law library and getting to run an errand to the super-maximum security end, where he saw Echols meeting with his wife and banged on the glass to exchange waves. It was an accidental meeting that cost Baldwin his prison job.
Baldwin insisted that without the threat of the death penalty for Echols he would not have accepted the “Alford plea” that freed him — one that required him to plead guilty in court while still maintaining his innocence.
He suggested that his family's limited means helped make him an easy scapegoat for West Memphis authorities. “Like any bully, they pick on someone they don't think can fight back,” he said. Baldwin said that a the time of the crimes, his mother had just gotten her GED and was working to move the family to Memphis. But the charges against Baldwin scuttled those plans. “It destroyed us,” he said.
He expressed hope that he'll get to see a Metallica concert in California in the near future and said that he doesn't have a favorite food to eat since he's been out of prison. “That's actually a very tough question because I'm finding that everything is my favorite,” Baldwin said, smiling.
One interesting question from the audience was how Baldwin was treated by fellow inmates. “the first couple of years were really rough. They were waiting for me,” Baldwin said, confessing that he got into multiple fights, some of which resulted in broken bones. “But after a few years, when the docs came out, those curses started to turn into tears and hugs,” he said.
Baldwin also recounted when he first heard about the crimes, with his mother warning him to stay at home and the family worrying about Baldwin's then-nine-year-old brother.
As for the future, Baldwin said that he's had offers to help him go back to school, to college, maybe to law school and expressed interest in that and a desire to work on juvenile justice issues.
“I grew up in prison,” Baldwin said. “For 18 years, with guys who were guilty but turned out to be okay guys except for one bad moment in their lives. So I'd like to work against life without parole for juvenile defenders.”
Baldwin, who lives in Seattle at present, marveled at the opportunities he has now, noting that, until his release a couple of months ago, the farthest north, west, and south he'd ever been in his life were all court or prison facilities in Arkansas.
Comments (38)
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The West Memphis Three were found guilty the first time by a unanimous jury and plead guilty instead of waiting for a trial in December. It is unlikely that Echols would have been put to death with a new trial coming up soon and all of the media attention.
The three had no legit alibis.
All of this is documented information from legal documents and the mainstream media.
Misskelley confessed three separate times, once with his lawyer present. Misskelley also told two other people about the crime before he was arrested. Baldwin told someone else he committed the crimes. Echols was seen in muddy clothes near the crime scene. He bragged about the murder to two other teenagers, stating he killed the three boys. Echols is reported to have either told or bragged about the crime to four people before he was arrested. Echols also had a history of psychiatric treatment. His reported actions included brutally killing a dog, starting fires at his school, threatening to kill his teachers and parents and stating he liked to drink blood.
Fibers on the murdered victims’ clothing were found to microscopically similar to things in the Baldwin and Echols homes. The serrated wound patterns on the three victims that were consistent with, and could have been caused by, a knife found in a lake behind appellant Baldwin’s parents’ residence.
Echols' stated under cross-examination that he was interested in the occult. A funeral register found in his room with hand-drawn pentagrams and upside-down crosses. Echols' journal contained morbid images and references to dead children.
for more information, see wm3truth c o m
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Well, Margaret, you lost. They're out, and they're not going back. A hell of a lot of people, all of whom are a hell of a lot smarter than you, disagree with your 'facts.'
Margaret's comment is spam. This is a copy and paste that has been added to any site carrying a story about the WM3.
You know who really "lost," Strumpeace? American society and the families of those dead children. The first post above, giving facts about this case, is absolutely correct in every detail. The West Memphis Three Savages are guilty.
How dumb the above comment is! Duh, they let them out of jail because there was evidence to state they didnt do it! Read up on it before commenting and going on hearsay!
