Pod Insights American Scandal West Memphis Three | No Kind of Justice | 4 About this episode Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley challenge their convictions for the murder of three 8-year-old boys. They battle the Arkansas legal system for almost 20 years in the hopes of securing a new trial.
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0:00 Lindsay Graham? Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. This episode contains descriptions of murder and violence against children. Listener discretion is advised.
0:26 Lindsay Graham? It's 1997 in Paragold, Arkansas. Thirty-four-year-old attorney Dan Stidham sits in his office, surrounded by stacks of paperwork. It's been three years since the teenagers Jesse Miss Kelly, Damian Echols, and Jason Baldwin were convicted of murdering three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Stidham represented Miss Kelly at trial and has continued working for him unpaid ever since. It's not been easy.
1:08 Lindsay Graham? Last year, Stidham and other lawyers representing Echols and Baldwin took the cases to the Arkansas Supreme Court, but judges there backed the original verdict. Still, Stidham remains convinced all three young men are innocent, and he's determined to prove it. A criminal profiler named Brent Turvey has recently volunteered to examine the forensic evidence against the so-called West Memphis Three, and now he's come to Stidham's office to present his findings. Turvey pulls a manila envelope from his briefcase and spreads out a series of graphic photos on the desk. Stidham stands up. He's seen the images before, but they're still shocking. He looks at Turvey. Yeah, these tell a story, don't they?
1:52 Lindsay Graham? But I don't think they tell the state's story. One of the cornerstones of the prosecution's argument was that these were satanic ritualistic homicides committed by a cult. You see anything here that would be indicative of that? No, most certainly not. To my eyes, there's no obvious ritual element here at all. In fact, it strikes me as something more Reactionary, a crime done in anger. Huh, what makes you say that? Well, the violence is very unfocused, over the top even. Two of the victims, Christopher Byers and Stevie Branch, had many more injuries than Michael Moore. And this suggests to me that there was a punitive aspect to the crime. Punitive? Is that an alternative theory? Well, I wouldn't go that far, but I think it's more plausible that the victims were killed by someone they trust. If a group of strangers abducted these boys,
2:37 Lindsay Graham? they would have been reported missing almost immediately. Well, is there anything in the photos that you think might have been missed in the original autopsy? Turby nods and fishes out a couple of close-up pictures of the victims. Yeah, I found these marks all over the bodies. There's one especially clear injury on the forehead here. You can tell by the dome-shaped pattern. That's a bite mark. A bite mark? Yeah, and the good thing about bite marks is that they're about just the best forensic evidence we could hope for. Not only can we match a bite mark to a specific person, just like a fingerprint, but we can know for sure the person responsible committed an act of violence. And what do you think this says about the culprit? Well, if you showed this to an ER doctor, they would immediately suspect the parents of child abuse. Those are typically the cases in which you see injuries like this.
3:22 Lindsay Graham? So what are the next steps to confirm your findings? Well, the best thing to do is find a specialist, a forensic odontologist. They could tell for sure whether these are bite marks or not. Then from there, you can take an impression of your client's teeth. And if that impression doesn't match the bite marks, well, then in my mind, you've got hard evidence that someone else is the killer.
3:44 Lindsay Graham? This is the breakthrough Dan Stidham has been waiting for, something that might convince a judge to take a second look at his client's case. So as soon as his meeting with Brent Turby is over, Stidham calls Jesse Miss Kelly in prison to deliver the good news. His fight for freedom might finally be coming to an end.
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5:36 Lindsay Graham? By 1997, the West Memphis Three had been imprisoned for three years. Jessie Miss Kelly and Jason Baldwin were at the beginning of life sentences while the accused ringleader Damian Echols was awaiting execution on death row. Many observers were already critical of the way the police had handled the case. They believed the three teenagers had been railroaded by investigators and that the real killer was still on the loose. But after the decision of the Arkansas Supreme Court to reject their appeals, the young men were running out of options. What they needed was new evidence, and that's why the findings of profiler Brent Turvey were so important. A forensic odontologist examined the crime scene photographs and compared them to dental impressions taken from the West Memphis Three. None were a match.
