West Memphis 3

Wrongful convictions occur every day. With a legal system that is at times dependent on eyewitness accounts and hearsay there is room for error. Sometimes these errors of justice are quickly rectified, but at other times the process can be long and drawn out. In the case of the West Memphis three: Damian Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, were teenagers when they were arrested for the murders of three young boys: Chris Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. For nearly two decades, although convicted of the crimes, the West Memphis three denied any involvement in the murders. The West Memphis three case is a prime example of how small town misconceptions and rumors can take hold of a criminal case and twist non-existent evidence into concrete evidence, leading to a miscarriage of justice. Damian Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin are innocent of the murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch and Michael Moore.

On the 6th of May 1993 most of Arkansas watched the news and learned a terrible crime had been committed. Three little boys had been found beaten, murdered, and thrown in a ditch like trash. As the news spread of the murders of Michael Branch, Steven Moore and Christopher Byers, details of the case began to be leaked. Most details of a murder investigation are kept private. This is done in an effort to keep out false confession and used in following leads from tips. However, news that the boys were found naked, beaten, cut, and that one of the murdered children was castrated quickly spread and became common knowledge in the town. These leaks of information were the first in a series of investigation mishaps.

With rumors in their ears and a community scared, the pressure was on for the West Memphis Police to find the monsters that did this. One would think all aspects of case like this would be explored. However, on the night of the murders employees at a nearby BoJangles restaurant called the West