An American Injustice

On May 5, 1993, three eight-year-old boys were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The boys were stripped, bound, stabbed, and eventually tossed in a nearby creek. Three local teenagers were arrested and charged in connection to the murders despite an overwhelming lack of evidence against them. The subsequent trial was, in the only appropriate term, a witch hunt. From black clothing to poetry to heavy metal music, the prosecution (successfully) linked the deaths of Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers to the defendants using circumstantial evidence and allusions to witchcraft and Satanism.

As we approach the 15th anniversary of the crime, it's important that we reflect on the grave injustices within our criminal justice system. The West Memphis Three, as the defendants came to be called, remain incarcerated--Damien Echols, the supposed ringleader, is on death row. I first learned of the case while in high school. Several documentary filmmakers worked on a series of films about the murders, dubbed Paradise Lost. When I first viewed the film, I was 17 years old--about the same age as the accused when they were arrested. I, too, liked Metallica and Stephen King books, and some would have been correct to label my own short stories as "disturbing." Heavy metal, horror novels, and a creative mind wasn't enough to throw me in prison, but it was certainly enough to lock away Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley for life.

Some years later, it occurred to me that, at the time of the murders, I was the also the same age as the victims, too. The case haunted me, and I need to know more. I began researching the case, watching documentaries and reading books about it. I often seek updates on the WM3's website, and the last year has been promising for the Three. In December 2007, Larry King interviewed Damien Echols live from death row, a sign that change may be coming. As DNA evidence becomes more reliable, we can only hope that the West Memphis Three will be granted another day in court--this time, I pray they'll be exonerated. Sure, mistakes were made by local police and the community, but burying those mistakes out of embarrassment will only cost three more lives.

As the anniversary nears, I'll surely write again about this case. Until then, to quote from one of my favorite T-shirts, Free the West Memphis Three.