Paradise Lost 1 & 2 are obviously Biased Documentaries.
Feb 8th, 1994.
It was before the Prosecution had ever spoken to him:
Davis: It was our information that on the way down to the Department of Corrections on Friday, that he had spoken, talked continuously for a period of two to three hours, however long it took to get there, describing his involvement and even indicating to the officers that he was not shocked by what the jury did because he basically deserved the punishment he received. He talked constantly about what -- his involvement in the case. The officers advised me of that information and that's when I contacted Dan Stidham to see if we should go down there to discuss his client's options and if he did in fact want to testify.
We then rode down to the Department of Corrections on Tuesday. Mr. Stidham rode with me. Mr. Fogleman and Mr. Gitchell met us at Brinkley, and we went to Pine Bluff. At that time, Mr. Stidham talked with him for approximately ten or fifteen minutes, at which point he came out of the room, grabbed a Bible. went back in and -- this is my personal observation -- but approximately 30 to 45 minutes later Mr. Stidham exited. He was very upset, unnerved, just kept mumbling things -- "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I don't know what to do now."
Stidham denied this confession for years, until he was forced to present the tape to the current defense attorneys during Misskelley's recent rule 37 hearing:
Jonesboro Sun
Friday, November 21, 2008
Caught on tape: WM3 murderer described killings in graphic detail
By George Jared
JONESBORO - In a private audiotaped conversation with his attorney on Feb. 8, 1994, Jessie Lloyd Misskelley described in graphic detail how he and two cohorts tortured and killed three 8-year-old boys - one of whom may have still been alive when they were dumped into a West Memphis ditch.
The tape was played Thursday during a Rule 37 hearing in Jonesboro. Misskelley, Damien Echols and Charles Jason Baldwin, commonly referred to as the West Memphis Three, were convicted in the May 5, 1993, slayings of Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers.
A Rule 37 hearing is held when a convict claims his or her legal counsel was inadequate and seeks a new trial.
Prosecutor Brent Davis questioned Misskelley's trial attorney, Dan Stidham, who testified for a second day that he was too inexperienced to handle the case and lacked enough money to pay for expert testimony.
The conversation on the tape took place four days after Baldwin and Echols' trial began.
On the tape, Misskelley said he, Echols and Baldwin were drinking alcohol next to a ditch when the boys approached.
"Damien grabbed one of them and started hitting him," Misskelley told Stidham.
Within moments Misskelley and Baldwin attacked the other boys, he said. Misskelley said he let his boy go, and then Damien yelled "get him."
At one point Baldwin pulled out a knife and started cutting one of the victims, and Misskelley told his attorney, "That's when I realized they're going to kill these boys."
Baldwin repeatedly shook his head while the 90-minute long tape played in the courtroom. During a court recess, Baldwin held hands with a woman whom he refused to identify.
Before the attack was over, Misskelley said Echols sexually assaulted one of the victims, and Baldwin cut the genitals off another. Byers was still moving after he was bound like the others and dumped into a water-filled ditch, Misskelley said on the tape.
From the witness stand, Stidham said the confession "stunned" him.
But there were inaccuracies in Misskelley's account, his former attorney said. When shown a map of the area where the attack occurred, Misskelley incorrectly estimated the size of a pipe near the water, misidentified where a grove of trees was in relation to where the boys were sitting and didn't know exactly where the bodies were dumped, Stidham said.
DNA evidence found on a pair of one boy's pants was mentioned in the post-conviction conversation, but Misskelley never mentioned it during a 12-hour interrogation by police, the initial meeting in which he admitted guilt.
The pants were mentioned by Davis in his closing arguments during the trial, and Stidham said he thinks Misskelley pieced together a false confession from information he gleaned at the trial.
Just eight days later, Misskelley gave another confession to Davis in which he said there was no sexual assault, Stidham said.
About a month later Misskelley recanted both confessions and has maintained his innocence since, Stidham said.
Judge David Burnett, who is presiding over the hearing, was angered by Stidham's lengthy answers to some of Davis' questions.
"Can you answer a question without making a speech?" Burnett asked.
"I guess not," Stidham replied.
Davis continued to press Stidham about the quality of Misskelley's defense almost 15 years ago. Stidham said a jury selection expert helped him, and more than 300 witnesses were retained for trial. Alibis for Misskelley from 15 witnesses were also heard.
These and other facts made Davis believe that Stidman provided a thorough defense.
Stidham said some of his miscues included not admitting into evidence a letter written by Misskelley to his parents just days after his arrest. He thought that if the letter was admitted, Misskelley would have to testify.
Inconsistent statements by Misskelley throughout the summer and early fall prior to trial plagued the case, Stidham said. Misskelley repeatedly got victims, timelines and other information wrong in interviews.
From his arrest in June 1993 through that September, Misskelley said he was guilty and prosecutors had DNA evidence, Stidham said.
The attorney thought his only job would be to get a plea deal for his client.
When the DNA evidence returned inconclusive and Misskelley started claiming he was innocent, Stidham said he had to prepare for a trial he wasn't ready for.
Stidham believes his former client is not guilty.
"If I had an ego I wouldn't be admitting to these missteps in 1994," Stidham said.
Previously, Stidham said of Misskelley, "I failed him."