6:21 Lindsay Graham? That gave Damien Echols lawyers an opening. They filed what's called a Rule 37 petition, which allowed the original trial judge to reexamine the conviction and potentially grant a new hearing, modify Echols' sentence, or even release him altogether. The ruling would only apply to Echols, but from inside their prison cells, Baldwin and Ms. Kelly were watching carefully. A positive result for Echols would lay the groundwork for their release as well. This is episode four, No Kind of Justice. It's May 1998 before Damien Echols' Rule 37 hearing begins. On the steps outside the courthouse in Marion, Arkansas, a few members of an online support group for the West Memphis Three speak to reporters.
7:06 Lindsay Graham? But as one of them answers a question, she's interrupted by the familiar figure of John Mark Byers, the stepfather of one of the murder victims, eight-year-old Christopher Byers. He's never stopped believing the West Memphis Three are guilty, and in front of the reporters and their cameras, he accuses the support group of peddling propaganda and defending child murderers. One of the support group members tries to explain the importance of the bite marks on the victims, but when Byers dismisses this new evidence, the conversation takes a turn. Members of the support group imply Byers may have been involved in the murders himself, and angrily, Byers reminds them that he was exonerated by the original police investigation, and despite all the vicious gossip about him since, there's still absolutely no proof linking him to the crime.
7:51 Lindsay Graham? The support group member fires back, urging him to prove it. She says if he's so confident about his innocence, he should submit his own dental impressions to see if they match the bites. That's when Byers drops a bombshell. He pops a set of dentures out of his mouth and holds them up to the crowd. He doesn't have any teeth, so there's no match to take. But when the support group members ask exactly how long he's had those dentures, Byers dodges the question. Instead, he promises to take a polygraph test to prove his innocence once and for all. Then he walks away, muttering to himself that the demonstrators are wasting their time.
8:27 Lindsay Graham? But while Damien Echols Rule 37 hearing continues behind closed doors, the questions about John Mark Byers don't go away. His criminal record has only made people more suspicious. Back in 1987, Byers was arrested for making violent threats against his ex-wife. Then shortly before the murder of his stepson in 1993, he was accused of stealing $11,000 worth of Rolex watches. His behavior following the convictions didn't help him stay under the radar either. After moving out of West Memphis with his family, Byers was arrested again, this time for stealing $20,000 worth of antiques. Then, in 1996, Byers' wife Melissa died suddenly under mysterious circumstances.
9:10 Lindsay Graham? Byers was never arrested or charged in connection with Melissa's death, but all of it means that he's never been far from the headlines in Arkansas. And now there's growing pressure on him to submit his dental records so they can be compared with the bite marks on the victims in the West Memphis Three case. But despite loudly proclaiming his innocence, he refuses to hand over those records. At one point, he claims he had the dentures at the time of the murders, but later on, he changes that story, saying he actually had his teeth pulled in 1997. He had a periodontal disease caused by a prescription medication. It then turns out that periodontal disease is not a known side effect of the drugs he was taking, so Byers changes his story yet again, this time blaming a series of other unspecified dental problems.
9:55 Lindsay Graham? In the eyes of many who follow the case, this is strange behavior, and some think Byers should now be considered the prime suspect in the murders of the three little boys. So there's some relief and some satisfaction among supporters of the West Memphis Three when Byers is arrested by the police in the spring of 1999, only it's not murder he's charged with. On April 19th of that year, a routine traffic stop in Arkansas is interrupted when the police officer's personal cellphone starts ringing. He doesn't recognize the number, so he answers cautiously. A male voice at the other end of the line asks if he wants to buy some more stuff. At first, the trooper thinks it's a joke, one of his buddies at the station playing a prank. But he decides to play along.
