SURPRISE HEARING Friday 18th August

[guardangel]

So if these convictions were so right why would the state even agree to the Alford Pleas?
They gain nothing but open themselves up for criticism that they let three murders walk free.

The very nature of the plea allows the defendant to proclaim innocence-they are guilty on paper only and free to bring evidence to completely overturn the original convictions.

Yes yes and yes.

The convictions were wrong, naseautingly wrong.

This plea like you posted allows the men to get on with their lives without the nonsenscical guilty verdict being over their heads.

NOW the state needs to find out who killed 3 innocent litte boys.

 

[guardangel]

OKAY, now why don't you explain to me DISGUSTED why the STATE OF ARKANSAS would ever in their right mind SET 3 COLD BLOODED KILLERS FREE if it wasn't for them knowingly having the WRONG individuals incarcerated? AND if they TRULY believed them to Be Guilty that they would set them FREE? PLEASE let's get on the program here and admit the State of Arkansas made the Best Deal for themselves and let them??? What do you truly think happened to make this occur? Sorry for my rambling, however, I am still in complete SHOCK that this happened.... I almost wish they would have hold out for the Evidentiary Hearing so they could have been fully ACQUITTED, but the State of Arkansas has a HARD ON and was probably never going to let go of them? Think About if it WAS YOU or YOUR FAMILY MEMBER that they got ahold of and would never let go?? Take Care and Respectfully, JMHO!! Ann :great::rocker::woohoo:

:great::woohoo:

 

[JBounds]

Wow, you fans are way behind on this case. I'd suggest you do your own research, which you clearly have not. How about for starters you learn about who Jason Baldwin confessed to. Learn that the person he confessed to PASSED a lie detector test about the confession.

The list goes on and on. You wm3 fans don't even have a rudimentary knowledge of this case. It's actually shocking, I thought people here would know more....

Oh, and here's Miskelly's FOURTH confession, AFTER conviction, and AFTER his attorney's tell him he can get a new trial and get off the hook. This is a man clearing his conscience:

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jmfeb.html

That's it for me on this one here. You deniers are so far behind, and I don't feel like doing the work for you.

Miskelley was Mis-used. His first confession was after his dad was told he could get a $35,000 reward and then suddenly Miskelley confesses. I've been following this case for 18 years myself and know plenty. Don't understand your point really. And now...since they are free. They were innocent and had been judged wrongly on so many levels. A rush to judgement is an understatement.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

If they were not guilty then why did they plead to a crime they have evidence to clear them immediately?

I know some folks on here support the convicted murders, but NOT ALL DO...

Pork Chop has a really good post on this. Honestly, it could really take years. As I posted about Earl Washington here in my state a few pages back, DNA tests revealed that the real killer was someone else, and this got Earl off of death row, but it still took an additional 9 years to free him.

I have done a lot of work on innocence cases over the years and I have seen innocent people walk out of prison personally. I have a serious problem with wrongful conviction, but this does not mean that I am soft on crime. In fact, quite the opposite. I am working on a criminal justice degree as we speak. And when a person is wrongfully convicted, every effort should be made by the public to ensure that these people are released and that they are educated completely on the situation, because when it happens, you are left with a false sense of security while a murderer is still walking the streets.

 

[Amster]

I don't know enough about this case to make a determination of guilt or innocence so please understand I'm not asking this question to offend you or provoke a particular response. Having said that, Amster: How can you be so convinced "the one from death row" (Damien Echols) is guilty when you apparently don't even know his name?

I know his name...I chose not to type it in the same post as I posted his victims names.

 

[askfornina]

I know his name...I chose not to type it in the same post as I posted his victims names.

i have not followed this case at all, but since the news today i have been following this thread. i have to ask here, why do you believe they are guilty?

 

[21merc7]

This is not a complete list of people found innocent while on death row, just a list I found. It is not large enough, but too large at that. You can click each name to see what was found. It has not been updated since last October, but it will bring a small bit of understanding I suppose. Sadly, I understand more and cannot put it all in words correctly or here. And, like HRCODEPINK, I am far from thinking everyone innocent, I talk to at least 100 criminals a day, everyday for over the nearly 20 years where I work. I have heard and seen things that most hope are only in films.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row

 

[JBean]

PLEASE LEAVE THE SNARK AT THE DOOR.
This is an emotional, heated topic. if you can't discuss without personally insulting one another then move to another area of the forum where you can keep it in check.


