Directed by: Amy Berg.
I have now seen four documentaries
about the West Memphis 3 – the three Paradise Lost films directed by Joe Berlinger
and Bruce Sinofsky made between 1996 and 2011, and now Amy Berg’s West of
Memphis made in 2012. Of them all, I still think the original Paradise Lost
from 1996 is the best. When Berlinger and Sinofsky went down to make the film,
they assumed, like everyone else, the three were guilty and they would be
making a film about how three teenagers murdered three younger boys. What they
found though didn’t add up. There was no evidence, aside from a confession got
out of the slowest of the three boys, who recanted. Other than that, the entire
case seemed to be built on smoke and mirrors. And it is also unquestionable
that without that film, they rest would not have been made. Pretty much
everyone who became involved in the case over the years became involved BECAUSE
of that documentary. Having said that, I think that West of Memphis is probably
the most complete single film about the case. It has the benefit of hindsight,
and the years of research and investigation into the original case and shows
you precisely what did happen. Even after four documentaries about the case –
not to mention an excellent book about it – I’m still learning things.
The story is now familiar to most
people – it has become one of the most well-known true crime stories in recent
American history. Three eight year boys were found beaten, bound and murdered
in a shallow creek. The police have no real leads, but think that the crime
might have something to do with Satan worship. They focus on Damien Echols, a
“strange” teenager in town, who dresses all in black, and is said to worship
Satan – as well as his two friends – Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. The
story becomes huge in the small town, and begins to attract national attention.
After hours of interrogation, Jessie confesses to helping Jason and Damien kill
the three boys. His confession is splashed all over the front page of the
paper. It is also riddled with mistakes and inconsistencies that the detectives
help him remember correctly. He later recants his confession, and refuses to
testify against Damien and Jason – who are to be tried separately. There is no
physical evidence tying any of the three of them to the murders. Despite this,
all three are convicted, and Damien is sentenced to death.
The movie opens with a recap of the
case from back in 1994 – including gruesome crime scene footage and
descriptions, that quite frankly, are hard to stomach, but necessary. It then
goes over what has happened in the 18 years since then – the celebrities who
became involved in trying to free the West Memphis Three – from Eddie Vedder to
Johnny Depp to the Dixie Chicks to Peter Jackson (who produced this film, and
also gave lots of money in order to hire appeals lawyers and investigators to
help out) – as well as the “regular” people who became involved – including a
woman named Laurie who ended up falling in love and marrying Damien. The film
also supplies an alternate theory of the crime.
For years, the most likely suspect was
thought to be John Mark Byers – the stepfather of one of the murdered boys. He
was front and center in the first two Paradise Lost movies (especially the
second one, which is admittingly the weakest of the three) – and certainly did
himself no favors, with his over the top grieving and hate filled tirades
against the West Memphis Three, not to mention some apparent slip ups. But in
one of the ironies of this case, many focused on him solely because he “seemed”
like the type of person who WOULD do something like this – which is precisely
what got the West Memphis Three in trouble in the first place. There is no
evidence against him, and no one really believes he did it anymore. That person
is now Terry Hobbs – another stepfather – and there actually is some evidence
to support this claim – a hair found in one of the knots that bound the
murdered boys for example. Whether or not he did it, you’ll have to decide for
yourself based on what the movie shows. It is clear there will never be a true
investigation into him by the police or the prosecutors, who insist they
convicted the right three people.
And that is sad thing about this case.
What has become clear enough for pretty much everyone to except – that the West
Memphis Three are innocent and served 18 years in prison for something they
didn’t do, is what the police and prosecutors – not to mention the original
judge – will never admit. When it became clear that the three were going to get
new trials, the prosecutors came up with a deal for the three of them. In one
of the strangest pleas I can imagine, the West Memphis Three were allowed to
maintain their innocence, while admitting that the prosecution had enough
evidence to convict them - and were
allowed to go free. This was presented as a Win-Win for all involved. The
Prosecution technically got guilty pleas, and are able to close the case,
maintaining they convicted the right three people, and they spent years in jail
for the crime, and also protect themselves and the state from any lawsuits the
three may file. The West Memphis Three got to get out of jail, and not spend
years longer waiting for a new trial, where there was no guarantee they would
be found not guilty. Win Win, right?
Except it isn’t a w in win, because the
real killer or killers of those three innocent boys is still out there. The
prosecution and police don’t care, because they have protected their own asses.
But is that really their job? Isn’t their job to find, convict and punish the
guilty, and get some level of justice for the victims and their families? The
case of the West Memphis Three is one of injustice – injustice because three
innocent kids spent 18 years in jail for something they didn’t do, going in
when they were teenagers and coming out as they approach middle age. And
injustice because someone killed three innocent children, and will never face
justice for it. There is no happy ending to a case like this.
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