The West Memphis Series Part II: Guilty By Plea And Have Been Set Free
Jonesboro, AR- In a shocking development, four days following the first installment of the West Memphis Three on www.blinkoncrime.com, on August 19, 2011 Damien Echols, Charles Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley, through an Alford plea, were convicted of three counts of first degree murder following an agreement made by Prosecutor Scott Ellington and their respective defense attorneys for the murders of eight year old boys James Michael Moore, Christopher Byers ( Murray) and Stevie Branch.
Judge David N. Laser agreed to and imposed suspended sentences for time served to Echols, Miskelley and Baldwin; all were released and immediately declared their innocence during the ensuing press conference.
In Part I of our series, we touched briefly on the development of new evidence and possible murder weapon, the blue handled- mountain ice axe, which inexplicably was never presented at trial. It had been admitted into evidence after being retrieved from its owner, following it’s return by Jason Baldwin’s, younger brother Mathew.
Requests to confirm whether or not the ice axe was maintained in evidence at West Memphis Police Department were non-responsive at the time of this publication. Part II continues first with what the jury never heard. A podcast of my interview on the case following the release of the WM3 can be found here.
Premature Illumination
One of the larger points of contention in the murders was the lack of blood evidence at the scene. The lack of blood or blood spatter at the scene with such gruesome injuries spawned the defense theory the ditch was a dump site or secondary crime scene. This was largely due to the fact that the jury would never hear about the results of luminol tests; it was suppressed by motion of the defense In both trials.
Luminol enhanced chemiluminesence (LCL) technology in 1993 was geared toward examining items of evidence in a lab under black light for optimum photographic results, or its secondary application for use in an enclosed environment which can be manually darkened and a portable black light ( we now call this an alternative light source or ALS) brought to the scene.
LCL when sprayed onto a surface containing remnants of blood, or more specifically the iron in blood, will create a glowing reaction when iron, invisible to the naked eye, is present.
In 1993 under Arkansas law, Luminol testing was considered new, novel, and not accepted as scientific evidence.
While the methods for collection, testing and controls have advanced significantly since 1993 and LCL testing is widely used in criminal case work, analysis of the findings in the instant case flatly dispute the notion that there was no blood associated with the crime scene along the ditch bank of Robin Hood Hills.
Contrary to the misconception that there was no evidence of blood at the scene, the results of two consecutive days of luminol tests at the scene were enlightening.
As Kermit Channell and Donald Smith, from the Arkansas crime lab could not bring the “outside in” they were forced to set up shop in the woods along the banks of the ditch. Also present for testing both days were WMPD Detectives Mike Allen, Tony Anderson and Bryn Ridge.
Donald Smith’s report below in it’s entirety below, The other reports can be found here.
STATE CRIME LABORATORY
P.O. Box 5274
Number 3 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, Arkansas 72215
REPORT OF LABORATORY ANALYSIS
Investigating Officer / Agency / Address
Sgt. Mike Allen
West Memphis Police Department
100 Court Street
West Memphis, AR 72301
Laboratory Case Number: 93-05717
Date Received in Lab: 05/07/93
How Evidence Received: M E / Matthew Elliott
Agency Case Number:
Suspect (s):
Victim (s):
Steve Edward Branch
Date of Report; 06/10/93
FIELD INVESTIGATION. WEST MEMPHIS TRIPLE HOMICIDE. MAY 12 and
MAY 13. 1993 LUMINOL:
This analyst and Kermit Channell, Serologist responded to request to perform luminol on
a potential crime scene area on May 12, 1993. We left that afternoon, arriving in West
Memphis at approximately 6:30 P.M., proceeding to the Police Department.
Officers Tony Anderson, Brian Ridge, and Mike Allen accompanied Kermit and myself
to a swampy area in the northern edge of West Memphis where the victims were found.
A general survey of the area in the daylight hours was conducted. Approaching darkness
fresh solutions of luminol reagent were prepared. When the area became dark, using
flashlights for light support, the part returned to the area and proceeded to spray and
locate areas of luminol light emission activity, a presumptive test for the presence of
trace quantities of blood. The following observations were noted:
(1) At a trail along a stream bed an approximately 11 foot high bluff overlooking the
stream positive reactions were noted on either side of a tree with more reaction noted to
the right side of the tree, facing the stream bed.
(2) An Area with used plastic sheeting west of the trail and the bluff gave more positive
reactions were noted.
(3) At the west bank of the stream bed, to the right of some trees, an area gave positive
reaction. It was explained by the Police Department that this was where two of the
victims were placed when they were recovered from the stream bed.
(4) In the stream bed, below the described (at one time) water line, positive luminol tests
indicated where one of the victims was found in the water as related by the West
Memphis Police Department.
(5) On the east bank of the stream bed were a pile of sticks and a depression in the soil
where luminol tests showed a concentrated area of positive reaction.
[PAGE 2]
(6) North of this point luminol tests gave positive reaction to a large area of
concentration (described by West Memphis Police Department where the third victims
was placed upon recovery from the water).
(7) North of the point #6 near some tree roots, another large area of concentration of the
luminol reaction was noted.
(8) Trace amounts of positive luminol reaction was noted on the slope west of the area
where two of the victims were recovered and placed. (reference area #3). The areas north
and south of where the third victims had been placed (5) and (6) were unaccountable
known activity by the Memphis Police Department or rescue / recovery operations.
From these areas of noted luminol reactions for the presumptive presence of trace
amounts of blood the following opinion is rendered:
The traces of presumed blood detected along the trail (2), and at the bluff (1), and one the
slope (8) appear to be transfer of blood by the rescue and recovery teams.
Reaction in the areas where the recovered victims were placed is the apparent result of
trace blood transfer from the victims (3) and (6).
The area below the water level on the west side of the stream was accounted as where
trace amounts of the victimís blood diffused into the mud in the stream bed.
The areas (5) and (7) indicate activity prior to recovery of the victims and relate to
activity to the victims when perhaps they were being attacked.
It should be noted that the luminol testing was performed some days after the discovery
of the victims and at least one rainfall had occurred. There were no visible signs or
indication of blood at any of the locations that we investigated.
[PAGE 3]
Upon the group returning that night to the police headquarters Inspector Gitchell and his
staff were advised of our findings. It is our opinion the crime had taken place where the
bodies of the victims were recovered. Inspector Gitchell was further advised of the
inability to document the luminol reaction of the evening because of the light leaks from
stars and the back scattered light from West Memphis. To document the luminescence
Inspector Gitchell was advised that we would have to place tenting over the areas of
interest and to block out all stray light possible.
The luminescence requires near total darkness to document luminol reactions in the open
field.
It was decided that Kermit and I should stay over the next day perform the tests again
and photograph them.
The morning of May 13, Inspector Gitchell provided us with equipment, supplies and
manpower needed to document the areas of positive luminol reaction. A test with plastic
covering over the canvas was erected and photographs were taken of the positive areas
noted of the previous evening again with fresh luminol application.
Because of the limitations due to some light leakage, physical activity in the area
destroying some of the reaction, the weather conditions of some light rain the night
before and the originally low concentration levels in the areas on the bluff (area #1), along
the trail (area #2), where the victims were placed (area #3), and the area in the stream bed
where the body was recovered (area #4) and the area above the recovery area (area #8)
we were not able to document photography as we observed these areas the evening of
May 12.
The tented area over the areas where the victim’s body was placed (#6) and the
questioned area (#5), subdued the light to a degree that a less than perfect photograph
could be obtained. These photographs still documented the areas of interest, showing
luminol reaction in respective areas. These photographs were without the benefit of flash
painting application to reference the areas photographed. A still photo of the questioned
area from the original camera tripod location does reference the questioned area. The
photographs were processed revealing the luminol reaction at areas where the victim was
place (#6) and the questioned area (#5)
[PAGE 4]
The tent was moved and photographs were taken of the questioned area by the tree root (#7). Photographs of the areas (#4, #5 and #6) with surveyor flags mounted were taken to reference those areas tested and photographed. All photographs were left with Inspector Gitchell.
[signed] Donald E. Smith, Criminalist
Soil samples were submitted on May 14, 1993, but for unknown reasons not tested until 4 months later, and did not react to the luminol.
The result was considered inconclusive as it was not likely to detect blood from a four month old soil sample in the first place.
Although the luminol reaction results were not admissible in the trials, for analysis purposes, it tells an irrefutable story. The obvious counter-argument could only be that investigators were new to the technique, some of the initial testing was unable to be photographed, or to any conspiracies, that detectives simply made up results for some purpose.
However, as none of the investigators present had the autopsy results prior to the testing, and most certainly did not have Jessie Miskelley’s “account” to draw from, outside of the known injuries and other more circumstantial evidence in this case, these findings certainly further support there were multiple perpetrators in this crime- and that it all went down right there.
In 1998, Damien Echols filed a Rule 37 hearing for causes of incompetent counsel and due to his “actual innocence.” Jessie Miskelley lost his appeal to overturn his conviction also in 1998, but It was not until 2008 that Baldwin and Miskelley filed their Rule 37 petitions. For purposes of evaluation, I am including affidavits , exhibits and testimony excerpts from some of the expert witnesses at all three hearings and subsequent related appearance spanning from 1998- 2008.
Brent Turvey, of Knowledge Solutions, LLC trained under renowned blood spatter expert Dr. Henry Lee, did not consider any of the luminal reports when hired by Dan Stidham in 1998 for his expert opinion in his representation of Jessie Miskelley requesting a new trial. Turvey’s report found (here) was largely the impetus for future defense experts for all three defendants to “weigh in”.
While Turvey’s work was largely unsupported once his infamous “bitemark” was debunked and he bought into the “Baldwin knife” which has since been abandoned by all subsequent defense experts, as the first guy up at bat so to speak, his testimony demonstrated the burgeoning direction to the CSI Effect the West Memphis Three would take toward their ultimate freedom.
I explore Turvey’s initial observations taken directly from his report, in the beginning of each unique victim’s autopsy segment, followed by updated relevant expert information and my subsequent analysis.
Autopsy By Coroner- Autopsy By Proxy
In the interest of brevity, I intend to focus on the dissenting views of the experts, and I stipulate that in no report that I have reviewed, was there evidence of sodomy or object penetration of any of the boys.
While I believe Dr. Perretti’s prior experience with cases that involved same did form his opinion on the possibility as it relates to some of the injuries, I do not believe that such testimony should have been permitted at trial, nor would it be permitted today.
Memphis Triple Homicide May 5, 1993
James M. Moore #ME-329-93
Steve E. Branch #ME-330-93
Chris M. Byers #ME-331-93
LOCATION: On May 6th, 1993, all three victims were found, bound wrist to ankle with shoe laces, in the water of a drainage ditch, in a heavily wooded area called the Robin Hood hills, behind the Blue Beacon Truck Wash in West Memphis, Arkansas. An equivocal forensic examination of all available crime scene and autopsy photos, crime scene video, investigator’s reports, witness statements, family statements, autopsy reports and numerous other sources to be listed as referenced in the endnote section of this report. The purpose of this preliminary examination was to competently assess the nature of the interactions between the victims and their environments as it contributed to their deaths as indicated by available forensic evidence, and the documentation regarding that evidence.
James M. Moore
James Michael Moore autopsy found here.
The following forensic information is taken directly from the official autopsy report filed by Dr. Frank J. Peretti of the Arkansas State Crime Lab, Medical Examiner Division, dated 5-7-93, Case No. ME-329-93 and/ or from The official coroner’s report filed by Kent Hale, Crittenden County Coroner, dated 5-6-97.
The purpose of this section is not to present an all inclusive, detailed account and explanation of every piece of information in these reports, but rather to explore these reports, with the corresponding photos, for consistency, possible omissions, and to review injuries or patterns that this examiner deemed to be significant to the case.