10:38 Lindsay Graham? He asks a few more questions, and the caller eventually claims he has marijuana available for a good price. The officer stands on the side of the highway scratching his head. Half of him still believes he's being pranked, still, he figures it should probably be checked out. So the officer tells the caller he's busy on a date and asks if he can send a friend to buy the drugs instead. The man agrees and even provides exact directions to his house. Hanging up, the trooper calls an undercover narcotics agent he knows who travels to the address, and it's him who finds John Mark Byers standing outside. Byers doesn't yet realize that he accidentally called a cop, and after a brief negotiation, he sells the undercover agent some Xanax. Byers is then arrested on the spot.
11:23 Lindsay Graham? The news that their biggest detractor is in legal trouble once again might provide some grim satisfaction to the West Memphis Three, but by the spring of 1999, they have bigger issues to worry about. Damien Echols' Rule 37 hearing in Marion has now dragged on for almost a year. Judge David Burnett has to fit the case around his other court commitments, and that means he has heard just eight days of evidence spread out over ten months. Now, though, the hearings are finally coming to an end. Sitting in court, Echols looks very different from the young man who appeared at the original trial. Now 24 years old, his hair is still jet-black but is cropped short, and Echols no longer carries the rebellious air of a frustrated teenager.
12:05 Lindsay Graham? Instead, he wears glasses and listens carefully to the proceedings from the defense table with his hands folded neatly in front of him. Beside him is a new legal team led by Houston attorney Edward Mallett. At the original trial, Echols was represented by a public defender, but in the years that followed, he became unhappy with how his case was being handled. He was acutely aware that he was on death row and didn't think his lawyers were doing enough to save him from execution. So he found a new defense team. It was helped by his new girlfriend, Lori Davis. In early 1996, she'd seen the HBO documentary about the West Memphis case at a film festival in New York and felt moved to write Echols a letter. By then, Echols was receiving hundreds of letters every month, but there was something about Davis's that stood out.
12:49 Lindsay Graham? So he wrote back, she replied, and before long, the two had begun a relationship. In August 1997, Davis abandoned her life as a landscape architect in New York and moved to Arkansas, where she began spearheading the efforts to secure Echols' release. So now Lori is in court too, to offer her support as the Rule 37 hearing takes yet another turn. The defense has by now presented its evidence on the bite marks, and in a dramatic moment, a forensic dentist showed the court dental molds he said did not match any of the West Memphis Three. This sparked great excitement among Echols' supporters. It seemed like this new evidence exonerated him. But now the prosecution counters with evidence from an expert of their own.
13:30 Lindsay Graham? The original prosecuting attorney Brent Davis has returned for the Rule 37 hearings, and he calls Dr. Harry H. Minzer to the stand. Dr. Minzer, how long have you practiced in the field of forensic odontology? I've been a dentist since 1955, and I've practiced forensic odontology since 1966. All right. And when were you first contacted regarding this case? In August of 1998. I was called by Dr. Dugan, and he said he was going to send me some material and asked me to look at it. This is Dr. Kevin Dugan, the forensic odontologist for the Arkansas State Medical Examiner's Office. Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. On the 26th of August of last year, I received three 5x7 color photographs from Dr.
14:15 Lindsay Graham? Dugan, as well as a letter asking me to determine if I thought any of the wounds on this young boy were human bite marks. Okay. Was there any information supplied with those photographs as to indicate how your opinion should come down? No. In fact, I don't know who the photographs represented until later. Okay. Now, Dr. Minzer, after you received those photographs, what did you do in order to try to make a determination if there were or were not bite marks presented there? Well, I examined all the injuries and wounds, and at one point I made a one-to-one life-size reproduction of them on a computer. And was there any particular wound in these photographs that you honed in on, or were you just looking at the photographs generally? The most obvious wound that appeared at first glance to potentially be a bite mark was a heart-shaped mark over the left eyebrow on the forehead.
