Anyone follow this story over the years?
August 20th marked three years since the release of the former teenagers that were convicted of the horrific triple murder of three 8 year old boys in West Memphis in 1993. After 18 years, using an unique Alford Plea, they were released.
Over the years 3 documentaries and several books have been written claiming the teens were wrongly convicted. That they were unfairly targeted because they wore black and listened to Metallica. Celebrities like Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and Natelie Maines joined in support calling for a re-examination of the evidence. And many young people joined in support because they could relate to "being different".
For whatever reason after years of just passing curiosity of a shocking story, I've recently developed a bit of a fervor to research and read all I can about this case. It's a very well documented on the internet. A very exhaustive case archive is found at callahan.8k.com
I watched the documentary of the murders Paradise Lost many years ago and of course came away with the feeling of wrongful conviction of the WM3 as many others did. And over time have seen Part 2 & 3 and was rooting for the WM3 when they were released, oblivious to the great debate about evidence, guilt and innocence that was going on.
Because I had seen the "documentaries", so of course a small southern town with incompetent police and good 'ol boy prosecution would pick the young teen outcasts to pin the horrific murders on. I mean heck, it was shown in a Documentary, it all must be true.
A couple of months ago I noticed the movie “The Devil’s Knot” based on a book about the murders was on either Netflix or Amazon Prime, so I watched and it sparked a bit of renewed interest. I went back and re-watched Paradise Lost 1 & 2. But a funny thing happened before I re-watched part 3. I decided to google the WM3 to see what they’ve been up to since being released. Among the top results was the website www.westmemphisthreefacts.com The first paragraph of the website reads:
“If you are reading this website you have probably spent a few hours watching one or more of the five movies/documentaries about this case. You may have read one of several books about the murders. Maybe you've read some of the thousands of newspaper and magazine articles about the case. Nearly all of them are biased toward the supposed innocence of the West Memphis Three. You can read this entire website in about 30 minutes. Please take that brief time to educate yourself about the facts of this case most of the movies/books/articles leave out.”
What?! I mean the Paradise Lost documentaries were comprehensive, even-handed…showing both sides equally right?!
I couldn’t believe how quickly AND EASILY one little website could completely discredit the premise the documentaries are built on…something I had accepted as “truth” for many years. Really, I felt “cheated and lied to” to quote numerous country songs. The premise of police narrowing in on “troubled teens JUST because they wear black” and a “coerced confession from a mentally challenged teen” seems to have been almost completely fabricated by the film makers.
When I think of the wave of support these films generated…the mass of supporters who say themselves they are supporters BECAUSE of these films…well it’s almost criminal.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone else followed this story?