I'm happy they are free & I hope they continue to seek after who did do this. Either way, the Lord knows & whoever did this, won't get away w/it. And guess what, we KNOW nothing. The only one's who KNOW are the three boy's who lost their life, whoever killed them & the Good Lord. I pray the Lord w/be with those who seek to find the guilty & leads them to what they seek to find. Nothing happens w/out reason, w/out understanding it, it was meant to be the way it has gone. God Bless all six victims & their family's <3
By the way, if the state had evidence of their guilt, they would have not let them out! That makes no since, I don't think it works that way. The state made a deal w/them, that speaks volume, don't ya think? If they had the evidence of guilt, it would still hold up today, yet they are free. I say that's the Lord's hand in it. They are free from prison but never free from this at all. It's molded & has become apart of they're lives. Spend 18 yrs in prison, get out & tell me your free from it! Just my two cents :)
“Like any bully, they pick on someone they don't think can fight back,”
The criminal justice system in America.
Baldwin probably is an okay guy... except for one bad moment in his life.
Wow! It's amazing that after almost all of the "facts" these idiots are referring to have been proven to be incorrect, they still try to use them to distract people.
And for the record, when I was a kid, my room was decorated with pentagrams, upside down crosses, and posters featuring a disemboweled Jesus Christ. None of that is "proof" that I ever committed any crime. Just that I wasn't stupid enough to buy into all of the political and religious BS that is shoved down the throats of America's youth every day.
I'm so happy the WM3 are free and I wish I could be there to see your faces when these 3 "killers" prove their innocence and hand the real killer over to the same judicial system that destroyed their lives...
The person that wrote the first comment on this page, "M S" really didn't learn much before shooting their mouth off. Ever have an original thought? That sounds like the bs the cops were putting out in the beginning to cover the fact of no evidence. Sheeple, especially uneducated, ignorant ones, would rather read a couple of paragraphs somewhere and think they have knowledge, than really do their research and decide for themselves. I have been an avid supporter since day one, there are very few things about this case that I don't know, and I DO know D,J & J are innocent.
M S wrote "Echols was seen in muddy clothes near the crime scene."
but forgets to mention that Damien was supposedly seen with his then girlfriend, Domini, by a woman who had 3 other "witnesses" in the car but none of the 4 could agree on the description or clothing. Her own husband was sitting in the seat next to her and said that neither person could be positively identified. As a matter of fact, the woman's own nephew was reported to have been secretly trying to wash mud AND BLOOD from his clothes on the night of the murders. The police decided that somehow all of that woman's statemant was incorrect EXCEPT the part putting Damien near the scene.
M S also writes "Misskelley confessed three separate times"
She must've forgotten that everything about Jessie's "confession" was inaccurate but the police again decided that although the time-line was wrong, the children were not raped as Jessie stated, and the matter of how they were murdered was incorrect also, Jessie was correct about Jason & Damien being there.
She also fails to remember a black gentleman walking into a restaraunt with covered in blood the night of the murders and getting blood all over the place, the police not thinking that was worth looking into (even though the children were still considered only missing at that point, somebody covered in blood walking into a restaraunt should be considered worth looking into when children are missing), or the fact that many hours later the police collect blood from the scene only to lose it AND tell the manager of the establishment that the glasses the gentleman left behind were of no importance to them.
M S explains that fiber microscopically similar to things in the Baldwin and Echols homes.
The examiner even states that those fibers could NOT be linked specifically to either Jason or Damien because they were from common clothes sold at Wal-Mart!
here is an excerpt from the actuall testimony:
Price: Lisa, in your report, there's a paragraph that states - and I think on - if you look at the June 29th, 1993 report, on page 11, um - the top paragraph - I think it - it's a paragraph that I've seen in quite a number of uh - fiber reports. Could you state um - repeat that sentence to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury and then I'll ask you to explain that afterwards.
Sakevicius: Ok. (reading) It is pointed out that fibers do not possess a sufficient number of unique, individual microscopic characteristics to be positively identified as having originated from a particular person, to the exclusion of all others. It should say 'item' instead of 'person'.
Price: - A 'person', alright.
Sakevicius: This means that if you were to go to Walmart, you'll see a rack of clothing and all of the clothing on it is the same. It could be that all the fibers were made at the same time and they'll have the same characteristics. And a number of people might have that garment in their household. So if I find a fiber similar to another item, then it can't nece - it doesn't necessarily mean it came from that item. It could've come from ano - one of these other items that was hanging on that same rack.