Wound Pattern Analysis
This victim received more traumatic head injuries than any of the other victims in this case. Dr. Peretti states that defense wounds were present on the victim’s hands. These wounds were very few, indicating that victim was incapacitated quickly after the attack began. So the nature of these head injuries, and the limited defensive type wounds, combine to indicate sudden, forceful, and repeated blows that resulted in abraded contusions, multiple lacerations, and multiple skull fractures.
There is an unexplained directional pattern abrasion just below the victim’s right anterior shoulder area.
This unexplained injury does not correspond with any of the physical evidence collected at the location that victim was discovered. It is furthermore inconsistent with any of the naturally occurring elements that exist in that environment. The best conclusion that this examiner can reach is that this pattern abrasion was created by forceful, directional contact with something that was not found at that crime scene, whether it be a weapon, a surface or something else capable of creating that pattern.
The shoelace ligatures used to restrain this victim did not leave deep furrows, and also did not leave abrasions. This indicates that the victim was not struggling while the ligatures were in place. This indicates further that the victim was very much unconscious when the ligatures were affixed to his wrists and ankles.
We know that the victim drowned, that is to say that hemorrhagic edema fluid was present in the victim’s lungs, indicating that the victim was breathing when he was placed into the 2ft of water in the drainage ditch at Robin Hood Hills.
Together, these facts suggest that the purpose of the ligatures in this victim’s case was to keep the victim from moving around or being able to swim should he regain consciousness once he had been thrown into the water. It is this examiners opinion that the assailant in this case demonstrated all manner of awareness and cognizance at this location. The assailant knew that this victim was not dead when they threw this victim into the water, and that the ligatures would assist to complete the act of deliberate homicide should the victim become conscious.
Lack Of Injuries
When compared to the other two victims in this case, who were found at the same location, bound nude with shoelace ligatures in the same fashion, the most striking discrepancy is the lack of injuries suffered by this victim. In the crime scene and autopsy photos made available to this examiner, there were no readily discernible bite marks visible, the genitals have not been visibly disturbed or molested, and there are no discernible stab wounds. This lack of attention is very telling, and will be discussed in the Offender Characteristics section of this report. There is also, again, a lack of mosquito bites to this victim, which, as mentioned earlier, suggests that he received his injuries elsewhere first. This because the injuries took time to inflict, time during which many mosquito bites would have been received, even after death.
Analysis: I find the statement that he had the least amount of injuries, yet the most severe head injuries in dire conflict, as he died from multiple injuries, and drowning. The fractures to his head and lacerations to his left and front right skull were enough to cause his death within minutes on their own, and there can be no doubt that he received them while he was already unconscious because of the lack of injury at the ligature sites. There is very little hemorrhage involvement with the open lacerations, and all lacerations were abraded; one with a dovetail and upside down L producing an ovid fracture. In Jesse Miskelley’s confessions, he says one of them was moving as he was put in the water while he was leaving. I believe the reason he never mentioned that Michael Moore was beat about the head with an instrument of some kind is because he never saw that. Michael was located in the ditch just below the oak with the exposed root that had the luminol result “shaped like a V”, which would be consistent with him struggling to get out of that water, on that bank, with a cast off or blood spatter pattern consistent with someone beating him toward the bank and in front of that tree.
Mosquito bites: Only females take a blood meal, so that potentially reduces the population by 50%, and at no time will they bite a deceased person. They are attracted mostly by carbon dioxide, released from a breathing person. Both Dr. Haskell and Dr. Goff agreed to this ultimately.
What is further curious to me, is that while Turvey was hired by Miskelley, who confessed at least three times by the date of the generation of this report, does he not note the obvious discrepancy for the placement of Mike Moore upstream, or that he was found on his right side with the left side surfacing when in effect dislodged by Det. Mike Allen. Moore was also hogtied differently, with different knots than the other 2 victims, with ONE black shoelace. There is a reason that Turvey was not given Miskelley’s updated confession following his conviction, and instructed to disprove it; he would not have been able to.
Steven Edward Branch
Stevie Branch autopsy found here.
Wound Pattern Analysis
There are numerous violent, traumatic injuries to this victim’s face and head, as well as numerous superficial scratches, abrasions, and contusions noted throughout the rest of his body. Dr. Peretti, however, does not note the presence of extensive defensive wounds.
This indicates a violent, overpowering attack on this victim that he was unable to put up resistance against. The constellation of wounds are very similar to those inflicted on James Moore, however they are much more intense and include the victim’s face.
This level of attention paid to the victim’s face, in terms of depersonalization and rage, is indicative of familiarity and that will be explored later on in this report.
Furthermore, there is the existence of patterned injuries all over this victim’s face that could be bite marks. Since the ME may have missed this crucial evidence, other areas of his body may show bite mark evidence as well. The autopsy photos of this victim supplied to this examiner were not of sufficient quality to make an absolute determination of any kind, and would require a thorough examination by a qualified forensic odontologist for an informed, conclusive analysis. [note: Dr. Thomas David, board certified forensic odontologist, has confirmed the wound as a human adult bitemark and excluded Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley as the offender using bite impressions obtained from the men in prison] Bite mark evidence is very important in any criminal case because it demonstrates behavior and lends itself to individuation. It can reveal to an examiner who committed the act, because bite marks can be as unique as fingerprints. And, once established, it also reveals the act itself; biting.
Another unidentified pattern compression abrasion can be found on the back of Steve Branch’s head. The source of this injury caused a 3? inch fracture at the base of the skull with multiple extension fractures that terminate in the foramen magnum (that’s the hole at the base of the skull where the spinal cord connects to the brain). Upon close examination, this pattern injury is consistent with compression made from footwear. Again, without better photos supplied to the examiner showing a variety of angles, it’s very difficult to make a positive identification of any kind. But the pattern is consistent with a footwear impression, and would require a footwear impression expert to analyze and make an informed, competent determination.
The shoelace ligatures used to restrain this victim did leave deep furrows, and also did leave patterned abrasions on both the wrists and ankles. This indicates that the victim was struggling while the ligatures were in place. This indicates further that the victim was very much conscious before or after the ligatures were affixed to his wrists and ankles. We know that the victim drowned, that is to say that hemorrhagic edema fluid was present in the victim’s lungs, as well as in the victim’s mouth, indicating that the victim was breathing when he was placed into the 2ft of water in the drainage ditch at Robin Hood Hills.
Together, these facts, again, suggest that the purpose of the ligatures in this victim’s case was to keep the victim from moving around or being able to swim should he regain consciousness once he had been thrown into the water. It is this examiner’s opinion that the assailant in this case demonstrated all manner of awareness and cognizance at this location. The assailant knew that this victim was not dead when they threw this victim into the water, and that the ligatures would assist to complete the act of deliberate homicide should the victim become conscious.
Lack Of Injuries
There is again a lack of evidence to support any sort of strangulation. Dr. Peretti states that his examination of the neck of this victim revealed no injuries, and the photos that this examiner has seen support that conclusion.
Analysis: He missed the wound to Stevie Branch’s penis entirely. While not contained in his formal autopsy report, it was proven during the trial that Dr. Peretti’s colleague was called into evaluate what Turvey was calling “bite marks” and was ruled out. The fact that bite impressions did not match Echols, Baldwin or Miskelley was in no way exculpatory, and I will save you the bite by some animal with a rough tounge report nonsense I had to read .
The 3” fracture at the base of the skull, which “spiderwebbed” into subsequent fractures, also very likely severed his spinal cord, so one must assume this injury was also quite perimortem.
Steve ‘s left face was found to be abraded on the entire left side, and is consistent with someone either stomping on right side of his neck and fracturing it, with an obvious boot print, if the left side of the face was on the ground.
The gouging wounds- likely had to be inflicted following the fracture due to the lack of hemorrhage in comparison to the severity of the wound, and all experts agreed the injury was likely perimortem. So the question becomes- why?
Seems like a very important question, second only to what caused the trauma, based on the constellation of terminal injuries already inflicted on him. Wouldn’t the only thing left to do at that point be to submerge him?
It is my theory- therein lies the problem. Byers was put in the ditch first, and we know he was already deceased, therefore, he sinks. Stevie Branch is placed in the water next to him, and he either begins moving or floats and the suspects thinks he is still alive, and uses an implement to force him into the ditch bottom until he succumbs and stays submerged. I will leave out the specifics of the gouging wound as to why I think that resulted in the usage of the other end of the ice axe on Michael Moore. The luminol result, found in the ditch bed itself, after it was drained, slightly downstream from Byers and Branch, but still upstream from Moore could also support this theory. We know that Byers had already bled out, but Branch was still alive when he was put into the water and the only significant bleeding wound on his person capable of leaving blood evidence in the bottom of the ditch to survive it simply being washed away in the creek, there is a high degree of probability he bled directly into the dirt. He was found face down.
Christopher Byers
Christopher Byers autopsy found here.
It should be noted that this victim’s injuries were the most extensive, most violent, and most overtly sexual of the all the victims in this case. The nature and extent of this victim’s wounds indicate that the assailant spent the most time with this victim.
Additionally, this victim’s toxicology report revealed non-therapeutic levels of carbamazepine in the blood. All of these differences are very important, and will be explored in the later sections of this report.
Wound Pattern Analysis
There are numerous violent, traumatic injuries to this victim’s head, specifically to the base of the skull. There was also evidence of the violent emasculation of the victim’s sex organs, extensive lacerations and bruising to the victim’s buttocks, as well as numerous superficial scratches, abrasions, and contusions noted throughout the rest of his body. Dr. Peretti also noted that there were numerous healed injuries of varying nature on this victim. Dr. Peretti, however, did not note the presence of defensive wounds.
Again, this indicates a violent, overpowering attack on this victim that he was unable to put up resistance against. The general constellation of wounds to this victim is more advanced, more extensive, more overtly sexually oriented and includes the use of a knife.
This knife was used not only to inflict multiple stabbing and cutting injuries to the victim’s inner thighs and genital area, it was used in the emasculation process. There is, unmentioned in either the ME’s or Coroner’s reports, what appears to be a clear impression of the knife handle on the right side of the large gaping defect left behind after the removal of the victims penis, scrotal sac, and testes. This was impression was created when the knife was thrust full length into the victim by the assailant, during the process of emasculation. This indicates forceful, violent thrusts. The nature of this emasculation, as indicated by these wounds, is neither skilled nor practiced. It was a rageful, careless, but purposeful act carried out in anger.
It is the opinion of this examiner that this injury would have resulted in massive, uncontrollable blood-loss, from which the victim could not have survived without immediate medical attention.
It should also be pointed out that the nature of the stab wounds inflicted on the victim’s genital area, separate from those received during the emasculation process, show marked irregular configuration and pulling of the skin. This indicates that either the knife was being twisted as the assailant stabbed the victim, or that the victim was moving as the blade was withdrawn.
The second set of injuries is described as five superficial cutting wounds on the left buttock (pictured on the left in this photo at the right). It should be noted that these injuries are actually lacerations, as indicated by the bridging between the open tissue, and the irregular edges. Both indicators are apparent upon close examination of the photographs. It is the opinion of this examiner that this set of injuries is most consistent with the parental whipping given to Chris Byers by Mark Byers. It is further the opinion of this examiner that after having received this set of injuries, which tore open the skin and would have resulted in some severe bleeding, the victim would have been unable to walk or ride a bicycle without incredible pain and discomfort.
The third set of injuries is the multiple linear superficial interrupted cuts on the right buttock region (pictured in the photo above on the right). These injuries are not consistent with having been made by a belt as they are cuts. The edges are not irregular, and the cuts are interrupted, again indicating movement by the victim or the assailant during the attack.
