Nice. So anyone that believes they are guilty can't possibly have above average intelligence? That's simply a ridiculous statement.
You see every piece of evidence in whichever way benefits the 3. You ignore Jessie's multiple confessions and blame them on "corrupt and unethical police tactics." You subscribe to the "Manhole Theory" that sounds like something a person wearing a tinfoil hat would spout. You say the softball game confession was sarcasm. I say it was a confession. Just like Jessie's confessions.
You are entitled to your
opinion as I am entitled to mine. However, since not one shred of physical evidence has yet been produced to support your opinion, and at least two shreds of physical evidence (two hairs and two footprints) have been produced to support my opinion, I can't help but conclude that my opinion is superior. That's just the way I see things in this case.
This thread was started to discuss false confessions. IMO, Jessie's statements (all of them) were in fact false confessions. Over the years, as the article I provided a link to discusses, many innocent people have been unjustly convicted by false confessions. With the advent of DNA testing, thankfully many of these unjust convictions are now being overturned.
Jessie's statements were coerced false confessions. The first one was so fraught with errors that it had to be "corrected" before an arrest warrant would be issued by a judge. The statements made post-conviction,
after listening to the State's case, still contained substantial errors, even based on the interpretation of the evidence at the time. They completely fall apart based on the evidence as now interpreted.
Damien's statement (if he made it) was either pure sarcasm or said for shock value. As a retired teacher, I can see that even if you can't. The police had Damien in their sights early on in this case. They interviewed him as early as May 7th. That is why I feel that corrupt and unethical practice by the police could have easily been involved.
Although denied on the stand (police can lie, too - corruption), I believe that they knew that Jessie was slow. In a town the size of West Memphis, everyone would know who the "Special Ed" kids that rode the "short bus" were. They originally called him in to question him about Damien Echols because they had information (from convicted felon and then WM juvenile officer Jerry Driver) that he was the guilty party. They wanted to make a case against him. Jessie was an easy target (unethical behavior) who they coerced into a false confession because they wanted to "get" Damien Echols (more corrupt and unethical practices and just not good police work to boot).
As to the Manhole Theory, I believe that it is a very plausible explanation of the crime. It might be slightly off in a few points (I don't think so, but it's possible), but it offers an acceptable explanation of why no blood was found at the discovery site. The State's lame explanations are, in a word, ludicrous.
Three trench-coat-wearing teens could not have walked around in a small town like West Memphis carrying a sheet of Visqueen without someone seeing them. That explanation for the lack of blood at the scene is totally ludicrous. If the teens stored the blood in jars for later use, why weren't these jars of blood found in any of their homes? That, too, is ludicrous.
So, the only thing that makes sense is that the discovery site is not the scene of the crime. The WM police didn't think that the discovery site was the scene of the crime (because of the lack of blood and other evidence) until Jessie told his story. Then, in order to arrest Damien, they had to go with what Jessie said. Again, IMO that constitutes unethical police practices.
Do you contend that corruption and unethical practices are not possible in a police department? If so, then I could site lots of evidence to prove otherwise; one recent case in CA comes readily to mind. If you believe that corruption and unethical behavior are possible in a police department, why do you think that the WMPD is immune to such? I just hope that the WMPD does the right thing after the new trials for the WM3 are ordered in December and drops all charges against the WM3 and charges, arrests and prosecutes the
real killer of those three little boys.