Saturday, October 09, 2004
West Memphis Three Update
From the Arkansas Times:
"A woman who provided crucial testimony in the West Memphis 3 case now says her testimony was a complete fabrication.
Victoria (Vicki) Hutcheson says she was told what to say by West Memphis Police Department detectives, and that if she did not testify as instructed they could take her child away from her and implicate her in the slayings.
...
Mara Leveritt, a Times contributor and author of a book, "Devil's Knot," about the case, puts Hutcheson's significance this way: Hutcheson's interviews with police gave them a theory to build a case around. With that theory, and a confession from the 17-year-old Misskelley, whose IQ was subnormal, police had what they needed to arrest Damien Echols, 18, and Jason Baldwin, 16."
If you haven't heard of the West Memphis Three I encourage you to a) Watch the documentaries Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations b) Read Devil's Knot c) visit the Free The West Memphis Three website d) all of the above. Three teenage boys (now men) were sentenced to prison (Misskelley & Baldwin to life, Echols to death) without any physical evidence used against them. Instead the prosecution built their case around the teens taste in clothing, the music they listened to and the testimony of people like Victoria Hutcheson. Like the popular bumpersticker says, "If you're not outraged, your not paying attention."
As of 06.02.04 DNA testing has finally been ordered by the court. It is the belief of many people, including myself, that the results of this testing will provide an a chance for justice in a case that as of yet has had no such opportunity. Three eight year old boys are dead. Three young men are in prison. Meanwhile the real killer(s) remain free.
"Could this have happened anywhere else? Yes. Look at Salem, the Third Reich, and McCarthyism. When fear and cynical leaders prevail, ordinary people do terrible things." - From my interview with Mara Leveritt, author of Devil's Knot.
Free The West Memphis Three.
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