Since we are on the "fiber issue" let's not forget that a "negroid" hair was found on chris Byers
more from the actuall testimony:
Fogleman: Ok. Oh, on uh - did you recover uh - on a sheet uh - a single negroid hair?
Sakevicius: There was a single negroid hair recovered off of a sheet, I believe it as off of the Byers - used to cover the Byers child.
Fogleman: Alright, were there any other negroid hairs recovered?
Sakevicius: I don't believe so.
(Hmmm.... negroid hair on one of the white victims, Black man covered in blood and wet clothes in the vicinity of the crime, I do believe that could be evidence of a white teen killing them.)
I could go on about how the knife in evidence wasn't even linked to the case; the prosecutor even stated that the murder weapon "may have resembled this style of knife" and destroy other parts of her claims but I won't because everybody knows that none of the evidence put them at the scene and they were convicted because they wore dark clothes, long hair, and listened to heavy metal music.
This case was nothing but a modern day witch-hunt that delayed the families of all children involved true justice.
with regard to the comment by M.S (the 1st comment made) your opinions are like your arehole....they BOTH STINK. so sod off and go read a nice book about wankers like yourself. small-minded LOSER
i'm from a town about 20 mins away from WM...the stereotype that was put on those fellows was the "thing" to do at that time in the 90's, so the comment about "bullying and picking" is the absolute truth. If everyone i know, even at that time, that dressed like that, or listened to Metallica deserved to be prosecuted then the prison systems would be a hell of a lot more crowded!! When do we stop judging a book by it's cover, just because you dress nice and listen to country music doesn't mean you couldn't flip goofy on someone!! Put yourselves in other's shoes before you judge....I am VERY, VERY PROUD to see those men out...just wish it would have been when they were still boys, or not at all!
the fuckd up state of arkansas. pity that state cant be irradicated due to the small minded little 'hitlers' who run that state. what a BIG balls-up and a waste of 3 young mens lives . im sooo happy they are free. soooo so happy.
when you look at pix of jason...he was young...omg they all were.
well lets hope the real killers are found. surely the Bojangles guy is worth investigating ?
I am in New Zealand. I watched this man who was just a naive looking young man go down..I knew it was a sham, a kangaroo court, and a rail roading of innocent youths. I have read all sides supporters and opposers of the Memphis 3 and my initial impression still holds today. I had an eight year old son at the time, he is now 27.... and finally these men are out.
My heart broke for you Jason and it broke real bad for your determined, devastated mother.
The fact of the matter is, NO ONE walks off death row, after 18 years of being there, if they are Guilty!!!! The State of Arkansas knew that if they allowed this to go to trial in December 2011, that Damian, Jason and Jesse would be found innocent and acquitted of all charges, thus opening themselves up to a $54 MILLION lawsuit for wrongful imprisonment! If you don't know the facts of the case, study it, read up on it, watch the documentaries, but please, refrain from making ignorant, biased opinions. I have been following this case from the beginning and I am Proud to be a WM3 supporter!
I"m not going to lye and say that I have every bit of knowledge of every nook and cranny of this investigation and trial. But I have read as much as I can from the books that have come out, the online transcripts, the movies etc. I have been an advocate long before it became Hollywood. Much like a lot of people. This story was frustrating and intriguing. And I have worn the shirts to free them everywhere I can go. I have spoken to friends and family on many occasions. And I of course can say that I believe they were innocent. I believe them. But what this really comes down to is that these boys were not given a fair trial. Not even close. And that is what truly gets lost from the so called truth seekers. If they really read those transcripts they could not for one second believe they did. And the police truly did not do their jobs to the best they could. There were too many loose ends. To many false id's. Too many loopholes. If for no other reason to have reasonable doubt is the "Bo Jangles" evidence. Or the lack of due to incompetence.
The real problem is that the police did not do their jobs. And 3 boys/men lost 18 years of their lives because of it.
