SURPRISE HEARING Friday 18th August

[Hopeful One]

I can't even begin to imagine what the men are feeling. In prison for 18 years and now they can go to the grocery store, go see a movie, go to the beach. So much has changed since the mid-90s, I'm sure they will in a bit of culture shock.

I hope they can overcome it. I hope they can all get decent jobs and become contributing members to society. The odds are stacked against them after having been locked up for 18 years and being convicted murderers. It's really sad. They truly are victims.

 

[Hopeful One]

BBM

Huh? I have to admit that other than watching whatever came on TV, I have not followed this case closely in about 5 years, but I have never, EVER heard that any of the defendants confessed besides Jessie. Not being snarky. Just asking to be pointed in a direction of when Damien or Jason ever confessed to this crime. TIA

You're right, no one but Jessie confessed.

 

[Compassionate Reader]

At the time of the crimes, Damien was the only one who was 18. I believe that it's against the law to sentence a minor to death.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

I remember a case from the IP book, new evidence (dna) came up after the legally allowed time in one state. Another man had recently been exonerated in the next state.

The judge asked the DA who was fighting the DNA evidence being allowed in to a hearing what they would have done in the case that exonerated the man. She said "we wouldn't have had that problem, you can't bring new evidence after *advertiser censored* months" paraphrase but close to exact.

My jaw dropped.

I wonder if that was Earl's case. Sounds an awful lot like what we do here in Virginia. We have a rule that is called the 21 day rule. It is rule 1.1 of the Virginia Supreme court which states:

"All final judgments, orders and decrees, irrespective of court, shall remain under the control of the trial court and subject to be modified, vacated, or suspended, for twenty-one days after the date of entry, and no longer. Notwithstanding the finality of the judgment, in a criminal case the trial court may postpone execution of the sentence in order to give the accused an opportunity to apply for a writ of error and supersedes such postponement, however, shall not extend the time limits hereinafter prescribed for applying for a writ of error. The date of entry of any final judgment, order or decree shall be the date the judgment, order or decree is signed by the judge."

What this means is, if someone finds evidence (until recently, including DNA) that proves your innocence, it has to be admitted within 21 days of your trial ending. Anything after that is inadmissible in court. And for the old cases, where there was DNA, but it wasn't tested because the case was before DNA (we have 3 such cases here that are a big deal) too bad! VA only saves the evidence a short time, in Norfolk, that is only 3 years, so if the state destroyed your DNA you are out of luck!

When challenging this rule, our former attorney general said, and I quote "evidence of innocence is irrelevant."

 

[Amster]

I am very glad that Fox News has ignored this story.

 

[pdxmama]

I am very glad that Fox News has ignored this story.

It's actually on the front page of their website and they had a breaking news banner up during the presser.

http://www.foxnews.com/index.html

 

[liljim]

if you just keep repeating something that is incorrect over and over it does not become true, the 3 did not admit that they committed these crimes today, that point is not even debatable.

 

[Hopeful One]

I am very glad that Fox News has ignored this story.

Really? No matter whether you believe in guilt or innocence, it's still pretty big news.

 

[Tricksy]

To those who think a confession alone is enough proof of guilt, I would just like to give this example as a word of warning.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Lesley_Molseed"]Murder of Lesley Molseed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Stefan Kiszko confessed under coercion to the murder of Lesley Molseed in 1975 and was jailed in 1976. He was eventually exonerated due to forensics in 1992 and then the true murderer was jailed in 2007. Sadly Stefan Kiszko died of a heart attack in 1993.

 

[gitana1]

Nope ,because I would be admitting they had evidence to convict me (based on definitions posted here) Which I am under the impression there is no evidence SO why would I plea saying there is?

If I was the attorney for one of the three and believed wholeheartedly in their innocence, I would encourage them to take the deal. If I were one of the three and KNEW I was innocent, I would take the deal, at this point. Grudgingly, kicking and screaming, but I would.

More than half their lives were spent in prison. It's easy to idealistically state you would rather remain on death row for something you never did than plead guilty for a crime you did not commit, but the reality of our justice system and the decades more they would likely spend in prison if they chose the "principled" route would change most people's minds.

I get where you are coming from. I used to think I would NEVER, EVER admit to something I had never done. But I am not in prison. And remember, the plea is not that they are guilty in fact but that they agree the prosecution may be able to convict them again. As the prosecutor stated, it allows them to maintain their innocence.

You're right, no one but Jessie confessed.

That's right. There were no multiple confessions to multiple people. Never happened. One confession by a mentally challenged teen who was told he could go home if he confessed. He recanted immediately,

 

[Steely Dan]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/19/arkansas.child.killings/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

'West Memphis 3' freed in child killings after 18 years
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 19, 2011 2:46 p.m. EDT

Jonesboro, Arkansas (CNN) -- Three men who served 18 years in prison for a 1993 triple-slaying in West Memphis, Arkansas, walked free Friday to cheers from a supportive crowd after entering new pleas in the case.

"I want to be out. I deserve to be out," said Jason Baldwin, who along with Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr., was freed after entering rarely used pleas in which they maintained their innocence but acknowledged that prosecutors have evidence to convict them....

:great::great::great:

 

[HRCODEPINK]

multiple confessions to multiple people by multiple defendants including one who's attorney was present and begging him not to confess is not evidence now?