14:59 Lindsay Graham? And could you determine, in your opinion, based on a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that that was in fact a bite mark? After examining all three photographs and all the wounds, I came to the conclusion with reasonable certainty that it was not a human bite mark. A hum of surprise ripples through the courtroom. At the defense table, Damien Echols sits a little straighter, and with a satisfied look, the prosecutor goes on. Could you explain to the court why, in your opinion, the injury to the forehead is not consistent with a bite mark? Well, I mean, you find curved lines and wounds, but to say it's a bite mark, you have to see individual teeth. I couldn't tell in that thin line as to where one tooth ends and another begins. Normally, you have two front teeth, which are about the same width, and the next two
15:43 Lindsay Graham? teeth next to them, which are also equal in width to each other. I didn't see anything that makes me think I have two teeth of the same size here. Okay, doctor, and do you believe, based on your opinion and your expertise, that there's any basis for using that injury as a comparison with dental impressions to exclude or include any individuals? Well, if it's not a bite mark, then there's no point. Damien Echols lawyer, Edward Mallard, tries his best to recover momentum, but it's no good. The forensic evidence that was supposed to prove his client's innocence has been called into question. The experts are split. Some say the wound is a bite mark, but some say it isn't. On its own, it's clearly not going to be enough evidence to convince Judge Burnett to revisit Echols' conviction.
16:27 Lindsay Graham? But the hearing isn't over yet, and Edward Mallard still has one more roll of the dice. In the summer of 1881, U.S. Army Lieutenant Adolphus Greeley and 24 other men embarked on an ambitious scientific mission to the northernmost reaches of the Arctic. But despite several triumphs of discovery, the men would soon face tragedy. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of the podcast American History Tellers. We take you to the events, times, and people that shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles, and our dreams. In our latest series, after Adolphus Greeley and his men arrive at their destination more than 1,000 miles above the Arctic Circle, they get to work collecting scientific data
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18:08 Lindsay Graham? On June 4th, 1999, defense attorney Edward Mallett submits his written arguments to the court in Damien Echols' Rule 37 petition. After the bite-mark evidence turned out to be a disappointment, Mallett leaves it out of his submission altogether. Instead, he argues that Echols' conviction should be overturned because of incompetence of counsel, that he was denied his constitutional right to a fair trial by the actions of his own lawyers. Back in 1994, there was no public campaign helping to fund Echols' defense, and he had to rely entirely on state-appointed defenders. Those lawyers didn't seem to believe that any additional money would be approved by the court to hire expert witnesses. So, looking for a source of cash, the defense fund turned to the HBO filmmakers, who were
18:52 Lindsay Graham? producing a documentary about the murders. Echols agreed to participate in the film in exchange for $7,500, but instead of spending all that money on expert witnesses, his lawyers allegedly took a portion of the cash to pay themselves without Echols' consent. Mallett also claims that the original lawyers failed to disclose several potential conflicts of interest. Prior to the trial, one of the attorneys had defended John Mark Byers on robbery charges, and another had previously represented one of the witnesses against Jason Baldwin, a 16-year-old named Michael Carson. Mallett argues these associations fundamentally undermined Echols' ability to secure a fair trial. In response, the prosecution fires back sharply.