And just for the record I have gone to the truth site. Like I said, I was looking for all sides. But what is on there are some very lonely people who try to show that they are giving both sides of the coin information. And they bring up "Bo Jangles" and they even admit that it was bad police work. But to them it's just not enough. I'm sorry but what is enough to believe in reasonable doubt? They also have all this information about friends that would testify that Damien told them he did it. But that they didn't testify because they were scared. But it was also because it just was not believable. Do these people believe that a mentally handicapped child who gives false facts is usable but that competent people who don't testify are not but we should believe them too? It's too much. It's enough to say "the trial was not fair."
The bottom line is that they were let go. As has been said, if they were really guilty and the state was confident of it and the evidence was enough to prove it to this day, do you really think they would open the flood gates. No. They would not. And they certainly would not do it with the Alford Plea. Which let's not confuse the issue was nothing but a C.Y.A. for the state.
You know there are people that believe that 9-11 was staged too. We can't beat em all. But I think that some of the families now coming over with their belief in the wm3 is a strong start. Good luck men. And as long as you continue the fight I will be there with you in the best capacity that I can. It's not much. But together we are strong. Let's get that PARDON!!!
Stupid is as stupid does.
Larry King: "Do you think Obama will pardon them?"
Johnny Dipstick:"It would be great....."
Presidents can't pardon a state crime, dummies. Try reading a little constitutional law for a change, huh? I mean, I realize it isn't as charming as upside down crosses, dog skulls, smoking dope or inhaling bath salts, but the fact is that's how law works.
"Jessie's confessions were riddled with inaccuracies."
No.
His confession to Dan Stidham at Pine Bluff Diagnostic Unit was not "riddled with inaccuracies." Neither was hist next confession at the deputy prosecutors's office. His statement was corroborated the night he confessed to Dan by Vicki Hutchison. Unless you believe Jessie has "special wikky powers" of telepathy, the fact Vicki knew not only that she'd bought Jessie Evans but stated that she gave it to him the day of the crimes removed any doubt that he had furnished information not in the public eye and which investigators had never even suggested.
Blah blah blah, they're innocent. But for now, the court says they're guilty, when they fill out a rental application for an apartment, when the apply for a job, when they apply for admission at a school, where it says "are you a convicted felon" the only block getting checked is going to be a "YES".
The bottom line is they remain convicted. People may convince themselves otherwise, but as a matter of law these are child murderers. They had a hearing set in a few weeks, which they swore to supporters and contributors they would win, yet chose to plead. You can spin that however you want, but it certainly ended any doubt I had about their guilt.
Guilty as Charged, lets not also forget the DEFENSE is the one that presented this idea to the State. It was the defenses idea for their clients to plead to 1st degree felony murder (or 1 count 1st degree and 2 counts 2nd degree in Misskelley's case) when they were supposedly just a few months away from the December hearing that was going to "convince the world" that they deserved a new trial. Makes you wonder what they found in all the "testing" that they didn't want part of discovery in a new trial.
I get a chuckle out of the people that cite the mockumentaries as the "truth" hen back in the day they did everything they could to paint Mark Byers as the killer, and now #3 does the exact same thing, only using Terry Hobbs as the scapegoat this time. Or the people that want to quote Mara's book chapter and verse like it was the bible, when its been proven time and again to have misinformation or down right lies in it, which she admits. Don't believe me? Go to youtube and find the video of the very recent conversation between she and Mark and you can see for yourself.
Lets just ingore Damien's mental health records, his social security disability application, the fact that the supporter mantra for YEARS has had believing the BS that Jessie confessed after being interrogated for 12+ hours after having been "kidnapped", when in fact his father drove him to meet with the police, his father signed for him to take the polygraph test (which he failed) and he confessed (with bogus information that he more than explains in the post conviction confession)..all in less than 4 1/2 hours.
Just remember one thing. Damien, Jason and Jessie's crack legal team decided that having them admit the state had more than enough evidence to convict again and having them admit to 1st degree (and 2nd degree) murder and having restrictions and consequences to their actions for the next 10 years was for some reason better than getting a new trial.
