What do you think about the West Memphis Three?

[AliceInPain]

I believe one of them is guilty 100%, one of them very likely guilty and an accomplice, one of them likely not guilty but present when it happened.
imo.

 

[herb4]

“Justice had nothing to do with this case, none of these kids, despite Misskelley’s false confession, none of them rolled over on the other. You don’t see that in jurisprudence and it didn’t happen in this case.”

Misskelley was an “easy target” for the West Memphis police because he suffered from intellectual disability. He was tested by a forensic psychologist who learned his IQ scores were as low as 65 and only as high as 72.

“At first when you look at Jessie, he doesn’t have the classic look of someone who might be mentally challenged. I couldn’t understand why this kid could not tell me what happened at the crime scene. All he could do was repeat the story he was coerced to tell. Jessie is the type of person who, anybody he confronts on a daily basis, is 95 to 98 percent intellectually superior to him. That includes all third-graders, police officers, judges, lawyers, and whoever else,” said Stidham. “He had no concept of the criminal justice system and certainly could not understand his Miranda rights.”

Stidham emphasized that these tragedies of corruption and negligence don’t just happen in Arkansas, they happen all around the country.
“There are estimates that one out of nine people on death row around the country are actually innocent,” he said.

Now there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the Arkansas Supreme Court recently ruled that new DNA testing can be sought in the WM3 case.
The new testing is M-Vac DNA testing which allows DNA material to be collected from areas that are difficult if not impossible to reach.

‘We can pull some DNA off of these shoelaces instead of having a partial DNA. We will actually have enough genetic markers to put that DNA to a profile and perhaps get a hit. It will take the guesswork out. These kids deserve this and the parents deserve closure more than anything else,” Stidham said

Attorney from West Memphis 3 case breaks 30 years of silence in A Harvest of Innoncence

After 30 years of silence, Attorney Dan Stidham, who represented Jessie Misskelley in the West Memphis 3 murder case, has finally told his story in A Harvest of Innocence: The

www.bentoncourier.com

Worth noting also that detectives never took Jessie to the crime scene. Because they knew he'd get it wrong.

 

[herb4]

One thing I often think about is that they've been out, what now, 13 years? Seems odd to me that none of them had any trouble remotely close to what they were convicted of since then. ALL THREE. No violence at all and I think one DUI or something. So, I'm led to believe that they had all these psychopathic satanic violent tendencies at the ages of 16-18, murdered three kids, spent decades in the Arkansas correctional system (one on death row) and somehow got BETTER psychologically?

The recidivism rate for criminals is 25-35% flat across the board and that's within 3-5 years. That includes things like robbery, assault and drug use. But three teenagers spend their teenage and adult years for triple homicide in a max security prison then somehow improve enough mentally that they no longer have these deranged, psychotic impulses? If anything, they'd have gotten worse in jail and their mental health would have deteriorated, wouldn't it?

And just lol that the governor would agree to let three child murderers go free if he thought for an instant they were guilty.

 

[branmuffin]

I remember back in the late 80s and early 90s there was a lot of hysteria in the US, specifically, regarding satanic cults that were systematically assaulting children in daycares across the nation. The trials must have been reminiscent of the Salem witch trials in the 1600s when everybody and his brother could point a finger at someone and just that utterance alone would be a death sentence for the victim. I could never understand how something got so out of hand based on a tremendous lack of evidence but bolstered by fanciful statements of young children who had responded to suggestive and sexually charged questions.

At the time, I didn't realize the level of religious fervor that runs through the American population. It wasn't until the evangelical Christians touted Trump as being 'ordained' by God that I understood how easily it could be that hundreds of lives could ruined by a belief system that saw satan behind every door. So it followed that those poor young boys who were brutally murdered never got justice because it was easier to blame some otherworldly type of behavior like satanic rituals, Wiccan beliefs, sinister looking trench coats and a false confession by an intellectually challenged suspect.

I believe Stidham who thinks the killer is still alive. Based on the fact that at least two of those children were sexually assaulted by someone who should have had their best interests at heart. The only reason someone would snuff the life of those kids is someone who feared they'd be found out. One may just have been collateral damage. Now that is pure evil.

 

[herb4]

Found more interviews with Dan Stidham. WIth Imstilla.grandma permission, I'd like to make the book and the interviews into its own thread

https://paragouldpodcast.podbean.com/e/dan-stidham-talks-about-the-west-memphis-3-his-new-book-and-personal-grief/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWR6wRNIabc

 

[Willow Knight]

8-year-old Cub Scouts Steve Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore -- The Memphis Three Victims

The movie (Devil's Knot) watched years ago convinced me, at the time, that Hobbs did it along with his friend. I just don't think 3 young boys would hog tie their murder victims because that seems like an adult mentality conception. Also, the movie made it seem Hobbs was very jealous of his wife's adoration for and devotion to her son. MOO

APR 2024
"The hair found in the shoelace was consistent with Branch’s stepfather, Terry Hobbs, while hair found on the tree stump was consistent with the DNA of a friend of Hobbs, according to the documents. Police have never considered Hobbs a suspect and he maintains he had nothing to do with the murders."

“I thank the Arkansas Supreme Court for opening the DNA testing door that might finally reveal the truth about this case,” [Damien] Echols told CNN in a statement through his lawyer, Stephen Braga."

