Just imagine being locked up in prison for years for a crime that you didn’t even commit! It sounds like a nightmare, right? But for the three boys, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley it was not a dream, it was in their real life.
In 1993, three 8-year-old boys’ bodies were found naked, beaten and brutally murdered in West Memphis. Everyone in the town was in shock, they were terrified like who could do such a horrific thing? The case became the most debated and controversial case and is known as the West Memphis Three case.
Nobody knows the truth, it’s like a case of misinformation, injustice, and fear. There were different debates related to the case but everyone wanted to know the real truth like were these three boys were guilty or if this was just injustice. Let’s just discuss the details of the case and then we will know whether they were guilty or something else.
Table of Contents
A Crime That Shook the Memphis Town
On May 5, 1993, Three 8-year-old boys, Strive Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Buyers went missing as their parents had not seen them. When they didn’t return home, their parents became worried and reported to the police about their missing. The next day searching started and one of the officers saw a black tennis shoe that was floating in the water and after looking they found one dead body and pulled it from the water.
After one hour, two more bodies of the boys were found. Their bodies were dead, naked, and tied with their own shoelaces in the Robin Hood Hills area. A large group of people were gathered there to report the news of their findings. All the people were shocked and different rumors started spreading. No one wants to believe that it was done by a human.
Investigations and Arrest
The three teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley became the prime suspects to the police. They were local teenagers and outsiders that were not linked to the dead bodies. But they became prime suspects because they were different or you can also say easy targets.
Damien was a seventeen-year-old boy and had psychiatric problems including depression. He had long hair, was dressed in black, read books about magic, and listened to Metallica and these were enough reasons for the police to consider him as a Satanist. Jason was Damien’s best friend and this was the only reason to make him guilty. Jessie Misskelley had mental issues and had a low IQ of 72, which is best for easy manipulation. So, these were the reasons for police to interrogate them and make them the prime suspects.
So, Damien was already guilty according to the police, and when the investigations started they began to question Jessie for 12 hours. Officers told him that there was a $35000 reward for the person who gave the information about the case, but Jessie did not have anything to tell them. As he had a low IQ, after hours of harsh questioning again and again, Jessie break the ice and begins to tell them what they wanted to hear; that he and his friends murdered those boys. All the efforts of police officers to manipulate Jessie wouldn’t go in vain.
But after the false confessions, Jessie regrets it saying: “I kept telling them, I didn’t know who did it but they kept saying that they knew I had something to do with it, because other people had told them. I had to go through the story again until I got it right. They shouted at me until I got it right”.
But after confessing the false crime, Jessie who was confused and worried still kept changing his story, he mentioned the wrong time of the crime and his confessions did not match with the evidence. But did the police care about this? Nope. They just got what they wanted and the West Memphis Three were arrested.
The courtroom was like a flop drama where there was no strong motive to talk about. The Police tried their best to prove that these three boys murdered were guilty but there was not a solid physical evidence. But they still got punished, why? Because of the false confession of Jessie and black clothes, music, and dark poems of Damien and the Satanic ritual. And these were enough for them to arrest them. Damien was sentenced to death, Jessie was sentenced to life plus 40 years and Jason was sentenced to life without the parole.
But Who was the Real Killer?
There was no physical evidence against West Memphis three, but they got arrested but who was the real killer? After years, when there were good technologies and advanced labs, the DNA testing was done, and found a hair at the crime scene that matched Terry Hobbs, who was the stepfather of one of the victims. And guess what? Terry Hobbs had a history of violence. Like seriously? Is this even real? Many people believed that it was Terry Hobbs who murdered those boys but no charge was filed against him. And still, those 3 boys spent their 18 years of life in prison., who were guilty or not no one knows!
The West Memphis Three case became so popular that it inspired different books, documentaries, and even Hollywood films. One of them is Devil’s Knot real story, this book was on the West Memphis case. This book was not to tell everyone the story, but it highlights the wrong investigations, false confessions, and how the real killers were never caught. Later in 2013, there was also a film on this book, that brought more attention to the case.
The Alford Plea
For so many years, people tried to support the innocent boys. Celebrities like Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder, and Peter Jackson used their social platforms to bring attention to the case. The 2011 HBO documentary Paradise Lost also exposed the flaws in the case.
After so many years, due to not any strong evidence and public pressure, the case reopens and the court needs to act. But instead of accepting their mistake, the court just responds with a “fine, but you still lose” move. Then the West Memphis Three were offered an Alford Plea, which means that you need to sign the statement that says, “ We maintain our innocence, but we admit that the court has enough evidence to punish us”. Sounds ridiculous, right? But the boys have no choice but to accept it to walk out of prison.
Where are the West Memphis Three now?
All three are working to clear their names and live a simple life. Damien writes books and practices meditation to heal, but he still has nightmares about his past. Jason Baldwin co-founded an organization after his release, in which he helps the wrongful convicted people and is involved in advocacy work. While Jessie Misskelley now tries to live a quiet life, he doesn’t even want to speak about what happened in the past.
Conclusion
The West Memphis Three case is a harsh example for us to know that how wrong allegations can ruin someone’s life. Whether it was bad police work, false confession, or Satanic ritual nonsense, these three boys pay the price. This injustice sparks a question in our mind that how many innocent people are still sitting in prison? So, after reading the whole story, what do you think, were they guilty or innocent?
FAQs
Who killed the West Memphis Three Victims?
The real killer has never been officially identified but the latest DNA report points out to Tery Hobbs, who is a step-father of one of the victims, but he was never charged. To this point, The real murders remain unknown.
Has the West Memphis Three Case Been Solved?
No, the case is still unsolved but the three boys were released from jail through an Alford plea but the actual killer is not yet identified.
Is there still a chance to prove them innocent?
Yes, in 2022, Damien requested a system to run a new DNA testing of evidence and hoping to fully clear their names but the process is very slow and still not done.