Let's all remember who asked for this deal. The DEFENSE asked the state for the Alford Plea. They wanted their clients to plead guilty to first degree murder rather than wait for the upcoming evidentiary hearing in December. If they had enough new and compelling evidence to win a new trial and then win the trial (which everyone said would happen), why didn't they just proceed? They could have been exonerated and been able to sue the state for wrongful imprisonment. Why would they give all that up if they were truly innocent?
My understanding is the hearing in December would determine if new evidence would support a new trial. It's not like they would have been freed in December - this could have been drawn out for a long, long time. At some point, my thoughts are their innocence will be confirmed and, in the meantime, they are FREE.
How many of you "non-supporter's" have ever been in prison? In solitary confinement for 23 out of 24 hours a day? How many of you have spent 18 YEARS in prison? I haven't and I don't ever want to! So..let's be honest here..would you have waited around another who knows how many months, maybe even years, to get another trial? I wouldn't! And ya know what? Maybe freedom, being with loved ones, enjoying the SIMPLE things of life, were a whole lot more important to these young men than waiting around..Lisa LeShea Skees-Allen, for a pile of worthless money! Money cannot bring back what they lost!So if you think so..you go sit in solitary confinement in filth, eating slop just for ONE WEEK and let's see what kind of deal you would make! Think long and hard about it!
Karen Young Heard, "worthless money" bought them out of prison. They'd still be in there without it. They probably were counting on the "worthless money" they are collecting from supporters to help them when they got out anyway (wm3.org). As for the exoneration, I think they are collecting donations for that too to help find the "real" killer. I wouldn't count on it though! If Peter Jackson's millions couldn't find the "real" killer, nothing will. There's nothing to find, because the real killers pled guilty to 1st degree murder and were released in August.
Those of us who have researched this case know who the "real killer" is - and it's one person. John Mark Byers has named him. The three young men recently freed were guilty only of being poor and different. Jessie's statements are laughable, and, if a new trial had been granted (which it would have), the crack defense team would have made mincemeat of those statements - all of them!
BTW, the statement to his attorney was not a "confession." The attorney was questioning Jessie because the prosecution had said that he wanted to make a statement. When the attorney determined that the statement, if made, would be perjury, he stopped it. The official statement, made some nine days later, IMO only happened because the prosecution and the corrections officers continually harassed him and turned him against his own attorneys.
Some people who have posted here really need to read up on this case before they show their ignorance to the world. The three recently freed men are innocent, and a killer has been walking free for over 18 years. The saddest part of this situation is the State of Arkansas still has its head firmly planted in the sand and is not investigating the proper person. That makes me wonder why.
Chris--
A friendly correction in the next-to-last paragraph: Jason said "juvenile offenders" not "defenders". I know we were sitting in the same row & it was hard to hear at times; I'm just ready to hear those two words due to The Job.
Put it this way, the fine points of this case have been argued a million times, but the WM3 are out of prison and are STILL carrying out investigations, and trying to unearth new evidence to prove their innocence. If they were guilty why would they want new evidence examined, why would they want new physical evidence uncovered? Evidence that, if they were guilty, would actually provide proof of their guilt. Proof that currently DOES NOT EXIST, the drones that continue to claim their guilt really need to pull their head out of the sand and stop pointing to "evidence", i.e hearsay, gossip and false testimonies that they believe are "proof" of Damian, Jason and Jessie's guilt, it's tiring, and at this point, almost laughable.
There was absolutely nothing these three guys did wrong. Did you see Jason Baldwin in the documentaries? He was just as innocent and sweet and those precious three little boys that lost their lives. I am so happy for the West Memphis Three. They wasted away so much of their childhood inside a prison. And they were always, always innocent.
Farm's dogs, a forum of now furious nons, don't waste any time to spam any place where the wm3 story is written. Get a fucking life, even the state had to give up and set them free. Again, the wm3 ARE FREE. Live with that.