Furthermore, there is the existence of bruised ovoid compression injuries all over this victim’s inner thigh that could be suction type bite marks. Since the ME may have missed this crucial evidence, other areas of his body may show bite mark evidence as well. The autopsy photos of this victim supplied to this examiner were not of sufficient quality to make an absolute determination of any kind, and would require a thorough examination by a qualified forensic odontologist for an informed, conclusive analysis.
Bite mark evidence is very important in any criminal case because it demonstrates behavior and lends itself to individuation. It can reveal to an examiner who committed the act, because bite marks can be as unique as fingerprints and positively identify a suspect. And, once established, it also reveals the act itself; biting. The shoelace ligatures used to restrain this victim did leave deep furrows, and also did leave patterned abrasions on both the wrists and ankles. This indicates that the victim was struggling while the ligatures were in place. This indicates further that the victim was very much conscious before or after the ligatures were affixed to his wrists and ankles.
We know that this victim did not drown, that is to say that no hemorrhagic edema fluid was present in the victim’s lungs, or well in the victim’s mouth. This indicates that the victim was already dead when he was placed into the 2? ft of water in the drainage ditch at Robin Hood Hills. This is, again, very different from the other two victims in this case.
Dr. Richard Souviron forensic odontologist: all mutilation is peri and post mortem, no knife was used.
On a final note, Mr. Hale states in his supplemental report on Chris Byers that there is a stab wound on his head. This is actually incorrect, and rectified by Dr. Peretti who states in his autopsy report of Chris Byers that the same injury is a 1¼-inch laceration to the left parietal scalp.
There is also, again, a lack of mosquito bites to this victim, which, as mentioned earlier, suggests that he received his injuries elsewhere first. This because the injuries took time to inflict, time during which many mosquito bites would have been received, even after death.
Additionally, unlike Steve Branch, there is no overkill present in this victim’s face. That is to say that this is another of the marked differences between the killings of Steve Branch and Chris Byers which is very important to note, and which will be explored more thoroughly in this report.
Recommendations
It is apparent from the physical evidence in this case that Chris M. Byers was attacked with sudden, violent force from which he defended himself in only a limited fashion. It appears as though this attack took place, at least in part, while his cloths were off and while the shoelace ligatures restrained him. He was sexually assaulted (an assault of a sexual nature, to areas of the body considered to be sexual, that does not include sexual penetration), and associated stab wounds indicate that he may have been conscious during several phases of the attack.
Analysis: How does he miss that the dosage of (car) was sub therapeutic, meaning below the level at which he was described and confuse it as non-therapeutic, in his estimation, as a possible means to subdue him. He completely missed the fact that it is likely that the level, found in his blood, was greatly reduced because there was very little blood volume left in his body. AND, it was a prescribed medication. Turvey does not mention the other factors that support Byers died first, and he died quickly and violently. While he did have stomach contents, he did not have any urine in his blatter and there was substantative evidence his bowels had evacuated at the scene, commonly a result of an immediate violent death.
Consensus or Conundrum- Depends Who You Ask
Regardless of which expert one believes, within the confines of each report, is the absence of the belief with any certainty that the “Baldwin” serrated knife was used. What they all agree on, is that the gouging injuries to Branch and Byers were very similar. They all agree that there was evidence of blunt force trauma, significant curvilinear fractures, what is commonly referred to in Forensic Pathology today as “chop wounds”, other sharp force trauma.
Thoughts onPost Mortem Animal Predation
I agree it is possible that snapping turtles could have caused what looks to be possible claw marks and at least one possible bite mark. I am emphasizing possible because I don’t think one can rule out animal predation 100%
Bryn Ridge himself testified he has seen snapping turtles in that area, some time ago. That said, there was not so much as a crawfish found in that creek as it was being pumped out, and that included a screen.
Dr. Spitz went as far as to suggest that somehow a carnivore of some kind was the cause of the animal predation although all oter evidence suggests that the boys were completely submerged, as well as their clothing, and there was obviously no animal tracks or other artifacts at the scene that would make that theory sound anything remotely believable. Thankfully, he stopped short of suggesting that a new breed of homicidal carnivores with a cleaner crew who could walk upright was responsible.
Fortunately I Dressed For Bushwhacking
Starting with one of the most important parts of the autopsy evidence, is the very fact that detectives knew VERY LITTLE about it outside of the cause of death, until late May at the earliest. So little in fact, that Gary Gitchell, Lead Investigator, wrote a list of follow up questions to the crime lab on May 26. (need link here)
Frank J. Peretti, MD preformed all three autopsies on May 7, 1993, and filed reports on May 10th for cause of death only. Those causes of death btw, were all listed as homicide by multiple injuries, period. Nobody knew that two boys died from drowning, and not all three. This is particularly concerning because the first conversation that Steve Jones and Det Sudbury had with Damien Echols was on May 7th prior to autopsy and in his subsequent interview with Det Bryn Ridge on May 10, when asked by Ridge how he knew about that, Echols told Ridge that Jones told HIM that whoever did this “urinated” in the mouths of the boys.
Urine was found in the stomachs of 2 of the victims, but that information was given by phone only to Gitchell, and not before May 16th, 1993. There is no possible way Damien Echols could have had case- specific information unless he was there or knew someone that was that told him what occurred, as the detective interviewing him at the time was clueless to that fact during the interview.
There are certainly many statements by both Echols and Miskelley prior to arrest that indicate they had prior knowledge of the murders, but I have been able to ride the see saw on those for the most part, like many.
The fact that Echols knew that there was urine in the stomachs of two victims, when it was intentionally ommitted from the report can only mean he was there, or knew someone who was, and in my opinion, both.
To be continued, West Memphis Three Part III
Sources:
Crime lab Index: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/img/crimelab.html
Chris Byers autopsy:
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/autcb.html
Michael Moore:
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/autmm.html
Stevie Branch:
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/autsb.html
Turvey Report: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/b_turvey_profile.html
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Please Whatevs, show us the evidence pointing to someone else! I would love to see it. A hair from a step parent in a ligature does not a murderer make. If you got something else, please enlighten us.
TGF- thanks for reading and responding to my post.
I appreciate your thoughts.
I have other research- mostly on “walking” axes but I am unable to post it… wont even show up as “in moderation”
I do not know if there is a glitch in BOC and all the posts/research just are innocently not making it through.
Submitting this one in the hopes that it makes it to you- if not I will know to move along.
I have nothing pending for you, if you are having trouble posting links, send to my email and I will post them for you. That said, I will check out back.
B
@Blink, 48bold:
I can understand your hesitation. This also is why I used the verb “composed” rather than “diagnosed.” So I suspect it was one of two things. What we loosely term “office notes” tend to be contemporaneously composed with the conclusion of a visit. Sometimes this is done after the fact, though, particularly when a number of patients have been seen back to back. I agree we don’t know the exact date of the visit that led to these notes, although I submit the composition date isn’t in question, but it is fairly safe to say it was relatively recent in time because backlogs present a problem.
As for the Social Security benefits, I am quite familiar with this process. As you know, when Echols applied he listed himself as “homicidal,” “suicidal,” the general terminology to fast track an application for an extremely disturbed individual. Nonetheless, a younger person (defined as someone under 55) no matter how mentally ill is given heightened scrutiny under the SSA regs. Therefore, I am extremely dubious that an application made only months prior to the crime would have been approved that quickly. I would go out on a limb and say it had not been approved. That is conjectural although based on quite a bit of contact with the Administration including during the early Nineties. It now takes about two years on average to get an application approved; in 1993 it wasn’t quite as bad but approval on first application for such a young person would have been unlikely. The default position back then even as now was to require a younger individual to be approved by an Administrative Law Judge rather than a state disability examiner. This isn’t to say it wasn’t approved within the 90-day period after the first application but I would bet money it had not been.
You are right about the Rule 37 hearing. The approval letter from the SSA would have been readily attained and presented to go to incompetency. Now I am going to write something that may seem strange from me. I do think Echols’ competency was in question at the trial. I know the ASSC disagreed, but the rich history makes me disagree.
As for incarceration, 30 days after continuous confinement the check terminates on a temporary basis. It permanently terminates after a felony conviction that includes incarcertaion. You aren’t out on a limb there. During this time period, a new Congress started to tighten down on several aspects of disability payments. Alcoholism and drug addiction after 1994 precluded receipt. Of greater import here, the scandals over felons continuing to receive payments led to reforms almost contemporaneously with Echols’ confinement.
I just effing knew it.
Pardon my french, lol, but I KNEW .
Then if that is the case, how are the attorney affidavits as to competence valid?
In Griffin’s first interview notes, Echols told him he was getting disability, so how could they NOT have known, and additionally if he was ( not) that would have to be tied to his trust account with his atty at least in the beginning. So he is lying? Did Dr. Woods receive bogus data from the defense?
I got news for the sworn officers of the court, this chit is fast and loose, and will always come back to haunt.
B
“Again, Gitchell was told there was urine and as a result, was requested to retrieve a water sample, that is without question, I have previously posted his letter to the Ark crime lab dated May 26, 1993.
Ridge’s notes say it all. 16 days before anyone could have known about the urine issue.”
CORRECT! Which is why I don’t understand what you are missing about my inference. There are many ways to interpret this set of facts. MANY. Urine was never brought to bear in this case. Why? because despite Gitchells desire to find it it just wasn’t proven as fact. I have issues with presenting things that are not in fact “fact” as fact. Can you not just undestand my statement that Gitchell and Jones saying that Damien could not have known about the Urine days after the murder when in fact there was no conclusive urine found is my issue and the point you keep tap dancing around. I apologize if me sharing information that disputes your theory. But in good conscience I can’t let this info that is basically left to interpretation, continue to be used to paint the guilt of anyone. The urine issue was never brought to bear in any form in this case because it was not there. So Damien knowing or not knowing, being told or not told matters not. BECAUSE IT WASN”T there. Perretti no where testified that urine was found in stomach contents and the Defense wanted the stomach contents tested to completely call in question these false statements. Therefore the evidence could never be used since it was never verified nor tested. So to draw a conclusion that is basically a rumor is troubling to me. If you have documented evidence that urine was indeed found and determined to be in the stomach on an autopsy or ME report please share. All i see listed above is a mention of Urine prior to the autopsies and ME reports and not after.
sigh. Didn’t you post earlier that Peretti testified he never said that? Got a link?
I was also wondering, are you aware of the contents of certain information that is under seal in this case currently?
B
i think i know the motive,think charles manson not ted bundy.jessie’s confession suggests it was his iniation into the cool club.and blink i hate to say it ,but i now think it is possible that jessie was handed the ice wand and instructed to do the act ,and thay’s why he doesn’t mention the weapon ,he used it.his bent over cringing at trial.he was chumped.was the crime crafted especially for jessie, the easily suggestible “babysitter”, future disciple.why didn’t his lawyer work a deal?
Um, somebody better disclose ownership of this publication as it relates to their own compensation and participation in this case.
Their is now a promotion to solicit donations so that Jessie Miskelley can get his lights turned on. I am not sure how one does not have electric but can post on their facebook and convert to a fan page, but what do I know?
Note: If anyone solicits donations via paypal without a classification as to the “charitable” status, it is a problem for both sides of the transaction under paypal terms of use.
Note the ID of the “NJ lawyer” is not disclosed.
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2011/09/04/life-after-prison-for-west-memphis-three
It is also my understanding as told by the defense, that the defense wished to skip the evidentiary hearing in December and move straight to a trial. Benca contacted Mcdaniels who suggested finding a more “global solotion” to this crime. Subsequently Ellington was contacted and the deal talks started. Ma’am. I respectfully disagree that the defense sought these pleas. Were they willing to deal because of the shoddy job that has always been done in this case? Of course. Would you trust a state that convicted you of 3 murders almost fraudulently, to do it again correctly? Even with the passage of time I’m sure i would be petrified. The state of Arkansas, on the other hand was petrified at 3 wrongful conviction cases that would be coming if these men were indeed found not guilty. Being done with this case was in the interest of the state. If i were one of the three and my life was on the line i would take this deal. It is either death and life in prison or freedom and the ability to work from the outside to clear their names. Justice in this case while slow will be found but not by people willing to misinterpret and exaggerate non facts as facts.
http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/the-big-ask/Content?oid=1888389
As i can see you are more interested in lame attempts to refute actual facts. The Dna reports were filed before the deadline as inferenced by the links you posted above. I can’t wait for the next installment. Maybe you will address facts next time?
