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"West Memphis 3" to Go Free On Friday?
At least two of the “West Memphis Three” are going to be released on Friday, according to the father of one of the boys the trio was convicted of murdering.
Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr., and Jason Baldwin were convicted of mutilating and murdering three boys in 1993, in what prosecutors at the time described as a Satanic ritual.
The three have long insisted they were innocent and wrongly convicted, and their plight was brought to national attention in the HBO documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, which implied that the three were convicted because of a “Satanic panic” and a push by prosecutors to get a conviction for the heinous murders that left behind little evidence.
Since the airing of the documentary, numerous organizations and celebrities have been fighting for their release, including musicians Eddie Vedder, Natalie Maines and Marilyn Manson.
The efforts intensified in 2007, when DNA tests on evidence concluded that there was no match to Echols, Misskelley or Baldwin.
An announcement was made Thursday that a sudden hearing would take place in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on Friday, with all three of the men appearing before a judge.
A gag order has been put in place regarding what the hearing will be about, but Steven Branch won’t let that stop him from talking to the press.
According to WREG-TV, Branch, the father of one of the murder victims, Stevie Branch, says that at least two of the West Memphis Three are scheduled to be released, adding, “There’s supposed to be a gag order on this but they’re not going to gag me. They can put me in jail if they want to. I’ll go to jail to stand up for my son’s rights.”
Branch confirmed to a reporter that Echols is one of the men to be released.
The station is also reporting that the three are going to plead guilty to the crimes, in exchange for being released with time served.
Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr., and Jason Baldwin were convicted of mutilating and murdering three boys in 1993, in what prosecutors at the time described as a Satanic ritual.
The three have long insisted they were innocent and wrongly convicted, and their plight was brought to national attention in the HBO documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, which implied that the three were convicted because of a “Satanic panic” and a push by prosecutors to get a conviction for the heinous murders that left behind little evidence.
Since the airing of the documentary, numerous organizations and celebrities have been fighting for their release, including musicians Eddie Vedder, Natalie Maines and Marilyn Manson.
The efforts intensified in 2007, when DNA tests on evidence concluded that there was no match to Echols, Misskelley or Baldwin.
An announcement was made Thursday that a sudden hearing would take place in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on Friday, with all three of the men appearing before a judge.
A gag order has been put in place regarding what the hearing will be about, but Steven Branch won’t let that stop him from talking to the press.
According to WREG-TV, Branch, the father of one of the murder victims, Stevie Branch, says that at least two of the West Memphis Three are scheduled to be released, adding, “There’s supposed to be a gag order on this but they’re not going to gag me. They can put me in jail if they want to. I’ll go to jail to stand up for my son’s rights.”
Branch confirmed to a reporter that Echols is one of the men to be released.
The station is also reporting that the three are going to plead guilty to the crimes, in exchange for being released with time served.
Comments
Terry Hobbs is the real killer and his stupid hick ass should rot in prison.