Have any of the "non-supporters" here actually read the real transcripts? There are published transcripts of the entire original trial, all the evidence brought out - including complete transcripts of Misskelley's so-called "confession." And it was published by the state - not wm3dotorg, though they did have links to it at one time. I'm not sure if it's still available online, but I know it was a few years ago. Either way, it was public record - anyone can read them. I don't believe that has changed, though it's possible since they were going to get a new trial.
Read those first (if you can) before jumping to any conclusion.
Frankly, I have read very nearly all of it (took me several hours). By the end, I was in tears and absolutely convinced they were innocent. While someone else may interpret it differently, I frankly can't see how. But it's possible.
They agreed to a plea so they can get on with living their lives instead of spending even another moment in prison. I can't blame them for that, or even say I wouldn't do the same.
And yes, Damien WAS on Death Row. His execution was reset several times, but he was indeed still set to be executed. And unless something changed while I wasn't looking (which is possible), Damien was not going to get a new trial. He was going to have to wait until the other two got their new trials & were exonerated before he could get a new one.
In the meantime, he'd be waiting... possibly another few years, or even killed before that happened.
So I don't blame them one iota for taking a plea.
Wow. From where we were sitting, we couldn't hear what she was saying and had no idea that was Amanda. God Bless her. We were lucky enuff to meet Jesse back in October at our small town festival and I was so thrilled to meet Jason and Ms. Mara at the premier. They talked to us in the lobby for about 10 minutes and I have to say this. If u still have lingering doubts about his innocence, which I never did, all it will take is one time of looking at the beautiful soul that radiates from him to remove all doubt.
Answering the prior question posted by LISA - "If they had enough new and compelling evidence to win a new trial and then win the trial (which everyone said would happen), why didn't they just proceed? They could have been exonerated and been able to sue the state for wrongful imprisonment. Why would they give all that up if they were truly innocent?
The ANSWER is - because our criminal justice system failed them the first time 18 years ago. It failed them when they were young and vulnerable. Who's to say the same system wouldn't fail them again? And People, let's not forget the fact that our criminal justice system convicted these 3 teenaged boys of MURDER and then later decided to set them free. That doesn't just HAPPEN. The system obviously recognized their mistake and created a way to cover their ass and ensure that they could never be sued or held liable for that mistake. If the State felt there was any valid evidence of their guilt, or if the State had ANY reason to believe these boys were a threat to society, BELIEVE ME, no judge in hell would let these men walk. No judge would want that on their conscience or put their career at jeopardy like that. You ask why these boys didn't fight? I'll tell you why... it's because they didn't want to go against the same f'd up system that ruined their lives in the first place. And especially not when Damien's life was on the line. Think about it... I know it seems like an EASY decision to someone who has been free their whole life and has never spent one day in prison, but these boys i think just realized in the end that they just wanted to be free. They already knew in their hearts that they were innocent. And the system has proved that they knew that too...
To answer your initial question of why they didn't proceed with a new trial, I pose a new question to you... why did they state ALLOW them to do that???
jason baldwin is out! i was thinking about writing to him for the longest in jail, making him the first i would ever write to in that position. wow, he was in my thoughts and now he is free, along with the other two that were accused of the murders. i am proud that johnny depp used his power to bring attention to this story. i remember seeing it a few years ago, and i just wanted to do something! i'm glad that justice is serviced whoo!
I saw all three documentaries and am pretty convinced that these men are innocent of the crime. As for why they took the Alfred Plea -- that is completely understandable. The Evidentiary Hearing would likely have resulted in a new trial, but that new trial may have taken years to be completed. It wasn't worth the risk of Damien's life and health. I understand why they took the plea -- and why Baldwin reluctantly agreed to it. Finally, the only way they can clear their names now is to continue to pursue an investigation of who really killed the boys. If someone else is convinced in a court of law, then their names will finally be cleared for good. My opinion? This will never happen.