This is the only warning that will be posted.

Please alert on offending posts.

this post lands randomly on the thread.

I really meant it when I said this was the only warning I was going to give. This includes name calling and generally being a chit disturber trying to bait arguments.

Time outs are being given to those that offend and the thread will be reviewed later for posts that have not been alerted on.

if no one has alerted your post yet and you have time to edit, I highly recommend.

Thank you very much. This is really an incredible turn of events and it should be discussed!

 

[IrishMist]

I am so glad they are out of prison! This partially restores my faith that good guys win, and bad guys lose; that faith was severely damaged after the Casey Anthony trial. (That verdict bothered me much more than it should have.)

I say partially restores because I think it's bull-oney that they had to take a Alford plea to get it done. I don't blame them one bit - I would have done the same in a heartbeat- but the case needs to be investigated, and these men deserve to be compensated for their lost years.

As much as I hope Casey doesn't make big money on the media circuit, or by writing a book; and as much as I'll absolutely refuse to watch or buy anything where she might profit, I will do the exact opposite for the WM3.

I hope they are able to pull together a life for themselves. And I wish that the true murderer will be caught. For now, for tonight? I will just be happy that they are out. :woohoo:

 

[JBean]

I am so glad they are out of prison! This partially restores my faith that good guys win, and bad guys lose; that faith was severely damaged after the Casey Anthony trial. (That verdict bothered me much more than it should have.)

I say partially restores because I think it's bull-oney that they had to take a Alford plea to get it done. I don't blame them one bit - I would have done the same in a heartbeat- but the case needs to be investigated, and these men deserve to be compensated for their lost years.

As much as I hope Casey doesn't make big money on the media circuit, or by writing a book; and as much as I'll absolutely refuse to watch or buy anything where she might profit, I will do the exact opposite for the WM3.

I hope they are able to pull together a life for themselves. And I wish that the true murderer will be caught. For now, for tonight? I will just be happy that they are out. :woohoo:

:wave:

 

[SyraKelly]

I am so glad they are out of prison! This partially restores my faith that good guys win, and bad guys lose; that faith was severely damaged after the Casey Anthony trial. (That verdict bothered me much more than it should have.)

I say partially restores because I think it's bull-oney that they had to take a Alford plea to get it done. I don't blame them one bit - I would have done the same in a heartbeat- but the case needs to be investigated, and these men deserve to be compensated for their lost years.

As much as I hope Casey doesn't make big money on the media circuit, or by writing a book; and as much as I'll absolutely refuse to watch or buy anything where she might profit, I will do the exact opposite for the WM3.

I hope they are able to pull together a life for themselves. And I wish that the true murderer will be caught. For now, for tonight? I will just be happy that they are out. :woohoo:

I am happy to-and I hope they can adjust to life on the outside-they have a long road ahead of them-but I think they will all make it!!!

 

[guardangel]

I am so glad they are out of prison! This partially restores my faith that good guys win, and bad guys lose; that faith was severely damaged after the Casey Anthony trial. (That verdict bothered me much more than it should have.)

I say partially restores because I think it's bull-oney that they had to take a Alford plea to get it done. I don't blame them one bit - I would have done the same in a heartbeat- but the case needs to be investigated, and these men deserve to be compensated for their lost years.

As much as I hope Casey doesn't make big money on the media circuit, or by writing a book; and as much as I'll absolutely refuse to watch or buy anything where she might profit, I will do the exact opposite for the WM3.

I hope they are able to pull together a life for themselves. And I wish that the true murderer will be caught. For now, for tonight? I will just be happy that they are out. :woohoo:

Great post IrishMist.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

I am happy to-and I hope they can adjust to life on the outside-they have a long road ahead of them-but I think they will all make it!!!

I think that they are going to do just fine. :great: One of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life was being there when someone was released after being in for nearly as long as they were. He was a little nervous and felt kind of weird. I had to explain to him what a digital alarm clock was because "[he] ain't never seen an alarm clock like that!" He had a scary moment when the automatic doors at the hotel opened on their own and I had to explain to him that the clerk at 7-11 had not ripped him off and given him counterfeit money when they gave him the new state quarters. But I attended his wedding a year and a half later and he was doing amazing. I have full faith in these guys. They are still young compared to most who wrongfully imprisoned for nearly 20 years.