Whatevs- you’re going to need to provide source citations or links to your information please.
If you would admit to torturing and murdering three helpless kids to get out of jail instead of exonerating yourself, with a pending court date, I think it is pretty clear that there is nothing I will offer in terms of factual information, my expert opinion, or a message in a bottle that will appeal to your sensibility.
This is not about me being right, or you being wrong. I wish I could live my life like it has 4 sides.
B
@Blink, bold, 3.
I will tell you, Blink, I have come across a number of times the truth was played fast and loose with in this case. Some may not have been deliberate, but that is the best I can say.
Here are few more tidbits about the SSI and how they apply here. Get ready to further get PO’ed.
First, for it to have been approved this fast (and it wouldn’t have been in all likelihood), it would have been the state disability determination agency that would have done so. Again, that approval letter–particularly given it would have been a state agency in a place as small as Arkansas–would have been very easy to get. A designated agent such as a defense attorney could have known in short order.
Next, and here’s a biggie, someone as disturbed as Echols likely would have been required to have a payee. It usually is a relative, not an attorney, who serves as trustee. The designated person would have to account for expenditures. This information likely would have been required to be provided to a treating medical source.
Dr. Woods likely received bogus data from the defense. Whether or not it was deliberate I cannot say and prefer to think not. Frequently an SSI applicant will claim to be receiving benefits even though they have not been approved. That could have happened here. But I doubt it.
To be fair, this cuts both ways. The State should have verified with the Arkansas disability determination agency whether Echols had received benefits.
I may lay out a few more things that concern me later.
I would appreciate that jack, thanks for the clarifications, but someone is going to need to explain to me how sworn officers of the court, when there is a waiver signed by the client for all his medical records, did not catch what I did- there was no determination of benefits document in all those pages. No cancelled benefit check, and agreed that if he ever had been “disabled”- he would have needed a trustee of sorts.
I am the first to admit LE had plenty of shortcomings in this case, as has the prosecution, but Woods specifically said… and continues to receive disability benefits to this day. Who told him that?
B
I have a question for people who believe Jessie Misskelley really is at the mental level of a 5-year-old. The question is: are we supposed to believe his fiancee, Susie Brewer, is at the mental level of a 5-year-old too?
If we’re NOT supposed to believe that, what on earth is she doing with Jessie? And, whatever she is doing with him and their upcoming marriage, is it moral and/or healthy?
And, if we ARE supposed to believe that they’re both at the mental level of 5-year-olds, is it truly recommendable, and safe (!), for Susie’s 2 children to be in her care and the care of Jessie Misskelley?
$10 million is the amount of money I heard was raised to help the WM3 get out of jail, is there no money left in that account? He did plead guilty and he has no money or a job. That sucks for him, it does, IF he’s truly innocent he deserves so much more. It just seems to me that with all the evidence and the chance for new trials in just a few months these guys would have held out for true freedom and then they would have lots of money. Even the prosecutor said he didn’t think they could get a conviction…then why plead guilty? This arktimes.com wants us to help him pay for his electric bill? If I had any extra money and there had been a trial rather than a QUICK Alford plea, and he’s been found not guilty, I’d pay his $300. But what does he do next month? And how is it that others who have made documentaries, written books, and even the arktimes.com have made money off this case yet here sits these supposedly innocent men unable to earn a living? What about the movie that’s coming out soon? Shouldn’t these men get some of the profits since it is obviously from the side of those who proclaim their innocence…somebody has been making money for almost 18 years on this case and it should be shared with the characters of the story, IMO.
For me, regardless if one considers guilt or innocence, there is very much wrong with the fiscal issues in this case. Yes, I am captain obvious.
B
Mom3.0
Please do not believe that Blink does not respect your efforts and thoughts.
While we live in an age that allows us to communicate as we do here, all is not perfect. There is a glitch somewhere in the link to this site from your location.
I read and post, when able, to the main Scared Monkeys site. Sometimes everything I post there makes it. Most of my posts go into the bit bucket at an unknown location.
At first it bothered me that my posts didn’t get through. Then I thought about all the things that have to be right in a computing and communications environment.
I spent years designing,building and maintaining real time control systems that extended from the Gulf Coast of Texas to the Midwest and New England areas. At one time, I dealt with twenty-nine different phone companies. These systems used leased telephone lines, mostly from A T &T, but the last sections were always a line from a local telco. Some of these were so old that it is a mircale that some of them worked.
The telephone companies divide their operations into two segments. Those that are in a switching center, known as “inside plant” and those that are not and are designated “outside plant”.
The oldest telephone systems in the country are located in the Northeast. Some have been updated with the advent of fibre optics and Selective Signaling equipment that is based on computer controlled switches.
The internet is not all new equipment. Much of it goes over a variety of physical links. In order to provide some method of guaranteed delivery without loading down the system, there is a segment in the TCP/IP headers that limits the time a message packet can stay alive in the system.
Remember, that the tropical storm Irene dumped a lot of water in the several Northeast states. Moisture in a cable with many pairs of lines can cause all sorts of cross-talk and create retries in message packets that exceed their time to live count.
ATG-
Mom 3.0 is one of my VERY fave people of all time. That would never change over a difference of opinion, and while I concede it is harder to work through when we do, because I have so much respect for her, I actually support her position as I understand it. She makes me think and re-think, and more importantly, I think she inspires others to do so, regardless of their stance.
She is of the opinion, and I do not speak for her of course, that these three may have done it, they may not have, but how we got here, is less than convincing and at times perhaps underhanded.
I have learned something about myself in this case, that I still struggle with.
I am a staunch advocate of jurisprudence in our country, I love the study of every area of criminal law firstly, and civil law a close second. With the Anthony verdict, I admit I was reeling.
Investigating this case right behind that was supposed to make me feel better, lol. The thought that it was possible someone or someone’s are walking around capable of such atrocity fueled me like no other.
Now they are.
When dealing with commercially attractive cases subject to checkbook journalism, we are going to need an ombudsman for both sides, and I don’t think I can be both in one case. Not in a case like this.
Obviously I cannot publish it, but our team built an animation in precise scale to the wound macros in this case including a trajectory fade, and there is, and never will be a doubt in my mind that ice axe was a weapon used in this crime, and was in the custody of Jason Baldwin, hidden, and “returned” following an LE interaction he was not expecting. There are 100 reasons I believe these 3 are guilty, and none of them have to do with their confession. I wish I felt differently, or less emphatic.
$10 Million dollars and a mule, my new slogan. You know where I am going with that.
B
B
oh and my first impression regarding the the knife cuts pulling the skin (twisting the knife was suggested as the cause of the skin being pulled back out with the removal of knife) would’nt that be a function of a mountain climbing device, to hook into the rock, as to not easily slip out? the effect on skin ,would pull the skin back out with removal.
absolutely, and the V wound on Stevie Branch’s left cheek.. the repeated pattern of fine linear scratches near contusions.
B
lol, like 5 minutes from me, I swear.
B
One more thing and I may come back to this tomorrow and a few more questions I have about representations made to the courts, including the ASSC when it ordered the evidentiary hearing. The following is the key paragraph from Dr. Woods’ affidavit at the Rule 37 hearing as it pertains to SSI benefits:
“54. Though he was only 18 years old, mental health professionals at East Arkansas Regional Mental Health Center concurred that Mr. Echols’ severe and enduring mental illness made him unable to function without substantial assistance from mental health and other agencies. Staff members assisted Mr. Echols in applying for Social Security Disability Benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA). After conducting an independent evaluation, the SSA determined that Mr. Echols was 100% disabled and was awarded full disability benefits on the basis of his mental illness. The finding by the Social Security Administration of a mental disability is a significant factor that any competent mental health professional would consider in an objective determination of Mr. Echols’ mental state. At the time of arrest and trial, Mr. Echols was still considered severely mentally impaired by the SSA and was receiving full SSA disability benefits.”
For this to be accurate, the approval had to happen between Echols’ initial application in February and his arrest in early June. Dr. Woods has conflated the state agency with the SSA but that isn’t uncommon. Here would have been the process. The application would have been filed, the state agency would have collected psychiatric records, and a referral for an independent evaluation would have been made. This generally takes a minimum of three or four months. The determination letter, if favorable, is sent to the applicant and benefits tend to start the following month.
It wasn’t impossible, but highly unlikely, he was approved this fast and had started to receive benefits. I am quite dubious and would like to see the approval letter.
The determination letter would have been required to set forth the disabilities established, and the medical records and source statements used to make the determination. There would have been no blanket determination of “insanity.” A designation of a “payee” would have been likely required and that can further gum up the process.
The determination letter would have been necessary to distinguish between, say, anxiety as a disabling condition and manic depression as a disablng condition to establish competency. At a minimum, it should have been in the case file if it existed at all.
I am not permitted to provide the source of my information for legal reasons, but I CAN confirm, there is no determination of benefits letter in evidence, in this case, period.
B
Go knock on his door.
ROTFL. It could happen.
B
lol, cant post that, will be ill-received if you know what I mean.
B
Blink
In regards to your question about Jessie being able to post on the internet.It is because he can go to a public library and use their computers. Most states, as a part of giving everyone access to the internet, designated some portion of the phone bill taxes to building statewide access to the internet with equipment located in schools and libraries.
Or, someone who does have access with a laptop could be allowing him to use it at one of the truck stops with internet access. Many of the McDonald stores now have wirless internet access.
Since many of these sites, including libraries use DCHP to hand-out internet addresses, the actual method would have to come from a witness. The Tracert utility would only get to the last fixed addressed router.
Also it is highly suspect that you say they plead guilty in this case. It is an Alford Plea. They only stated that the State had enough evidence to convict but they maintained their innocence. According to Mr Ellington the state did not think they could win this case. This was a legal maneuver to get serve Arkansas half justice. The three got out of jail and are unable to sue the state. Arkansas wins! The politicians who built their careers on upholding these crappy convictions wins!
And to whomever stated above about name a suspect? READ the documents. WATCH the depositions. Digest the information. Those people who approached this case with a curiosity to learn will find that not only does this case just not add up but it was also badly handled and bordered on malfeasance. This case didn’t end with evidence found in 1993. It continues due to mismanagement, innuendos, failure to do due diligence and taking sets of information and mashing them together until it fit the suspects who were in fact pegged from day one with NO evidence. NO witnesses. NOTHING.
I seek justice at all costs. I believe in it. I also know that human beings are fallible. We jump to conclusions, we are prejudiced. When i first heard about this case I believed they did it because hey they were convicted. This is naive thinking. This is why our justice system who gets it right so many times is still capable of getting it horribly wrong. This case haunts me. Because three boys lost their lives and i think three people were wrongfully roped in to an investigation and then convicted and someone is walking around free for 18 years. It is in everyone’s best interest to examine this case with an OPEN mind. If evidence turns up that they are in fact guilty I will gladly admit my mistake. But again, what purpose did the pleas have? This is the biggest red flag. The state had no reason to agree to these pleas if they still felt the three were guilty. Regardless of what the defense wanted, the state had no obligation to free these men if the convictions and subsequent sta
I think your being called out, and your failing miserably. It is ok to have such a staunch opinion with the links and facts to back it up. To say to some of the strongest critical thinkers on the web, many of which are professionals in this line of work that function in these circles daily who have presented meritorious counter points to which you ignore, in favor of espousing some more “sheep speak”, is enough already.