19:35 Lindsay Graham? They accuse Mallett of character assassination and argue that Echols' original attorney isn't the one on trial. The Judge David Burnett agrees. On June 17th, 1999, he issues his ruling, saying Echols has failed to demonstrate incompetence of counsel. He then states that the disputed bite mark doesn't count as new evidence, as the autopsy images were available to the defense at the original trial, so the Rule 37 petition is denied. It's a devastating setback for Damien Echols. Mallett immediately appeals the decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court and begins to form a new argument, claiming Echols was mentally incompetent and should never have been put on trial in the first place. But if that doesn't work, then Echols will be almost entirely out of legal options,
20:18 Lindsay Graham? and there will be little left standing between him and execution. So while Echols waits on death row, his alleged accomplices continue with appeals of their own. In the seven years since Jessie Miss Kelly and Jason Baldwin were convicted, forensic technology has advanced considerably, and it's now possible to test smaller samples and get better results. With that in mind, it's hoped that the courts can be persuaded to reexamine material collected during the original investigation, and that new DNA evidence will exonerate the West Memphis Three. Their legal teams are helped by a growing number of supporters. Experts volunteer their services for free. A sequel to the original HBO documentary keeps the story in the media spotlight, and
21:00 Lindsay Graham? even more than a decade after the murders, new information is still coming to light. In 2004, Vicki Hutchison decides to go public with her doubts about the case. Hutchison went undercover to gather evidence against Damien Echols and later testified against Jessie Miss Kelly at his trial. But soon afterward, she contacted Echols' defense team to say she was having second thoughts about what she'd done. Back then, she claimed she was pressured by the police into giving evidence, but she stopped short of admitting to anything illegal. Her statements hinted at possible police misconduct, but nothing she said then helped the West Memphis Three. Now, though, Hutchison meets with journalist Tim Hackler of the Arkansas Times to confess to a secret that she's been holding on to for the past 10 years.
21:44 Lindsay Graham? She takes a seat opposite Hackler, her eyes wet with tears.
21:51 Lindsay Graham? I'm just so glad someone's hearing me out. Well, I think it's important our readers hear your story, yeah. Now, ten years ago, you were a key witness for the prosecution against Jesse Miskelly. What exactly did you say on the stand? I said Jesse and Damien Echols invited me to a cult meeting in the woods after their murders. What kind of meeting? To tell you the truth, I don't remember everything. I said they were having an orgy, I guess you'd call it. I told the jury that they call themselves Spider and Lucifer, that they painted their faces black, and oh, God knows what else. Well, Jesse's lawyers say your testimony served as the only direct evidence that he was actually a member of a satanic cult. And it was all lies. Look, I was raised in a Pentecostal home, sir. I knew to do right, but instead, I sinned, right there in front of my whole community.
22:36 Lindsay Graham? And ever since, that young man's been in prison, and it's just been eating me up inside. So why'd you do it? I just sobbed, and Hackler passes her a tissue. Well, I was scared. The police coached me on what to say. There was this juvenile officer, a man named Jerry Driver. He said he was some sort of expert in the occult. It was his idea for me to talk about that meeting in the woods. And the cops said if I didn't testify, then they would call CPS, "Take away my son." He was only eight. They even said they would find a way to turn the case against me. You're saying they threatened to implicate you in the murders? Unless you lied on the stand? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Well, from what I understand, statements from your son were also used as part of the investigation. How does he feel about all this now?
23:21 Lindsay Graham? Well, you can ask him. He'll tell you the police tricked him too. And he was just a boy, and they played him like a fiddle. But why do you think the authorities went to such lengths to get your testimony? I don't have any idea, but from the beginning, they were absolutely convinced those boys were guilty. When I went in to talk to the cops one time, I even saw them throwing darts at their pictures. They were using photos of the West Memphis Three as dartboards? Yeah, they thought he was funny. Well, now, we talked to the West Memphis PD about some of these claims, and they totally deny what you're saying. In fact, the assistant police chief says you're trying to get your fifteen minutes of fame. And what do you say to that? Fifteen minutes of fame? I'm more humiliated and ashamed than I've ever been in my life. I helped put an innocent young man, a boy, in prison.
24:06 Lindsay Graham? I've always hoped he would get out on some kind of appeal, but he's been in there ten years now. I can't live with myself anymore, so I have to be honest. I wasn't before, but I am now.
24:20 Lindsay Graham? Vicki Hutchison's interview is one of the biggest stories the Arkansas Times publishes all year. Critics of the original police investigation into the murders have long claimed the allegations of Satanism were unfounded, but Hutchison is the first to publicly admit that she fabricated her testimony. In response, the West Memphis Police deny everything. They paint Hutchison as a perennial liar who's only looking for attention. Still, her allegations add to the drumbeat of revelations and new questions that dog this case. No matter how many years pass and how many appeals fail, it seems the West Memphis Three just won't be forgotten. And eventually, all the campaigning and public pressure pay off. An Arkansas court orders exhaustive new DNA tests.
