The defense's expert testified that the mark in question was not an adult bite mark, while experts put on by the State concluded that there was no bite mark at all. Police detective Bryn Ridge testified that he later lost those blood scrapings. His execution date was scheduled for May 5, 1994, but the reliably lengthy appeals process (including one automatic appeal) stood between him and the ultimate punishment. Steve Branch was the son of Steven and Pamela Branch, who divorced when he was an infant. Misskelley was found guilty, and he was sentenced to life plus 40 years in prison. There was additional new evidence discovered in 2007 that I cannot now recall. He also released a memoir from prison, 2005's Almost Home: My Life Story Vol. December 26, 1997 6:00 am. Sign Up Now! [9], Echols' family was poor and received frequent visits from social workers, and he rarely attended school. [56] Since his release, Misskelley has become engaged to his high school girlfriend and enrolled in a community college to train as an auto mechanic. The Forgotten West Memphis Three will hopefully reveal the truth, and true crime fans everywhere will not want to miss a second of this eye-opening series. [citation needed], While in prison, Echols wrote letters to Gloria Shettles, an investigator for his defense team. » Hide ads with … Only two segments, totaling 46 minutes, were recorded. The record on appeal spells out a long history of Echols' mental health problems, including a May 5, 1992, Arkansas Department of Youth Services referral for possible mental illness, a year to the day before the murders. [16] Steve Edward Branch is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Steele, Missouri. On May 6, the boys' battered bodies were found in a drainage ditch in Robin Hood Hills. Bite marks on the victims didn't match dental impressions from Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley that they were submitted after their convictions. His conviction was appealed and affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court.[79]. In 2000, the biological father of Christopher Byers, Rick Murray, expressed his doubts about the guilty verdicts on the West Memphis Three website. [62] Ellington said that, although he still considered the men guilty, the three would likely be acquitted if a new trial were held because of the powerful legal counsel representing them now, the loss of evidence over time, and the change of heart among some of the witnesses. In 2017 he moved to Texas, where he co-founded Proclaim Justice—a nonprofit dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions—in Austin. "However, they're trying to kill Damien. Their clothing was found in the creek, some of it twisted around sticks that had been thrust into the muddy ditch bed. Please enable it to continue. On May 5, 1993, three eight-year-old boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, were brutally murdered in a West Memphis creek. Host of the Truth & Justice podcast tackles one of America's most notorious crimes, the murders of three young boys in West Memphis, AR, 1993. They were at Damien's house watching TV and attempted to hide in his bedroom, turning the lights off in hopes that the cops would go away. Echols' sentence was reduced to three counts of first degree murder. The common perception of the boys' activities that fateful Wednesday afternoon was that they were simply playing together in the woods, … We're sorry but jw-app doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. The Forgotten West Memphis Three is now available to watch online. He was a weirdo. [9] On May 9, during a formal interview by Detective Bryn Ridge, Echols mentioned that one of the victims had wounds to the genitals; law enforcement viewed this knowledge as incriminating. Based on the hit podcast Truth & Justice, this series follows host Bob Ruff as he re-examines the infamous West Memphis Three case in which three eight-year-old boys were brutally murdered. He stated in his report for Echols's legal team that there was no evidence the murders were linked to satanic rituals and that post-mortem animal predation could explain the alleged knife injuries. According to local West Memphis police officers, on the evening of May 5, 1993, at 8:42 pm, workers in the Bojangles' restaurant located about a mile from the crime scene in Robin Hood Hills reported seeing a black male who seemed "mentally disoriented" inside the restaurant's ladies' room. [9][26], On May 6, 1993 (before the victims were found later the same day), Hutcheson took a polygraph exam by Detective Don Bray at the Marion Police Department, to determine whether or not she had stolen money from her West Memphis employer. Rate. The Forgotten West Memphis Three revisits the infamous West Memphis Three case. His father said Byers may not have taken his prescription on May 5, 1993. More from Distractify. Misskelley agreed to introduce Hutcheson to Echols. A month later, three teenagers—Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr.—were charged with murdering the boys. [6] The judge sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and levied a suspended sentence of 10 years. [9], At his death penalty sentencing hearing, Echols' psychologist reported that months before the murders, Echols had claimed that he obtained super powers by drinking human blood. It was a pocket knife that my father had given to Stevie, and Stevie loved that knife. [24][40] In June 1996, Misskelley's lawyer, Dan Stidham, was preparing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. On November 4, 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a lower judge to consider whether newly analyzed DNA evidence might exonerate the three. The bodies, he said, had been removed from the water before the coroner arrived to examine the scene and determine the state of rigor mortis, allowing the bodies to decay on the creek bank and to be exposed to sunlight and insects. "[87], The appellate legal team argued that Echols did not waive his assertion that he was not mentally competent before his 1994 trial because he was not competent to waive it. In May 2013, for the 20th anniversary of the slayings, Weaver Elementary School principal Sheila Grissom raised funds to refurbish the memorial. Arrested in Oceanside on May 17, 1993, Morgan and Holland both took polygraph exams administered by California police. [6], On May 5, 1993, three eight-year-old boys (Steve Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers) were reported missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. He testified Judge Burnett responded, "You'll need food for when you come back for sentencing," and that the foreman asked in return what would happen if the defendant was acquitted. and Oxygen are both members of the NBCUniversal family.). [69], Three films, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, have documented this case and are strongly critical of the verdict. He lived with his parents and his nine-year-old sister, Dawn. A hearing on Echols' petition for a writ of habeas corpus was held in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Overview; Episodes; More like this; Sponsored by. Watch an Exclusive First Look at Oxygen's New True Crime Special, Your True Crime Obsessions: The Latest Case Updates You Need to Know About, Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal/ZUMAPRESS.com. A hair identified as belonging to a black male was later recovered from a sheet wrapped around one of the victims. Hutcheson was never charged with theft. 18. [25], Vicki Hutcheson, a new resident of West Memphis, would play an important role in the investigation, though she would later recant her testimony, claiming her statements were fabricated due in part to coercion from police. Based on the hit podcast Truth & Justice, this series follows host Bob Ruff as he re-examines the infamous West Memphis Three case in which three eight-year-old boys were brutally murdered. © 2021 E! [87] Hospital records for his treatment in Little Rock 11 months before the killings show a history of self-mutilation and assertions to hospital staff that he gained power by drinking blood, that he had inside him the spirit of a woman who had killed her husband, and that he was having hallucinations. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! [72], Many songs were written about the case, and two albums released in support of the defendants. [38], In May 1994, the three defendants appealed their convictions;[39] the convictions were upheld on direct appeal. [65] "I had made the comment if it were ever proven the three were innocent, I'd be the first to lead the charge for their freedom," said Byers, and take "every opportunity that I have to voice that the West Memphis Three are innocent and the evidence and proof prove they're innocent. In turn, the new two-part Oxygen special, The Forgotten West Memphis Three, spawned by Ruff's Truth and Justice investigation, re-focuses the attention back on Steve, Michael and Chris—the ones who lost their lives. The films marked the first time Metallica allowed their music to be used in a movie, which drew attention to the case. Most people interested in true crime and wrongful convictions are familiar with the notorious case of the #westmemphis3.
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