There have been compelling posts, that present alternative opinions in a factual and respectful way, none of which are yours. This is so not just about ” I think”….
B
I did post a link that contained quotes from the defense team detailing how this deal came about. Peter Jackson who since he bank rolled this operation also posted info strinkingly similar on a statement on his facebook page. I have posted many posts on this article with facts that dispute your arguments and those have magically disappeared. So who is interested in Justice for the three boys here?
Whatevs, I have posted every single comment of yours, do not play the disappearing post game with me, this site only posts 20 at a time, you need to click older comments.
Again, a link to your above statement? If it is fact, it needs a link, what do you not understand about that?
I am getting troll alerts out the ying, and those, I have not posted.
By the way , let me clear something up. There is no such thing as justice for Stevie, Chris and Michael, they were tortured and murdered and shoved in a ditch bank, perhaps you could avail me as to what justice looks like for them. If you are interested in what you might consider justice for them, again, what are your fact based opinions that $10 million could not produce?
B
-snipped-
Why do I feel like if I pulled a video of this crime out of a vault somewhere it would not matter to anyone that is not even considering the possibility that the three folks who just pled guilty to these murders actually committed them?
B
Can I just say, the ‘contribution’ of information, knowledge of this case by extraorindary posters and the surfacing of ‘surpressed’ information is a victory. I don’t care what scale you measure it on, this is crucial stuff. The voice of these sweet cubs is being heard loud and clear and I’m so overwhelmed by the brave contributors of this case (on BOC) for stepping up and going against the grain of popular thinking.
It won’t bring the boys back. They’re at rest, but the truth is not.
AMAZING community efforts to lay it down. It’s not ok to stop thinking for ourselves and go with the flow. Did these boys kill our cubs? If not, then who did?
Whomever is affected by this case deserves answers, if they seek them. The unchallenged road will never reveal her secrets unless trail blazers like B and BOC are willing to take the risk and find the truth. Not a slant, but the truth. The haters will reveal themselves and many will panic if the truth does not equate to their opinion.
Please never think this is not making a difference. It is! I’m corny, I know, but if there is a calling to put it out there, whatever the truth reveals, it’s not an option to sit back. Ever. Persevere and push the movement!
Only love, my sweet friendies <3
Saluting at attention, thank you.
B
“I was also wondering, are you aware of the contents of certain information that is under seal in this case currently?”
B
ARE YOU? No didn’t think so. If it was detrimental to the defense’s case I’m positive you wouldn’t be regurgitating the information you are trying to pass off as the smoking gun. READ. ALL the documents. It would behoove you to do so. Once again we roll back to the argument if the state had a smoking gun or evidence of guilt we would not be here and those men would still be in jail. Or are you insinuating that the state of Arkansas fraudulently voided three convictions?
I most definitely am, stay tuned. With this “plea” comes certain rights of the press to request unsealing of information. The only person arguing is you, the one hand clap is old, and there is no smoking gun in this case, never was, obviously.
Regurgitating info? Really? What is your explanation for Baldwin’s sudden “change of heart”?
You have seen Echols tied to the Roadrunner bag previously? You have seen anyone discover he has never been declared disabled by the SSA, or received a check and an expert witness is about to learn he was bamboozled?
Stressful, I am sure, but link us, would love to see your research, complete with source links of course.
B
Blink,
The letter mentioned in “Life After Prison for the West Memphis Three” is located at http://maraleveritt.com/letters/ along with the name of the NJ attorney.
Before I click to submit, I want to thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into the articles on this blog, and I very much look forward to part III. I’ve been sending friends and acquaintances here as much as possible, and thanks to your work, it’s gotten them to look and think deeper into this case than what appears on the surface (which is usually only those things covered by media and not what appears on Callahan’s).
Thanks again!
Thank you friend
B
James Baldwin has stated MANY times in interviews and statements post release that he could NOT allow Damien to remain on death row STRAIGHT FROM his mouth. Simple visit to his facebook page will lead you to his statement. Scroll upwards to the article i posted above it details the defense process and how the pleas came about or are you not reading?
Yes the petrol bag is old news. So the Dna being there from someone else isn’t a big deal, but a bag with pants that were too small to be attributed to Damien (my husband wears size 33 pants he is a stick person) is earth shattering? SO no one else but Mr. Echols could have deposited said bag at crime scene? I mean i live five miles from a gas station but i still find bags from it in the woods across from my house. Anyone could have dropped that there. There is NO PROOF except circumstantial that just because Damien worked across from the gas station that he deposited it. Thats just inexcusable.
As i have stated MANY times. There is much that will be coming out in this case shortly.
You need to drop the source link stuff. Show me where Peretti testifies to urine in the stomach of the boys. Show me where any evidence links the bag directly to Damien being the only source. This show me links stuff goes both ways. I have mentioned where my info was gleaned and cited it where i felt compelled to do so. frankly i hope curious folks do research both my statements and most certainly yours. Read the case docs in reguard to urine… IT WAS NEVER BROUGHT TO TRIAL. Its ALL also on callahans site. I’ve read most of the docs there. I’m surprised you haven’t. You know this isn’t my job. I’m just a justice seeker. And yes its a lot of information to keep track of. But one would think that instead of jumping on statements with things like got a link you would read the entirety of the case documents before talking about how you have proven guilt.
The petrol bag would not change anyone’s mind especially Jason Baldwins.
Most of the case is already available on line. Many sites on the internet are daily breaking down new findings in this case and HAVE NOT focused on just the WM3 as you have. In order to process this case you need to go back to the beginning and look at it knowing nothing taking nothing as fact. If you do that you see a different picture. More info will come out i’m sure in the coming months. Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t justify your conclusions. Some family members are certain that there is much more info pointing away from the three that has yet to surface due to recent testing and findings. Also how long did it take you to go thru this case? I’ve been following for years and i still find things that i didn’t see before. I have a hard time believing you went thru ALL the info in a few weeks and came to these conclusions.
My best wishes as I thought you were giving your final statement hours ago, and I have rules about posting without links, or sources, and if you can’t do that, I have to be fair with those that do, and wish to be a part of constructive dialogue in this case.
Best-
B
I am grilling ribs for Labor Day and have been drawn back to this so much I will shut down the computer after this post, but two things need comment.
@Blink, bold, #14:
The obviously operated a huge fraud upon the court. To further compound the deception, there is no way a psychiatrist or psychologist could have relieved upon a disability determination, period, to evaluate competency without the letter that set out which diseases led to the positive finding. Ennui won’t cut it; manic depression might render someone incompetent.
This isn’t the only fraud/deception by any means. I intend to address the others tomorrow when I don’t have to wash BBQ sauce off my hands to type.
@Whateves, 19.
This is in no way an attempt to sway you as you have made up your mind. But I would re-think quoting from Peter Jackson. He confused Ellington with McDaniel–who resisted this outcome yet Sir Peter wants him elected governor and Ellington who engineered the deal fired. There are so many other errors it is laughable. But what else would you expect from someone who pumped millions into an alleged evidence that produced nothing to benefit his cause?
LOL, jack I love ribs, traditional Sunday dinner at the Blink home as school starts Tuesday for us.
I appreciate you weighing in and slopping up your keyboard.
Fraud upon the court is a Bar matter at this point, guess they will need more funds.
B
Blink this is my final statement. Do you know or have you ever known, are you or are you not in possession of any of the information the Defense team now has in reguard to this case?
I do not understand this question, and frankly I am not sure you do. There are discovery issues that govern whatever the defense developed in this case as it relates to the upcoming hearing, in the event it is exculpatory, and if it had been, you can be assured these lawyers were not going to be served malpractice suits for allowing their clients to plead guilty. That is just defense counsel 101, reality, not subject to whether you are right or not.
I am not going to stoop to your level of rude, but you seriously have no idea what you are talking about from a legal perspective, or any other rationale outside of opinion, although you have been asked to do so no less than 6 times.
Were you there in the room when the deal was made?
In a sense, I was, but not physically, and I was a subject of conversation leading up to it, and If you think it is an accident Baldwin copped a plea he refused for months 3 days after the development of the “forgotten ice axe” it is clear to me that you have no connections in this case, and you are merely an observer attempting to present yourself differently, which is ok, and I could respect that, but be honest about it with this readership, they demand it of you. I am, if nothing else, an advocacy breeder, and they are effective from any walk of life.
The answer to all these statements is no. You are offering up your version of events by saying the Petrol Bag is the reason why Jason Baldwin accepted this deal.
I never did anything of the kind, and I invite you to read my work at some point.
Just admit that. You have no idea if new information was shared with the Prosecution to elicit this deal. These are facts.
Facts for who? Again, clearly, you have no means to vet information with anyone inside this case, or you would not make that statement. I am stating for the record Ellington had information prior to the finalization of this deal, as well as other principals in this case. Mike Allen was quoted as saying he was looking forward and support a new trial in this case based on new evidence- hello?
I also note, you completely sidestep the ice axe, yet again.
While examining the old info is good, the new scientific info is better, Due to the massive mishandling of this case. You have no idea what the 10 million dollars wrought. NONE. Nor do i or anyone except maybe the three, the prosecution and the defense and the Judge.
So what is your point? You have no idea- what new scientific info are you referring to, what basis for your opinion do you offer?
So any elaborations on the events from the beginning of August to August 19th you have no clue. And the Article i linked above with statements from the defense attorneys is the closest you or i will get for now.
I beg your pardon, I have about 14,000 words of input from August to now, all developed by me personally after several weeks and several hundred hours of investigation- UPON REQUEST- what information have you brought to consider in this case you developed on your own, for the group? O, and I should note, I have not taken a dime for it. So I can tell you where $10Million did not go.
Justice for Stevie, Micheal, and Chris means exhausting every possible lead and evidence for and against in this case. I advocate for taking it full back to square one. Removing prejudicial comments like driver’s and Jones pointing the finger at Damien before the investigation even started. Take it back to the beginning and interview every single person left in this case until its done. The families of these three boys deserve real justice. Those boys deserve real justice. This article isn’t how they are going to get it.
Sure thing Whatevs, I can’t wait to see the millions at work at reinvestigating this case- O wait, they already did, even Re-hired the Laxative. ( I made that up, lol- was the subject of a few laughs in the war room I admit). Ten million dollars and a plea of guilty and they still have folks like you singing the tune across the board.
They have done something right, for sure.
B
http://www.jivepuppi.com/evidence_at_the_crime_scene.html Parting thoughts… E1A Its been out there for YEARS.
This is what I mean, you really should stick to things that you can understand and support.
I am well aware the bag inter alia has been in evidence since May 6, 1993, but as you are well aware, it has NEVER been tied to Echols dad and the fact that Echols worked at Alderson roofing, sharing the lot until my published work, period. I assume you could verify that information on your own.
I am not saying this because it is a feather in my cap, I got one of the most humbling emails in my career over this information from someone that investigated this case, and missed it for 18 years so get over yourself.
sigh.
Based on what I have personally experienced as a teenager living in both rural and urban areas, much of the knowledge of how animals behave in the wild was known. In addition, as an adult I worked in rural areas on engineering projects.
After reading the autopsy reports and some of the reports of of the so called experts with the knowledge that expertise can be bought,as sad as that is, I had no doubt that the right people were in jail.
Susanm may have articulated the real reason for the attacks when she spoke of an initiation for MissKelly. How impaired was MissKelly by the alcohol while he was at the site? Could his confession statement about “you are not going to do to this one I am holding as was done to the others” mean he was not going to beat him with the ice axe?
These guys IMO were not smart enough to hide all the physical evidence that could have been found on the bodies. They just got lucky by choosing to immerse the bodies in the creek.
What happened to the clothing they were wearing? I believe it was buried or burned or given to someone else after cleaning it up. We do know that the ice axe was traded for some shirts at one time.