ETA: You get a whole new perspective of what you take for granted when you meet someone who hasn't been in the real world for years.

 

[chasing.halos]

This is TMZ so take it for what it is worth, lol:

... Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin went right from court to a nearby Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles ... while Jessie Misskelley went home to spend some time with his family.

http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/19/west-...amien-echols-jessie-misskelley-jason-baldwin/

 

[Flossie JMO]

I wonder where they will live now?

Can you imagine having a neighbor who was convicted of multiple murder of 3 little boys (one being mutilated) living next door to you?

I think that would make me feel very uncomfortable and restless at night.

I wonder what kind of backlash they will face in the community.

I believe they murdered those little boys and do so by their plea of guilty like the prosecutor said. I don't understand why people are saying they are innocent when they just gave a plea of GUILTY?

JMO would not bother me, I know in my heart they are innocent JMO

 

[HRCODEPINK]

This is TMZ so take it for what it is worth, lol:




http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/19/west-...amien-echols-jessie-misskelley-jason-baldwin/

That sounds standard. After all the press conferences and stuff we had to take Earl to the DMV, because he had no ID and he needed one to do anything. Funny thing is, the state released him with his few belongings and a check for $25.00, whoohoo! Of course, he couldn't cash the check because he had no ID and he couldn't get the ID until I gave him money.

 

[Wishbone]

This is TMZ so take it for what it is worth, lol:




http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/19/west-...amien-echols-jessie-misskelley-jason-baldwin/

I will take this with a grain of salt. I can think of many other things those men would want to do as soon as they were released. Also, why get an Ark license. I would think they need to get far away from there........

 

[deelytful1]

This is not a complete list of people found innocent while on death row, just a list I found. It is not large enough, but too large at that. You can click each name to see what was found. It has not been updated since last October, but it will bring a small bit of understanding I suppose. Sadly, I understand more and cannot put it all in words correctly or here. And, like HRCODEPINK, I am far from thinking everyone innocent, I talk to at least 100 criminals a day, everyday for over the nearly 20 years where I work. I have heard and seen things that most hope are only in films.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row

Thanks for this.
Strange, we have double jeopardy so that even if after a trial, evidence is found to blatantly convict a person, they can not be re-tried BUT we don't have an equivalent amendment that states if evidence is found to blatantly exonerate a person they will be granted an immediate new trial (or freedom). I'm assuming with the development of DNA evidence as a forensic tool, things in this area have gotten somewhat better than it used to be, but evidently not even close to being good enough.
Really, very unfair (to say the least).

 

[Cremcraw]

Hi everyone,

I came to this case years ago via Paradise Lost. This case hit several of my hot-button issues: people taking advantage of misfit kids, abuse of authority,miscarriages of justice, and more. I read Mara Leveritt's fascinating book, and had hoped for years that this day would come.

Several years ago, I decided to devote myself to the case and try to speak out and fight for these three. I decided to begin by immersing myself in the case, reading everything I could get my hands on - and there was a remarkable amount of information, due almost entirely to the wonderful Callahan's site.

An odd thing happened as I continued to read the investigation reports, interviews, and court transcripts: I began to strongly believe that they were guilty. The more I read, the clearer this seemed to be the case. I visited the major "non" board (down by the farm), but generally found the main posters there to be foul and bloodthirsty individuals. I did not want to subject to such garbage, so I've pretty much removed myself from consideration of the case since then.

Over the last few months, I have read about movement in the case, and went to see if there was any new info. I did find a well-written and sober (though opinionated) assessment of the case from a non perspective at this site: http://wm3truth.com/ I recommend it to anyone wanting to see why some (like myself) are sickened by this turn of events.

I sincerely hope that the WM3 are innocent, and that some great wrong has thus been righted. I don't believe this is the case, though, and (the worst part) I doubt anyone will ever know for certain. Rest in peace, Michael, Steve and Christopher.

 

[SyraKelly]

I am not trying to be rude, snarky or offend anyone when I say this-there was NO evidence found at the crime scene linking the 3 guys-all the state had was a confession from a mentally challenged teenager-in order to understand what happened today-you have to understand the legal system..The 3 did not really have a choice but do what they did today..I would not have risk other trail by the same county that put me away for 18 on just a CONFESSION by a MC teenager..I would have taken the deal to!!
Please know this is MOO!!