25:03 Lindsay Graham? Hair collected at the crime scene in 1993 is compared to samples taken from Ms. Kelly, Baldwin, and Echols. The initial results are released in the summer of 2007, and they reveal that none of the West Memphis Three are a match for the samples tested, but someone else is. The DNA from the crime scene is consistent with the stepmother of one of the victims, and it isn't John Mark Byers. A hair found in the shoelaces used to bind the murdered boys matches Stevie Branch's stepdad, Terry Hobbs. Another hair found on a tree root nearby belongs to his friend, David Jacoby. Back in 1993, Jacoby told the police that he was with Hobbs at the time the victims disappeared.
25:45 Lindsay Graham? In other words, he served as Terry's alibi, but now, the pair of them are suspects. The DNA results don't prove Hobbs or Jacoby are guilty. Both men knew the boys and played with them regularly, so it's quite possible the hairs found their way to the crime scene some other way. But the results are enough to make the local community of West Memphis view Terry Hobbs in a whole new light, and all of a sudden, even Stevie's mother Pam is starting to have doubts. On July 20th, 2007, Pam Hobbs meets with a reporter at the local ABC station to talk about the new DNA evidence. Glancing around at the lights and cameras, she's clearly nervous. Over the past 14 years, Pam hasn't spoken publicly about her son's murder very often,
26:29 Lindsay Graham? but she's decided she can't keep quiet anymore. Once the interview starts, the reporter asks right away whether she believes her ex-husband Terry could have had something to do with the murders. Pam stifles a sob and then replies, "Honestly, in my heart, possibly." She says that after the boys were found dead, her first thought was that her husband might have had something to do with it. She remembers him acting strangely in the days that followed the murders. She kept those suspicions to herself, though. She couldn't bring herself to accuse him right after losing her son. And when Jesse Ms. Kelly confessed to the crime and implicated Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols, she believed the case was solved. But over the years, her doubts have gnawed away at her. Now she says almost nothing is adding up.
27:11 Lindsay Graham? But there is one thing she's sure about: There aren't many people left, even among the victims' families, who still blame the West Memphis Three.
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29:04 Lindsay Graham? It's 2007, 14 years since the murder of Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers, and West Memphis is a vastly different place. The town is in decline, its population has shrunk by almost 20%, and the neighborhoods that the three young boys once called home have fallen into disrepair. Windows are boarded up, lawns are overgrown, and backyard pools are covered in algae. No one worries much about satanic cults or devil worship anymore, but people still whisper about the murders, the media who swarmed in afterward, and the teenagers who took the fall. The new DNA evidence has caused even the most stubborn residents to question their beliefs about the case, and it isn't just Pam Hobbs.
29:46 Lindsay Graham? Even John Mark Byers has changed his mind about the West Memphis Three. After his drug bust in 1999, he spent a few months in prison before being released, and now, after hearing the latest revelations, he regrets his earlier criticism of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Miss Kelly. As he puts it, "There was a bandwagon against the Three," and he acknowledges he was one of its leaders. So Byers writes an apologetic letter to Echols, who still sits on death row. Echols responds with an apology of his own. For over a decade, he says he's hated Byers and blamed him for the murders, but he's mature enough to admit now that there's no solid evidence linking him to the crimes either. This newfound cooperation between the West Memphis Three and the families of the victims
30:29 Lindsay Graham? bolsters everyone's hopes of finally getting a new trial, but it's the courts alone that can make the decision. The judge from 1994, David Burnett, has already turned down appeal after appeal, and now he stands in the way again. Despite the new DNA evidence and the statements from Pam Hobbs, he once again rejects calls for a retrial. Still no one's giving up yet, and in 2008, the attorney Dan Stidham heads back to court in Arkansas on behalf of Jesse Miss Kelly. Stidham represented Miss Kelly at his original trial, but now he testifies that he wasn't competent to defend him. He was barely 30 when he took on the case, and he had never handled anything as high-profile or complex. He wants to make things right, and begs Judge Burnett to give Miss Kelly another chance.