There are several items missing, specifically 2 black trenches, although Echols wore it to the skating rink late May, his belt and bracelet that we know of, and contrary to popular opinion, Miskelley got the shirts right I will cover in III.
By the way, I just want to say whether readers believe my work is sound in this case or not, I appreciate all taking the time to read it, I know it is cumbersome to say the least and I have worked very hard to present it as best I can . I know that I could present animations and images developed by my team that would aid many in support of my points of view. That said, I am not going to be responsible for offending a family member or just someone unprepared for such macabre content.
We have discussed opt in posts for the future for such material, just as an fyi.
B
Mom3.0
You see from Blink’s reply to my post how she views your contributions. That is the important thing.
My technical explanation was to show you some of the reasons that your posts were disappearing.
>>1.Angellica says:
September 4, 2011 at 11:50 am
Please Whatevs, show us the evidence pointing to someone else! I would love to see it. A hair from a step parent in a ligature does not a murderer make. If you got something else, please enlighten us.<<
We're shocked that you haven't yet written a paper for class, no less a book.
Would someone riddle me this? Why is it the Echols is the one who applied for SSI due to his mental problems but Misskelley is the one portrayed as mentally unstable? The obvious answer to me is because that is what fits a certain agenda.
In addition, if someone wished to debate Blink’s opinion, specify exactly what you are disagreeing on followed by a link to the source that refutes it. I didn’t get away with “you are wrong” even in the first grade.
She as obviously formed an opinion due to her research. If you disagree present the countering data. Making statements like “there is no evidence towards their guilt” is a cop out plus it’s flat wrong and sounds like exactly what every defense attorney feeds to the media in every case I know of.
@ whatevs- I wasn’t being a smart alec. I really want you to give us some evidence of who “really” did this. I have read plenty on this case and yes, I was prejudiced in the beginning. I thought they were innocent! I had never see/read anyhting except “slanted” media. After Blink turned me onto the Callahan website, I formed my own opinion. It is different from yours. All I’m asking is for you to give me facts to change mind. The ice pick and the Steve Branch wound photos are telling. I am a huge fan of forensics. Real forensics, not CSI shows. Let’s talk about the blue candle wax….
exactly, and I did not even tie the more circumstantial artifacts together, one of which you point out.
There blue candle wax on a shirt, consistent with blue candles removed from Echols bedroom, he also told ridge he would expect candles to be at the murder scene before anyone knew it was wax on the shirt.
B
blue candle wax was also not produced at trial. You guys really. ONCE AGAIN… JIVE PUPI SITE Evidence NUMBER E1A. 18 y ears in evidence.
As far as the ice pick is concerned. PLEASE. After 18 years? some ice pick is the murder weapon? You know how that looks right? After the state swore up and down that it was the lake knife, or this other knife, or maybe this one. I’m sure the prosecution could use your help in ensuring that echols, baldwin and misskelley are unable to show new evidence against them. I have read your work in the past. I see a piggy backing off of others work and stating new finds that are not new. And eliminating anything that doesn’t fit your version of facts. You have not proved your point here. If anything judging from the comments its pretty convoluted theory based on OLD EVIDENCE. http://www.jivepuppi.com/evidence_at_the_crime_scene.html
I’m not misrepresenting myself, I am a casual observer who is sick to death of faux perts inserting half truths in this case. But i do indeed believe you are over stating your importance here. (I”m sure many are going to be trying to validate your claims of working in this case at this moment and how IN ON THE DEAL you werent.) If this is the NEW EVIDENCE of the WMFREEs guilt Its a wonder how Mr. Ellington could state this case was a loser. You are making yourself look foolish. It is quite rude to call me rude when you have treated me like some bumbling idiot while not reading the information that i provided for you. If you indeed worked on this case one would think you would have more information than me, a regular person who read this case because i truly care. I have provided links. I have provided how to find info that i provided here. So go get it!
To those who want to learn about the case open YOUR MINDS. Do not take the word of someone over inflating their importance. I’m pretty certain if the ice pick were indeed evidence of guilt It wouldn’t show up on a crime blog, It would be tucked away for the challenge.
1. IT WAS presented at trial. Do your homework. Opening and closing arguments, and through Lisa S.
2. The ICE AXE is E-24, can you read that? E-24 in evidence, and given to WMPD by the Neally brothers, again, should you care to do some research in that area.
Inflating my importance? Seriously? Go bark at someone who did not do this work pro bono-
Good Luck with that.
Your just flat out wrong. Enough already. Happy Labor Day.
B
You are pretty rude yourself. You think you are justified in your rightness. I hope that helps you sleep at night. Also I reiterate, You can not prove that bag was echols. Nothing ties him to it but some circumstantial carp.
Thanks I’m going to law school this was an excellent work out.
Debate is supposed to strengthen an argument not weaken it. I feel pretty good about what i’ve done here. and the comments arent exactly overwhelmed with your “work” ta ta. I’m also pretty confident that if i can tear this apart and add reasonable doubt the defense should shoot this right out of the water.
LOL, the only thing you tore apart was any chance you had at being taken seriously, by anyone.
You are going to law school like I am heading up the Nuclear Physics program at MIT. I should also say I had to retake algebra II for advanced degree acceptance because I flat out suck at math. See, I have no problem with honesty and admission of my shortcomings. You could make lists.
I would be happy to out you if you insist on such nonsense. This is not the first time you have had some web issues, shall we say.
B
Regarding Damien Echols dissabilty status..I watched a documentry the other night about a self styled outlaw family from Virginia.They are the White family an theres a lot of them all criminals an proud of it.Each an everyone of them received what they called crazy checks.They received dissabilty for mental issues an seemed to have no problem receiveing or meeting the criteria for thease payments .One of the women said she got her first crazy check aged eleven?It seems all they had to do was be violent drink an take drugs to excess an steal anything that wasnt nailed down http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/07/02/16764/wild-and-wonderful-whites-west-virginia/
I commend your decision for not posting the animations that were developed. As you already know, I am a very visual thinker. I had no problem mentally making a picture in my mind about what likely took place based on your descriptions as well as the information contained at the Calahan site.
I also do not accept newspaper and tv accounts from reporters who may or may not understand what they are trying to report. Taking the word of a defense attny. outside of the courtroom may lead to an improper conclusion as well. One they want the public to have.
There is a certain amount of theater in every criminal trial. It is there to try and convince the jury or court that an accused is either guilty or innocent. It is up to the observer, based on their ability to understand truth gleaned from evidence and testimony, to decide for themselves.
Absolutely. For me, I felt that what we produced would absolutely be perceived that way, it was so compelling. Never my intent, I rely on readers and contributors to sift through that, so I felt it inappropriate to serve it, so to speak.
B
Wow! While we are being honest, I am a stay at home mom of 15 years. I am a liscensed cosmetologist and currently going back to school as a certified pharmacy tech. I LOVE Forensic Flies on TruTV and study cases like these and the C WORD for a hobby. I am watching Snapped now. All I ask for is some proof that WM3 are innocent of this horrific crime. I am sorry, but the ice pick and the SB photo are too much to ignore. Like I said I thought thry were innocent. I have an open mind, so sway me, please. Give me a link whatevs! I will sleep better tonight knowing that the people that perpetrated this crime weren’t just set free.
Oh, I forgot, I’ve read jivepuppi and every other site mentioned on Callahan.
Out of the mouth of baby adults. I am going to law school so I know all about law and evidence.
I hope that in the future Whatevs learns about the real world. This reminds me of brand new engineers who have a diploma thinking they are engineers because their professor told them so.
And I hope the actual law school graduates in this case, are held to their commitments to the state of Arkansas,and Texas as indicated in the pro hac vice.
People are not always equipped to articulate their passions or emotions, I am trying to be sensitive to that, I can be guilty of same on occasion.
B
@whatevs- me thinks you might not be able to “work out” of a paper bag. I really wish you would refrain from your condescending remarks. You do nothing to help me understand the basis for your beliefs in the case. I probably speak for most of the posters/viewers here, both supporters of guilt and innocence – statements like “ONCE AGAIN, YOU GUYS..” are just insulting. Try objectivity much?
I worked the weekend, so I’m still reading and digesting.
God Bless you richly, Blink.
Some nagging thoughts(that have me quite pissed):
. Chris was Jason’s victim and most brutal. OMG. Jason’s attorney states in the Paradise Lost video (while they’re waiting for the verdict) that Jason should be choosier in his friends (referring to Echols). He implies that Jason was a follower, and that he never would have been placed in this situation without the association of Damien. Maybe true, maybe not. Was Jason trying to get Damien’s attention and approval, or was he unleashing a whole lot of hell that was his own?
.Jessie could admit to a half dozen people,several different ways, that he’s guilty, but not his own father. Hence, Mr. Misskelley’s support all these years. And not just to his own son, but to Jason as well. Seems Jason “loved” Mr. Misskelley’s visits.
http://www.freewebs.com/boohiss13/thewm3whoarethey.htm
.Jessie saw Jason every day, according to his chat in 2001. Every single day. But Jessie states he has “few friends”, and I don’t get the vibe that Jason’s one of them.
http://thewm3.yuku.com/topic/428
.the urine in the stomaches helped explain for me the “awkward” explanations that Jessie tried to convey in his confessions.
.Jason gets to spew that the meaning of life is “enjoying it” while Chris, Stevie and Michael can’t.
Tired and hoping I’m conveying something other than anger…
You absolutely did mayhem, links and all. Thank you
B
@ecossie possie says:
September 4, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Regarding Damien Echols dissabilty status..I watched a documentry the other night about a self styled outlaw family from Virginia.They are the White family an theres a lot of them all criminals an proud of it.Each an everyone of them received what they called crazy checks.They received dissabilty for mental issues an seemed to have no problem receiveing or meeting the criteria for thease payments .One of the women said she got her first crazy check aged eleven?It seems all they had to do was be violent drink an take drugs to excess an steal anything that wasnt nailed down http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/07/02/16764/wild-and-wonderful-whites-west-virginia/
………
I watched this documentary also and thought the same thing about the disability checks. I do believe Damien does qualify for SSD but I wonder if there is a high rate of people collecting disability checks in this area. There probably aren’t very many jobs, especially without an education.
@juls, 41.
There is no question Echols would have qualified for SSI. The question is whether he was found eligible and received disability payments prior to his incarceration. If not, an affidavit submitted by Dr. Woods supposedly based on the disability determination is false. As I consider it further, Dr. Woods could not even have used Echols’ disability application and alleged award to help evaluate competency unless he had an actual determination letter to see exactly what mental conditions were established to have disabled him.
The answer to your question, therefore, is yes…but what is at stake here is more involved. Nonetheless, given the poverty that is prevalent in this part of Arkansas, I imagine there is a large caseload of disability claims and it may one of those areas where it takes a claimant more than two years to receive an award or be denied. This makes it even less likely, although not impossible, Echols had been approved for disability and received payments prior to his arrest.
I don’t disagree that Echols would have eventually qualified for SSI, although I am not understanding why he withheld the roofing job from his application. Personally if it helps a person with stabilizing emotional issues where they can better participate safely in our society, I happy that is what we pay a portion of our incomes to.
I read every page of that file, at least twice, and page 61, the only page that is *askew*is the notes from the alleged 5/5/1993 Dr. appointment and I agree with you also that was progress notes and not a session.
I believe Pam Echols said she saw her former step-daughter or in-law or something there, but she was never interviewed as a witness, and I don’t doubt a script was picked up that day.
Submitting affidavits and filings are required to have a good faith basis, period. If Woods was given false information then that is suborning perjury, period.
Fraud upon the court in a criminal matter is a very big deal- did the state even show up for some of this stuff?
Sheesh.
B
Blink on your map you have where two of the boys were found, where was Michael Moore found on your map? By the way…really good job on that map!