"Braga < > said their next step will be trying to reach an agreement with the prosecutor and “get this testing done in the most expeditious and reliable manner possible.”

There are so many theories to this crime. Many people look at TH, however LE does not appear to accept that route. However LE may have had tunnel vision.

Not certain we will ever get the truth, but this new testing may help. The way I look at it is if DNA from any of the three accused would be found in the knots, I think I am going to conclude they were guilty as charged. If none of the accused DNA is found, I'd believe they were wrongly convicted.

If any of DNA belonging to TH's friend then I would believe it was TH AND friend. The friend's hair on the tree doesn't hold much weight with me, he was out looking for the little boys that night.

Unidentified DNA in the knots would have me going to Bojangles.

 

[herb4]

Stidham is hinting at the perp being a serial killer that he can place in West Memphis during the time of the murders.

 

[DHT1339]

Stidham is hinting at the perp being a serial killer that he can place in West Memphis during the time of the murders.

scott erskine maybe? he murdered two boys in a somewhat similar fashion in san diego a couple months before the WM killings

i know he had ties to FL, but not sure why he'd be in WM

 

[imstilla.grandma]

‘West Memphis Three’ lawyer reveals chilling new theory behind horrific murder of 8-year-old boys

The saga of the “West Memphis Three” captured the nation’s attention and spawned the popular HBO documentary series “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,&#8…

nypost.com

 

[dotr]

July 22 '24

WEST MEMPHIS THREE: Lawyer claims trucker serial killer murdered Cub Scouts

The 1993 horror murders of three Cub Scouts that sent the West Memphis Three to prison were by a serial killer, one of their lawyers claims.

torontosun.com

 

[herb4]

Interesting. I remember listening to a true crime podcast (Morbid, I think) that did an episode on a trucker/killer who was eventually caught. Wonder if it's the same person? It'd be easy to find out since, obviously, I would think they'd have that dude's DNA to compare.

Wait, nevermind. It was Robert Ben Rhodes and he was arrested in 1990 so not him.

If I have time, I'm going to make a dedicated thread to this since I think it deserves its own discussion. Anyone read the book yet?

 

[dotr]

Interesting. I remember listening to a true crime podcast (Morbid, I think) that did an episode on a trucker/killer who was eventually caught. Wonder if it's the same person? It'd be easy to find out since, obviously, I would think they'd have that dude's DNA to compare.

Wait, nevermind. It was Robert Ben Rhodes and he was arrested in 1990 so not him.

If I have time, I'm going to make a dedicated thread to this since I think it deserves its own discussion. Anyone read the book yet?

IL/TX/OR+ - ROBERT BEN RHOADES, "The Truck Stop Killer", 1970's-90's

Robert Ben Rhoades, a Houston trucker who kept a torture dungeon in the cab of his long-haul rig, accepted two life prison sentences http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-tx--serialkiller-texas,0,3734866.story Houston trucker already imprisoned in Illinois for murder avoids Texas...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Kennedy Jo]

Do you mean Damien had previously killed someone? What capability did he have?

Maybe his extensive mental health history? It is frightening if you have reviewed it.

 

[Marziaforevercherry]

This case was such a mess.

 

[SouthEnd]

I don't believe they reached guilty BARD, IMO. From when I was first introduced to this case, it seemed like the text-book coerced confession (young people with learning difficulties are the most likely to falsely confess), combined with the satanic panic, plus DE, who IMO came across as the most contrarian, smug, antagonistic person to have ever been accused of a crime.

...and honestly, who hasn't met a teenager who was exactly like that?

Unfortunately IMO it was the perfect storm. I don't think the jury got it right the first time around. I don't know who the real perpetrator is, I don't think the LE persued any other leads to a satisfactory degree. I wish there was justice for the boys who were so tragically murdered but unfortunately IMO the investigation was too botched and some bad actors are still preventing things like DNA testing from opening up new avenues of investigation.

tl;dr: I don't think the state proved their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and I have little hope that this lapse of justice will ever be corrected and a proper trial for whomever did it will ever happen. MOO

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Do you think they are guilty or innocent?

I'm late to the party but...

I initially thought they were innocent, but I now think they are guilty. The first Paradise Lost movie convinced me they were innocent, but since then I've learned that the movie wasn't as impartial as I thought it was.

I've listened to multiple podcasts that debunk claims that people on the innocence side make.

I think they are guilty.

 

[airportwoman]

I don't think the WM3 boys/men had anything to do with it. I do believe that a stepfather (Terry Hobbs, I think is his name) did it but did not act alone.

 

[herb4]

I'm late to the party but...

I initially thought they were innocent, but I now think they are guilty. The first Paradise Lost movie convinced me they were innocent, but since then I've learned that the movie wasn't as impartial as I thought it was.

I've listened to multiple podcasts that debunk claims that people on the innocence side make.

I think they are guilty.

What do you base this opinion on? What's the most damning piece of evidence you've seen to have this change of heart?

 

[IzzyBlanche]

What do you base this opinion on? What's the most damning piece of evidence you've seen to have this change of heart?

It's not any one piece of evidence, it's the totality of the circumstances. And things I've learned via podcasts that i feel are well researched but aren't considered acceptable sources here.

 

[branmuffin]

Maybe his extensive mental health history? It is frightening if you have reviewed it.

Can you provide some insight into his extensive mental health history? And was that before the killings, after the killings while incarcerated and currently while being free for the last years? Thanks.