31:14 Lindsay Graham? No matter how much time has passed, it is never too late for justice to be done. But Judge Burnett denies this request too. He believes the new DNA evidence is inconclusive and would have little bearing on any new proceedings, and he again rejects the idea that the West Memphis Three were poorly defended. It's another hard blow for Miss Kelly, Baldwin, and Echols, but they still have one last chance. Their lawyers have appealed Judge Burnett's decision to deny them a new trial, and in late September 2010, the case is heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court. It's not the first time lawyers for the West Memphis Three have appeared before this court, and in the past, their petitions have always been thrown out. But this time, the justices listen.
31:55 Lindsay Graham? Disagreeing with Judge Burnett, they decree that the case does merit reexamination, and they order a lower court to consider the DNA evidence and decide if a new trial should be arranged. This ruling forces the authorities to change their attitude. Almost immediately, prosecutors meet with Echols, Miss Kelly, and Baldwin to negotiate a deal. Discussions between the different lawyers take weeks, but finally, there's an agreement that all parties can assent to. There won't be a full new trial. Instead, Miss Kelly, Baldwin, and Echols will appear in court to enter what's known as an Alfred plea. They will officially plead guilty to the murders while being allowed to proclaim their innocence at the same time. It's an unusual legal compromise, partly designed to protect the state from lawsuits.
32:39 Lindsay Graham? Under the terms of the agreement, the West Memphis Three were not technically wrongfully convicted, but their convictions are expunged from their records, and they are set to be released from prison immediately. So on August 19th, 2011, 17 years after being convicted of crimes they did not commit, the West Memphis Three returned to court one last time. Now 36 years old and married to Lori Davis, Damian Echols enters the familiar courthouse in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He's greeted there by Jesse Miss Kelly and Jason Baldwin. It's been a long time since they were all together. They were boys then, now they are grown men. After a short appearance in front of a judge to confirm their pleas and be sentenced to time served, the West Memphis Three gather with their families and legal teams for a
33:24 Lindsay Graham? press conference. Reporters crowd the room, cameras flashing, as Echols, Miss Kelly, and Baldwin, now free men, take their seats at a long wooden table. One reporter asks them if they think justice has now been done. Echols is the first to answer. Well, it's not perfect. It's not perfect by any means, but at least it brings closure. We can still bring up new evidence and continue to try and clear our names. The difference now is that we can do it from the outside. Echols knows that farther along the table, Jason Baldwin is more conflicted about the Alfred plea. And when the journalist turned to him, there's no mistaking the anger in his voice. I don't think this was justice, no. From the beginning, we told nothing but the truth, that we were innocent.
34:08 Lindsay Graham? And they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. And then we had to come here, and the only thing the state would do for us is say, "Hey, we'll let you go only if you admit guilt." Echols nods. He understands the anger. Look, we know they didn't want another trial. They knew they wouldn't be able to get away with a lot of the stuff they got away with the first time, right? Basically, they came in with ghost stories, rumors, innuendo, things that really had nothing to do with the case whatsoever. And they knew now that the whole world was watching, they wouldn't be able to do the same thing. They'd have to come in with some sort of concrete, physical evidence, and they didn't have any, and they knew that. Baldwin clenches his fists. But they're still not out there trying to find out who really murdered those boys, are they? And that's no kind of justice, no matter how you look at it. I didn't want to take the deal from the get-go.