As far as Whatevs…you are not helping me look at this case with an open mind so I do with your posts what I do with others that have a hateful tone…scroll and roll.
As far as collecting SSI for mental disability, well if you have a family member that is truely devastated with a mental illness then you would understand how a person qualifies for that particular disability.
I am looking forward to part three of this series!
About 25 ft upstream Cbickel, the ditch stream empties into the ten mile, to give you a trajectory.
I am not sure if everyone knows this, but Echols also lived in the Mayfair apartments which borders the woods when he was younger.
B
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150188295341877
Rifling thru a 2nd hand bookshop in Takoradi, Ghana of all places while on an extended holiday/Volunteering teaching trip – I stumbled across a paperback book that (on reading the back cover) I at first did not buy, then on a 2nd visit decided to take the plunge & acquaint myself with the leering youth(s) on the cover & the salacious but almost incomprehensible subject matter.
On completing the book ‘Blood of the innocents’ my initial viewpoint was not a swinging veer to the call of “Innocent!” but more a sad, disturbed view of dissaffected youths in the South, who – fueled by drink, drugs, heavy metal, the occult, & most of all – boredom, may or may not have committed a crime some have called ‘Satanic’, but which could really have occurred in any poor, downtrodden trailer park back corner of anywhere with the wrong conditions…
No need to outline the Story & grim findings of a crime that infamously occurred on May 5th 1993, as there are countless Websites & other books (‘Devil’s Knot’ by Mara Leveritt) & infamous docu-movies like ‘Paradise Lost’ & it’s follow up Revelations (1996 & 2000 respectively) but before I had seen any of these I conducted my own Research on the Internet – reading pretty much anything & everything (including users forums) interesting I could find on the case – pro & con.
There are many Supporters today – almost 20 years later since the 3 accused have been incarcerated & 1 on death row, who believe whole-heartedly in their Innocence & calls of ‘Police Corruption’, ‘Railroaded’ & a biased court & jury have blighted the case in it’s history, but taking a balanced, not-judgmental view while looking at the research would lead any sane person, I believe, to come to their own conclusion looking at the evidence, or lack of any, on it’s own…
What really clinched the case for the Police & led to the arrest & incarceration of the ‘West Memphis 3′ was the confession(s) of 1 Jessie Misskelley jr, a 17 year old hick from Arkansas, West Memphis – a town famous for nothing more than being across the River from the more famous Memphis, Tennessee. MissKelley was questioned by police for a number of hours & then eventually confessed (ie. ‘something extraordinary happened’ (sic) ‘Blood of the Innocents’). His 3 confessions are Available for all to hear & read on the Internet:
Defenders argue he was coerced & pressured into making these Statements after being held in Police Custody for several hours before a taped interview was made, therefore suggesting Jessie was mistreated or blackmailed into giving a confession to secure his Release or gain the Reward Money. But Please, really – What kind of Idiot would grass themselves & THEIR FRIENDS up thinking this would somehow free everybody? Listen to the transcripts of the Interviews & judge for yourselves if Jessie sounds ‘coerced’ or under pressure or ‘scared’ to the point he would confess to being witness to 3 Murders he did not commit. Why would he randomly pick Damien Echols & Jason Baldwin as cohorts over anybody else? Are people suggesting the police somehow fed him these names & he chose to incriminate his friends in a crime they all did not commit? What would be the point?
Much has been made of the fact that Jessie was a (quote) “dipshit” who had an IQ of less than 72 & was ‘easily led’ by the police into making 3 ‘false’ confessions, with details pertaining to the crime that only someone who was there would know. Defenders have again pointed out the fact that Misskelley got the time wrong of the assault – first 12.00 noon then 5, then 6, then 7 then 8… What he does state clearly is that it was “getting dark” when it happened… Jessie admitted that he was very drunk to the point of being sick on Evan Williams Whiskey, so therefore, coupled with the effect that he was a little ‘slow’, adds to the fact that he probably didn’t remember exactly what time it was…
If you look on the other side of someone who is a little slow, easily-led & impressionable – it’s quite easy to see how the “dipshit’ Jessie Misskelley was coerced, not by the police, but by his mates Damien & Jason into committing the crime in the first place.. Why else would he name them if they weren’t involved? What did he, or they, have to gain by falsely incriminating someone?
Defenders, Dan Stidham particularly, have pointed out Jessie’s apparent low IQ & how he was an easy target for the West Memphis police – What? – into making 3 separate confessions (one after he was convicted on the way to prison in the back of a van) of a crime you DID NOT commit? Makes no sense – even for the lowest, dipshittest person on earth.
Sometimes – the dim kid, the one at the back of the class who becomes popular through being a joker or having fights (which Jessie did, he was a keen Wrestler) makes an excellent mate or compliant cohort. They are easily led & will do things without thinking.. Like smashing coke bottles with his fist to show how tough he was (one of Jessie’s habits, despite being only 5 foot tall).
In terms of telling the Truth also – someone who is considered a little slow (as opposed to full-blown mentally retarded which he is not) is more LIKELY to tell the Truth – not because they are pressured or forced to falsely confess, but because they don’t have the mental capability or cleverness which is required to be a good LIAR. Echols did, whether he was guilty or not, & Baldwin did not even testify in court – which suggests equally he could be GUILTY or innocent. Why if you have nothing to hide would you not take the stand? Surely you would be ANGRY as hell if you were falsley accused of such a serious crime you did not commit & were facing the death penalty or the rest of your life in prison…
Ambivalence or nonchalance would at best describe the attitudes of Echols & Baldwin throughout ‘Paradise Lost’ (1996) while Misskelley remains his jovial, southern hick self. It’s actually easier to believe Misskelley was there & telling the truth, but now feels regret & guilt, hence the confession(s) & apparent weeping spells on the night of the murders… Misskelley also has his head slumped, almost trying to hide under the desk throughout his trial, suggesting not innocence or false accusation, but something else… A guilty conscience? Embarrassment. A desire to get this done & over with, as, in his own words, he “wants something done” about it. His lawyer repeatedly draws attention to the fact that Misskelley was held in Custody for hours before the first taped confession without a parent or lawyer & that anything could have happened, but by then it was too late to retract. Jessie admitted several times (& apparently still does), confessed on tape & did not contend his guilt. He was sentenced to life (40 years) plus two terms of 20 years each.
Echols & Baldwin were tried together. While Echols took the stand, Baldwin did not. Much has been made of the fact that there is NO EVIDENCE that links the West Memphis Three with the heinous crime committed on 5th May 1993. But lack of any forensic evidence does not on the other hand mean they DIDN’T DO IT.
Circumstantial evidence was used, as well as MissKelley’s confession in their trial (unofficially but it was widely known of). The fact that the 3 murdered boys were found hog-tied & naked in WATER (with their clothes tied around sticks in the water also) not surprisingly washed away any incriminating evidence they left behind…
If they did do it – then they were clever or lucky enough not to leave any of there DNA behind by burying everything in the stream in the ditch in the woods. Of course there would be no DNA or bloodstains anywhere, or anyway of determining the wounds on the bodies after they had been submerged in Water all night, leaving it anyone’s guess as to who committed the murders… Also, it has been claimed blood from the castration of Christopher Byers would have been profuse – but again, this is in the woods, by a muddy man-made stream/ditch – it’s quite conceivable every trace of the guilty would be washed away – & also any evidence of rape, blood or bodily fluids… Laughably – some are now claiming the obvious castration of Christopher Byers’ penis & testicles were caused by a snapping Turtle. A very hungry & specific snapping turtle I would say…
Baldwin allegedly confessed one-to-one with Michael Carson, a petty burglar who apparently had nothing to gain by testifying, where he admitted “putting the balls in his mouth & sucking blood from the penis”. This was pretty much all the evidence there was against Baldwin – apart form the fact he was Echols best friend & also liked listening to Metallica & wore black T-shirts. Not a crime in itself, but his disgusting straw-like Mullet was. “Just look at them – they look like punks!” said Pam Hobbs, the mother of murdered Stevie Branch. This didn’t help their cause. By the time of the trial – Baldwin’s bad Mullet had been trimmed to a neat schoolboy-cut cradling his rat-like but apparent sweet & innocent face. He looked pretty incapable of murder I admit, but couple him with a couple of mates, all drinking & smoking & egging each other one like teenagers do, it’s not hard to imagine what could have happened… ‘Guilty by Association’ was Baldwin’s defense teams tagline – but why the Hell was he tried with Damien & encouraged to seek the 5th Amendment by not even testifying… He didn’t help his cause by not saying anything – if anything this makes someone look guilty as if they have something to hide, as opposed to desperate cries of “I’m Innocent”. None of the 3 apparently had a solid alibi as to where they were on that particular night, around the time of the Murders. This doesn’t mean they did it. It just suggests that if someone could 100% have clarified or shown on CCTV they were somewhere else at the time, it would have helped their cause. Of course a Mother or parent would always defend their kid under any circumstances & say they were at home or with them at the time, as who would want to admit their child had been privy to such a heinous, perverse & disgusting act – but which could also be viewed as the misfortunate egging-on game of 3 seriously disaffected, drunk, bored, outsider teenagers with nothing better to do…
The Ambivalence & nonchalance of the three accused also suggests a not complete absolvment of guilt – as surely you would profess loudly if you were innocent, have a decent alibi & not stare at the floor or look around with a sullen expression (or in MissKelley’s case slumped head on the desk) if you had nothing to hide. Jason Baldwin looks positively scared throughout, like a Rabbit caught in the headlights knowing it’s f**ked. On being sentenced to death by lethal injection – Damien stares blankly blinking ahead with no expression. He does not fall to the floor screaming or crying or shouting “I’m Innocent!” On being sentenced to death for a crime you did not commit, surely would provoke some kind of reaction. On being sentenced, all three are motionless & expressionless, no mean feat considering one has been sentenced to death & the other 2 life (without parole).
Damien did not help himself when questioned about his Occult leanings. When asked if he was familiar with Alistair Crowley, he replied he was familiar with who he was, but had not read any of his writings, despite a book of Crowley’s being found in his possession. When it was then proved Damien had written (in a secret occult alphabet) his name, Baldwin’s & Crowley’s names on a piece of paper while incarcerated did not help his cause… Being interested in the Occult alone does not mean Echols was guilty of the Murders, but he did not deny his interest, & the fact that he had also been committed to a psychiatric ward & was on medication (as well as his apparent love of sacrificing dogs & other animals) did not look good or help his cause.
The real clincher for some though was Damien’s statement of “People will remember me forever – I’ll be like the West Memphis Boogieman. Even after I’m dead Parents will tell their children not to look under the bed in case Damien is there…” is not an admission of guilt as such, but more of a resignation to his fate, & he says it with a smile on his face. Surely he would have protested his innocence, rather than cock-handedly smoke a cigarette & smirk how he “enjoyed” the attention bestowed upon him.
Of course now, Damien & Baldwin protest their innocence wholeheartedly, & with much celebrity support. They are lucky no evidence linking them directly to the crimes was left (or washed away) & without Misskelley’s confessions they might not even be in prison at all. MissKelley was apparently offered a deal & more lenient sentence if he testified against his former friends at their trial, but being a good ol’ southern boy & not wanting to snitch on his mates, he did not. No-one likes a grass, & in MissKelley’s simple mind he probably thought he’d already done society a favor by ‘fessing up to the cops. He was probably too dumb to even realise his statements were begin recorded & would be played back to his detriment in court. It seems Misskelley trusted the cops more than even his own lawyers – who repeatedly beg him not to make a statement as it may harm his defense numerous times, but he does so anyway. Why would you do this in front of your lawyer if you were being harassed or pressured into making a false statement? That’s what lawyers are for – to tell you not to say anything.