Also, again, not being snarky, but if I recall correctly (and I may be wrong, since it has been a long time since I have followed the case closely) the confession of the one defendant, Jessie, was not allowed to be entered in evidence against them at trial because Jessie refused to testify against the others.

I think that I also remember hearing that in addition to the hours and hours of interrogation, his father was going to go out and buy a new truck, because there was going to be a reward for Jessie if he told what he knew (which they coached him on), but I am not certain on this part. Just remember hearing something about this part in a recent TV show.

Here is the information on a lawsuit for Earl Washington Jr, one of the cases that I mentioned above:

"Washington's conviction in the 1982 rape and murder of 19-year-old Rebecca Williams, a young mother from Culpeper, was largely the result of a false confession in which he got several key details wrong. Last year, a federal jury in Charlottesville ruled that a now-deceased Virginia State Police investigator fabricated parts of that confession."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/27/AR2007032702240.html

 

[Wishbone]

It's actually on the front page of their website and they had a breaking news banner up during the presser.

http://www.foxnews.com/index.html

Fox is talking about it right now and showing video

 

[Steely Dan]

The Alford plea is BS but at least it gets them out now. Maybe they'll be able to prove their innocence and get that expunged from their records.

 

[wfgodot]

And so, another example of the '80s-early '90s "Satanic ritual murder" scare bites the dust. It was a witch hunt which resulted in many unjust sentences and ruined lives, and was generally based on nothing more than rumor, scare tactics, and so-called "expert" testimony - just like the trials at Salem Village. Did no one read Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible"?

 

[LillieBelle]

I can't believe it happened. I was one of the ones that thought they would never be released....I wonder if this will lead to finding the true resolution to what happened to those little boys?

 

[smart blonde]

Lol, you are not confusing anyone. The politics of this is.

The State would never let these men free even on an Alford Plea if there was any evidence to convict them. They could all 3 just spend life in jail, and no deal would have been made. The original convictions would never have even been looked over. We would not be here today discussing this, as it would never happen otherwise.

This means there must be some new evidence that leads directly to someone else. We may find out about in a few months, after all of this dust settles and the State feels they are safe to proceed with a new trial, after any elections, after the confusion of this, and after the money issues calm a bit. At least I hope there will be a trial based on whatever the new evidence may be.

(BBM)

My money is on step-father Terry Hobbs. Much more evidence points to Terry Hobbs and his friend David Jacoby having committed these murders, in my opinion.

(I apologize for being a few pages behind the current posts on this thread).

 

[wannabedetective]

Also, again, not being snarky, but if I recall correctly (and I may be wrong, since it has been a long time since I have followed the case closely) the confession of the one defendant, Jessie, was not allowed to be entered in evidence against them at trial because Jessie refused to testify against the others.

I think that I also remember hearing that in addition to the hours and hours of interrogation, his father was going to go out and buy a new truck, because there was going to be a reward for Jessie if he told what he knew (which they coached him on), but I am not certain on this part. Just remember hearing something about this part in a recent TV show.

Here is the information on a lawsuit for Earl Washington Jr, one of the cases that I mentioned above:

"Washington's conviction in the 1982 rape and murder of 19-year-old Rebecca Williams, a young mother from Culpeper, was largely the result of a false confession in which he got several key details wrong. Last year, a federal jury in Charlottesville ruled that a now-deceased Virginia State Police investigator fabricated parts of that confession."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/27/AR2007032702240.html

I also believe that they indicated that he had recanted afterward which was another reason why it couldn't be admitted into evidence in the other trial.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

I am hoping that right now the State is working on whomever the evidence connects to. We know all those attorneys that have been working for these young men over the years will continue. I can think that right now maybe the State does not know the exact person, or more particularly, are not willing to divulge it due to heated publicity for themselves and perhaps the WM3.

I am thinking that the attorneys advised this deal to get the innocent out of jail asap, and to calm a few in the State down. Let the flames die down a bit, then get on with the clearing of the names/records once it is time to proceed.

Works for everyone, just takes time. I am trying to accept this deal, but I still don't like it, that is the way it is though.

I feel for the WM3 in that they do not have educations, work experience, and have spent their formative years in the most harsh of environments. It will be very, very difficult for them out here, along with the flames that will follow, even once they are fully cleared. I have hope for them that enough people that knew and could were there this long, they can try to help them along a bit further.

BBM

Unfortunately, I don't believe that they will ever look for anyone else unless they are forced to. To do so would be to admit that they were wrong.

 

[LunaticFringe]

When they asked Damien what he wanted to do after this and he said "rest"I was hoping he'd say he wanted to reunite with his son right away.I guess that will come in due time.His son resembles him quite a bit.I wonder what Seth thinks about this.

It's a bittersweet day as I can't imagine what Todd and Dana Moore are feeling.Sorry but Terry gets zero sympathy from me.Not saying he is the culprit, but he abused Stevie...and I will never think any different of him.JMB...well I just want him to quit talking all together.I do not trust him in the least.


I do not think Damien,Jason or Jessie killed the boys.I can see Jessie ending back up in the penitentary though.He's the one I can see getting into some serious trouble.He has a long road ahead of him.

Just wow...one day you are on death row...then you walk out into the real world.Overwhelming I'd imagine.