So to the ones who say why couldnt they just wait til december? Why couldnt the state wait are you going to try and tell me the state just let a death row inmate walk cause the death row inmate was scared to wait til dec. Thats too damn fuuny. The state didnt want to face these guys. One of the lawyers for the state named all of the resons why they thought this was better than waiting til dec. He mentioned saving money, not getting sued, evidence decaying cause of age, and also 2 of the 3 families have now jumped ship on the state. Wow no mention of they are guilty and wouldve won. nowhere nowhere nowhere does he say that. You say why couldnt have the 3 waited til dec. Have you spent just a day in jail much less on death row. The state dropped the ball on this one from the very beginning. Its shame for the families they may never know. God Bless
Karma is a bitch and the people who put these guys in jail are gonna get theirs and the morons who think they are guilty STILL after all that has come out are gonna get theirs too. You people are dumber than a box of rocks!! You make me want to vomit! These three guys had nothing to do with the deaths of those three boys. It is obvious so stop making comments that say otherwise. You make yourselves sound dumber than you are!! And the sane people of this world don't want to hear/read it!! It pisses me off that I waste any time reading your stupid comments. Go away and be an idiot someplace else. It embarrasses me to be the same species as you!!
I am not here to debate whether the WM3 are guilty or innocent. I can have my opinion, but that means nothing because I wasn't there. I do not know any of the people connected to this case, so to constantly judge their every move, or to paint myself as some all knowing being who can decipher if someone's soul is black or white would be shameful. What I do feel a lot of times while reading the "nons" and "supporters" is a great deal of sadness. People seem to have ignored that irregardless of what we think they have done or not done, their rights were violated. The trial that convicted them was a trial that took away constitutional rights. The prosecution, judge, and jury hiding behind the "corrupt by good intentions" boulder is pathetic. Corrupt is corrupt no matter what it is you think you are fighting for or who you are fighting for. Doing it dirty, being dishonest, and ignoring another person's rights will usually come back to bite you in the end. If the prosecution was so absolutely sure these three boys killed those three babies, they should have taken the proper steps and built a strong case surrounded by platforms of honor, truthfulness, and the mind set that everyone is supposed to be not guilty until charged and only AFTER a fair trial has been done. The law states that if it can be proven that one's constitutional rights have been violated during a trial that convicts them they have a right to either have the charges dropped or gain a new trial. As far as I am concerned they were able to prove that and rightfully asked for a new trial. The prosecutor decided he did not want to take that route for whatever reason's so the next step was throwing away all charges or coming up with a deal. People who are angry at the outcome should be angry at the way this case was fought. The investigative team and prosecution at that time did not run a tight ship, and knowing the law like I would assume they would have to know it being in their positions, they still took huge risks and gambled with the future outcome of this case. We are nothing without our principles or good morals.....nothing. The law is nothing if we chose to ignore it or manipulate to fit our needs when necessary. There was not enough evidence to convict them. There was more than enough reasonable doubt and the jury convicted the two by evidence that had been deemed fruit from the poisonous tree by the judge who was following the letter of the law. This case should have been thrown out all together. I first heard about this case back in 95' while in high school and decided to do a paper on it for my sociology and american government classes. I did not choose it as a subject because of it's examples of "what all is right " either. I will pray as much as I can for those babies. My heart shatters when I think of what was done to them. I cannot imagine the pain their true loved ones felt. I am a mother and this case is my worst nightmare. I am sure it is a lot easier for me to say that I would have demanded fairness for these boys if I thought they did that to my babies because it has not happened to my babies. Reading about some of the parents who felt they never heard convincing evidence that these kids did it and the fact that they had doubts troubles me. Terry and Pam Hobbs made several comments on it. Accusing people of wanting to make money off of their children's deaths just because you don't understand their actions is sickening. To the people who have done that I want to know what gives you the authority to do that? I have never come across a recipe on how one is supposed to act when their children have been brutally murdered. I have also never seen one for teenagers facing life in jail or loosing their life. I would love a definite answer to what happened to those kids, but that may never come. I put most of that blame on the wmpd, prosecution, jury, and judge. THEY failed those little boys that they felt they were seeking such swift justice for. The Alford Plea was their penance. Okay, I am done with my rant now. Thanks to those who took the time to read it.
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