On watching ‘Paradise Lost’ it seems the defense lawyers did a pretty good job, or as best they could considering the circumstances & MissKelley’s unhelpful confessions, which were not allowed to be used in evidence against Echols & Baldwin, but which were shown to the jury anyway – obviously swaying their decision. They probably could not have convicted them otherwise. The whole case has the air of a good old traditional CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE witch-hunt, except in this case the circumstances around the 3 & their previous behaviour points to a strong culpability (& evidence of having frequented the woods & getting drunk & having orgies there..) Maybe they were no different to any other disaffected teens, looking for the next thrill, egging each other on, trying to impress each other with their actions. Overpowering 3 8-year olds was not exactly a fair fight – & the oppressor / oppressed Ratio is easy to see & understand how it happened. 3 young boys, 3 older teens.
Damien it seems was living too fast, too young. As well as being intelligent, interested in the Occult, an outsider but seemingly popular with his ‘weirdness’ who was well aware of drinking, smoking & f**king – his girlfriend Domini Teer was pregnant with his child which she bore during the trial. Added to his ‘mental problems’ & incarceration in a mental home, as well as his hobby of killing & dissecting Animals (a la Jeffrey Dahmer) & general depressed, anti-social demeanor & frequent run-ins with the police, made him a prime candidate, but also one who thru no great stretch of the imagination COULD HAVE committed these crimes aided & abetted by best-friend Jason Baldwin (the alleged penis remover & eater of testicles) & local Forrest Gump dipshit Jessie Misskelley. Echols never at the time flat-out denied his involvement, except on the stand when he simply answered “No – I did not” when asked 3 times if he had killed each boy. But of course he would say that. He was, & is, clever enough (unlike Misskelley) to lie under pressure. It seems if anything, Echols relished the attention – he had obviously always wanted to be someone – & thru this heinous crime – indeed did & has become World famous, but for all that wrong reasons.. He now waits to die on death row, while numerous appeals & support groups have sprung up protesting their innocence merely on the fact that there was NO FORENSIC EVIDENCE to link them to the crimes. But look at the circumstances surrounding the case & you smell a Rat. All 3 lived in the town, were friends & frequented the woods. They listened to Heavy Metal (Slayer, Metallica – all snakes in skulls & prophets of doom & death), dressed in black (so what?) & apparently attended frequent ‘orgies’ or esbats in the woods (not unlike a great deal of teens who are experimenting with drink, drugs & sex for the first time).
If anything, the West Memphis Three are Victims too. Victims of a stupid, misfortunate game that went too far & horribly wrong for all involved, but reeks of a teenage act of uncontrolled aggression – stemming from years of suppression, alienation & general boredom & dissatisfaction with the town they lived in & it’s surroundings… The early 90′s no-hopers club, the Music of the day was grunge, everything was about death & debt & general dissatisfaction with life & nothing to look forward to. NO FUTURE. & in West Memphis, unless you had eyes on becoming a car Mechanic, this was probably true… I’m sure they all deeply Regret to this day what happened – YOU ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON YOU WERE AS A TEENAGER 20 years ago (16, 17, 18 respectively) but realise (due to their luck & good fortune) that in the event of absolutely NO DNA or forensic evidence linking them to it, their only hope is to DENY RESPONSIBILITY completely in the hope of being set free one day…
So, in conclusion – do I believe the West Memphis 3 are guilty? YES I DO. Why? Because Circumstantial evidence surrounds them & never at any real point did any of them DENY their involvement at the time, just stared & looked around blankly (& guiltily). Even watching them shackled up at the end of Paradise lost, they do not look particularly scared, more resigned to their fate…
Do I believe they should be set free & Echols death penalty over-turned? YES. Why? Because for almost 20 years they have languished in Maximum Security prisons for a crime they may or may not have committed as teenagers, which I’m sure they are all deeply Sorry for, but will never admit even if it meant a reprieve or lower sentence by grassing on each other. People do change & after 20 years (I am of the same age as the West Memphis 3) everybody deserves a 2nd chance. Maybe not a 45 year old child rapist, but these 3 were stupid, poor disaffected teenagers with no hope, no prospects & nothing better to do. Drunk & trying to impress each other with their ‘evilness’, that ‘how far can you go notion?” I believe the attack was not planned, but a chance encounter which was a culmination of all the bad, sad & mad influences in the lives of all three. In the case of Echols & Baldwin, they were creative, artistically-talented ‘Trailer Trash’ born on the poverty line from broken homes, who in any other circumstances may have gone onto greater things: Echols a Writer & Baldwin an Artist. MissKelley on the other hand, I’ll say it again, was an honest, generally well-liked, easily led, compliant “dipshit” fond of drinking & fighting who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with two even more socially f**ked up youths. That’s why he ‘fessed up – he was the least culpable of the 3, but in witnessing, not doing anything to stop it, & capturing & beating Michael Moore for Echols & Baldwin to finish off, he confessed probably through a guilty conscience – & because he could live with himself knowing he didn’t actually do the damage that killed the 3 boys (he left the scene early). As well as Baldwin’s apparent removal of Christopher Byers penis & testicles, which he then allegedly put in his mouth & sucked (again another twisted daring schoolboy ‘prank’ gone horribly wrong, ‘Lord of the Flies’ anyone?) it seems Echols was fond of Blondes, as in Misskelley’s statement, he apparently sodomized Stevie Branch as well as sticking his ‘thing’ in 1 or more of their mouths & instigating fellatio. Who did exactly what may never be known, but they are pretty detailed & lurid descriptions from the mouth of someone who is apparently “mentally retarded” & can barely remember his own name or what time it is…
So – FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE? YES. When? They have served their time & would be free in England by now (a la Robert Thompson & John Venables) Due to the circumstances surrounding the case, the age of the accused at the time & their lucky lack of evidence – they tick all the boxes for a classic ‘MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE’ but that does not mean that they DIDN’T do it. I believe after all this time, they should be given a 2nd chance as I am sure they have suffered enough in prison already & deserve a chance at freedom. Only they, & they alone, know what really happened & that is something they will have to live with for the rest of their natural lives, guilty or not.
Copyright: Ash Browne. May 2011
Wow…okay…you just got a new fan. My metal friends have been dogging me over this case and I just could not come down on the “WM3 innocent” side. I wanted to. Hell yeah, I wanted to be jovial and excited and on the Depp, Vedder, Manson, Rollins team but it just wasn’t happening for me. The more I read, the worse it got.
If this info that you’re posting doesn’t stop supporters dead in their tracks then nothing will.
That ice axe info – what can I say? You nailed it. Straight up gave me the chills. THANK YOU for some sanity. (I usually only get that from Jon Stewart) Looking forward to more – K
Thanks K and welcome to BOC.
B
Damien Echols seems to me to be incapable of showing emotion, very cold personality is how he comes across…
Any knowledge of this case I have, came from here and the two paradise lost documentaries and I have yet to see a reference to any alibis these three may have given. If they weren`t present when the murders were committed, where were they and can this be verified or discounted? Even if one of them had a solid alibi then it blows this whole case open which obviously means none of them had a solid alibi. There are more things pointing to guilt than there is to innocence.
Is there any way that illegal plea deal can be withdrawn and a new trial ordered? If convicted a second time they should all be given the death penalty. Animals.
Under 1993 statutes we are pretty much done here. Not one of them had a verifiable alibis that held up.
B
@Ash, 44:
This is a new wrinkle, and one I suspect soon to catch fire: celebrities or at least more prominent supporters who simultaneously acknowledge guilt and applaud the release.
You might want to consider this from a former death row inmate who now works for prisoner rights: http://www.capitalpunishmentbook.com/?p=620
To summarize Mr. Sinclair, the State of Arkansas never anticipated any of these three would be back on the streets. One was on death row, two locked up for life. Any attempt at rehabilitation would have been pointless. Therefore, apparently none were treated for their substance abuse. Their violence was not addressed. Echols’ long history of severe psychosis was ignored. In otherwise, nothing was done.
So these three are back amongst us. You may be happy, but what about those who cross paths with them? I’m afraid this will not end well. I hope to be wrong, but the odds are at least eighty percent I am not.
Thanks for that link, well done piece, I commented over there.
This is one for Dr. Drew Pinsky.
I will say that it should be noted that none of these three had any sort of transition to life outside of incarceration training I am aware of.
B
Is there any documentation as to what Damien was prescribed on 5/5/93? Was it a new drug? Any investigation into abuse of his meds? In other words, did his mother pick up a new prescription due to a new need, or his running out of his monthly script too soon?
He was given a 90 day script previously, same meds, although there is some confusion in his records as to what he was on, the script was definitely written and dropped at the pharmacy on may 5, 1993.
It is important to note that Damien’s parents were only back 6 weeks from Oregon, and he previously walked to his appointments or I believe his grandmother took him to one. In Pam Echol’s first statement, she said Joe Hutchison left the family the night of May 4, and got all of his stuff out by 9PM, “in one car trip”.
The car was registered to him, and he worked midnight to 8 am, so I can’t see how Pam Echols had access to a car in the first place, as she said they split for 2 weeks.
In his testimony, Damien said he simply could not remember what he did that day and it was determined at the time the pharmacy could only say when the script was dropped off, not picked up (if medicaid was paying I don’t get that, but anyway) so it is unclear if he took them that day or not.
Can a minor pick up their own script of this nature in 1993?
B
@Blink, bold, 42:
Something that rung true about Dr. Woods’ affidavit was that Echols was assisted by his state mental health providers in his disability application. This is commonplace, and in the state’s interests because it can lead to federal reimbursement for services. The state hospital employees would have known what helps–hence, the boilerplate fast track terms such as “homicidal”–and what hurts in a mental illness case–a history of physical labor such as a roofer. What is termed the “residual functional capacity” is not as greatly diminished by mental illness if the work is manual labor, which is to say just because the mind may be bad the body continues to have the capacity to work.
That’s not to say the mental health providers told Echols to omit the roofer job, but they could have mentioned that a history of manual labor might work against him so Echols avoided mention of it. That’s obviously a guess but one based on personal observation.
I absolutely agree those were progress notes given how terse and cursory they were. It remains open what day Echols was evaluated, but this excerpt from the testimony of Pam (Echols) Hutchison, courtesy of Callahan’s, may corroborate it was indeed the same day of the murder:
” Davidson: Ok. Now, I’d like to go particularly to May 5th of 1993, do you recall that day?
“Hutchison: Yes sir, I think so.
“Davidson: Uh, could you tell us about that date and what you did and what you know your son may have done uh, just start us out on that day, start us out in that morning and tell us a little bit about what happened.
“Hutchison: Well, in the morning, I got him up because Damien had a doctor’s appointment that day. So, I believe it was around 10 when I got him up. And he had to go to the doctor around 10:30 or 11, so I took him to the doctor and it was about 20 minutes until 1 before we got out of there. And then I carried him uh, out to Lakeshore and dropped him off about 1:00.”
Of course, anything she says can be discounted given the attempts to alibi her son failed so miserably. Nonetheless, I don’t see any need to lie about this early in the day. “Doctor’s appointment” may have been used broadly and simply meant to pick up the prescription, also.
Agreed, but I did note that on one of his hospitalization records Alderson roofing was listed as an employer.
IIRC, Echols personal interview with the SSDB person, was prior to the requests for more medical info from his prior care. It is redacted as to the specific query though.
B
@jack dobson 42
http://callahan.8k.com/images/500/4/481.jpg
I understand what you are saying, he applied for SSI in February 1993 and he couldn’t have received a determination letter and or payments in the three months before the killings. Dr. Woods based his evaluation on hearsay.http://callahan.8k.com/documents_az.html#goowds You would think he would have actually wanted to see a copy of the determination letter.
juls, he references that, and he further states that Echols continued to receive those disability checks “to this day”. I do not see how you could swear to that without having been provided some sort of proof- which if true, makes this a “whole notha brand of seedy.”
B