34:52 Lindsay Graham? However, they're trying to kill Damian. And sometimes you have to bite the bullet to save someone else. Moved, Eccles hunches Ford in his chair. Yeah, I want to publicly thank Jason. It wasn't a difficult decision for me. I'm tired. This has been going on for over eighteen years, and it's been an absolute living hell. But I do acknowledge what he did. That he did want to keep fighting. He didn't want to take this deal in the beginning. And I recognize that he did it almost entirely for me. Eccles then turns and looks directly at Baldwin. So I want to say thank you. Baldwin gets up and pulls Eccles into a tight hug as the crowd around them clap. Sitting back down, Baldwin embraces the smiling Jessie Miss Kelly as well.
35:34 Lindsay Graham? Then a reporter calls out another question about what they will do with their lives now. Eccles thinks for a moment. Well, I'm still very much in shock, to be honest. Still really overwhelmed. You have to take into consideration that I spent almost the past decade in absolute solitary confinement. So I'm not used to being around anyone, much less this many people. Up the table Baldwin smiles, his eyes brimming with emotion. Well, I've got my family and friends helping me and taking care of me. I just want to live my life as best I can and enjoy every moment of it.
36:11 Lindsay Graham? Much has changed since the trials of the West Memphis Three. Today, there's far more awareness of the phenomenon of false confessions. And it's clear that the interrogation tactics used by some police can lead innocent people to admit to crimes they never committed. That is a small glimmer of light in an otherwise tragic story. None of the detectives who have been accused of mishandling the investigation have faced any consequences for their mistakes. In fact, some have been rewarded with promotions. One of the original prosecutors, John Fogelman, became a judge. David Burnett, the man who presided over the trial and many of the appeals, was elected to the Arkansas State Senate. And because of the Alfred Plead, the state likely won't face any lawsuits for imprisoning three innocent men for seventeen years.
36:55 Lindsay Graham? The horror of Jesse Ms. Kelly, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin's undeserved prison sentences is now at an end, but justice remains elusive in the case. Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch were just eight years old when their lives were taken in the most brutal fashion. More than three decades on, the identity of their killer remains a mystery. In April 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a further round of DNA testing. New forensic techniques now offer hope of finally revealing who was responsible for the crime. But even if the truth is established, some wounds will never heal. The case of the West Memphis Three will forever be a reminder of the power and cost of fear and prejudice.
37:41 Lindsay Graham? From Wondery, this is episode four of our series on the West Memphis Three for American Scandal. In our next episode, I speak with David Moran, a law professor and co-founder of the Michigan Innocence Clinic. We discuss wrongful convictions, faulty evidence, and false confessions, and try to understand whether the justice system has gotten any better at preventing cases like the West Memphis Three. American Scandal is only possible because of listeners like you, so thank you. And don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American Scandal on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. And Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
38:24 Lindsay Graham? And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com. If you'd like to learn more about the West Memphis Three, we recommend the book Devil's Knock: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leverett, and the three-part HBO documentary Paradise Lost. This episode contains reenactments of dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazib. Sound design by Gabriel Ghul. Music by Thrum.
39:08 Lindsay Graham? This episode is written and researched by Terrell Wells. Fact checking by Alyssa Jung Perry. Managing producer Emily Burke. Development by Stephanie Jens. Senior producer Andy Beckerman. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louie for Wondery.
39:31 Speaker 06 Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia spent her life exposing powerful people. Then, in 2017, she was killed in a car bombing. I'm Stephen Gray, and for the past nine years, I've been trying to find out who wanted her dead. That search took me to Malta through secret companies, organized crime, and eventually to one of the island's richest and most powerful men. Now, after years of waiting, this trial has finally happened. But when the verdict came in, the case took a turn that almost no one had expected. In a brand new update to the multi-award winning podcast, Who Killed Daphne?, I'm returning to Malta to find out how we got there and where the search for the truth goes next. Listen to the new episode of Who Killed Daphne? wherever you get your podcasts, and you can
40:16 Speaker 06 hear the full six-part investigation from the beginning, ad-free with Audible. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app and by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
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