Miscellaneous Articles
Arkansas Times, The Witch Trial Archive
The Devil on Trial by Bob Lancaster
Witch On Death Row by Mara Leveritt
Documentary Examines Arkansas Witch Trials by Mara Leveritt
John Grisham, meet Dan Stidham by James Morgan
Fame and Damien by Mara Leveritt
12/26/97:
The Strange Demise of Melissa Byers 12/26/97:
This Is a Deep Story 10/04/02:
Medically defeated [about Melissa Byers]
10/27/94: Mark and Melissa Byers Discuss Past, Problems
[scroll down]11/14/96:
The Lost Boys, Phoenix New Times
12/00/96: Witness Claiming Reports Are False: Michael Carson...
[p. 2, scroll down]
01/13/98: Missing $28,000 Puts Youth Probation Office...
[p. 3, scroll down]05/06/98:
New trial sought for figure in WM murders, Log Cabin Democrat
05/20/98: Damien Echols: Still Fighting For Justice
[p. 4, scroll down]06/03/99: Byers Gets 8 Years
[p. 5, scroll down]06/25/99:
The Origin of Satan (prison mail practices), Arkansas Times
03/24/00:
Kids, cops and confessions, Arkansas Times
03/31/00:
The Silence of the Governor: 'Paradise Lost' Stirs Dispute, Ark. Times
08/10/00:
The fight to free the West Memphis 3, Salon.com
01/00/01:
A Roshi on the Row, Shambala Sun
03/16/01:
West Memphis Child Killer Goes Back to Court, WMC-TV
03/21/01: WM3 Supporters Picket Justice Building
[p. 5, scroll down]07/12/02:
Lawyer's use of funds called felony, Jonesboro Sun
09/14/02:
DNA tests sought for Echols, others, Jonesboro Sun
10/04/02:
Devilish questions, Arkansas Times
11/15/02:
Investigation clears Price of criminal wrongdoing, Jonesboro Sun
06/19/03:
Court agrees to 'final' delay of condemned killer's appeals, WMC-TV
06/27/03:
Musicians speak out for West Memphis Three, Salt Lake Tribune
07/08/03:
West Memphis Three, KAIT
07/11/03:
Delay yields no new DNA tests in West Memphis murder, WMC-TV
09/05/03:
The Devils' Advocates, LA Weekly
10/02/03:
High Court Hears Another Argument in 1993 Child Murders, KATV
10/03/03:
West Memphis 3 convict pushes for new trial, WMC-TV
10/03/03:
Top Court Hears Echols Case, Times Record
10/16/03:
High Court Turns Away Echols Appeal, KATV
10/17/03:
Court Says No Hearing For Killer, Times Record
10/17/03:
Court rejects argument to reopen Echols case, Jonesboro Sun
10/30/03:
West Memphis 3 leader loses another appeal, WMC-TV
10/31/03:
Court rejects Echols' bid for new trial, Jonesboro Sun
01/09/04:
The Architect and the Inmate, Arkansas Times
07/22/04:
Ever Feel Cheated? Echols Speaks from Death Row, The Stranger
10/07/04:
Complete Fabrication, Arkansas Times
10/07/04:
What I Did Was Wrong, Arkansas Times
10/07/04:
They Messed with My Words, Arkansas Times
10/29/04:
The Devil's Advocates, Daily Journal
10/29/04:
Defense Lawyers Claim Juror Misconduct, Daily Journal
01/20/05:
Convicted Killer Damien Echols' Appeal Denied, KATV
05/03/05:
In Depth: Damien Echols, KARK-TV
05/04/05:
In Depth: Damien Echols, KARK-TV
05/05/05:
In Depth: Damien Echols, KARK-TV
05/07/05: Seventy Cities Host Fundraisers for the WM3, WMC-TV
07/28/05: 'Satanic' Killers Hope to Prove Innocence, BBC News
01/09/06: Governor Not Inclined Toward Clemency, KAIT
04/06/06: Attorney: WM3 Deserve New Trial, KTHV
05/13/06: Celebrities Call for Release of WM3, CNN
07/14/06: WM3 Supporters Deliver Letters to Huckabee, KATV
Mark and Melissa Byers Discuss Past, Problems
Angela Roberts, The News Staff
1994-10-27
SHARP COUNTY - Criminal charges, restraining orders and a feud some have compared to the Hatfields and McCoys, are issues that Melissa and John Mark Byers are facing after moving from West Memphis in an effort to leave the past behind them. Their eight year-old son, Christopher, along with two other boys was brutally murdered in May of last year and after a year of national and local news coverage the Byers wanted to start over and chose Sharp County as their new home.
Since moving to Cherokee Village the Byers have been charged with residential burglary, a felony, and Mark Byers has been charged with a misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Melissa said they thought they had found the perfect place to live and raise their older son, Ryan, but Mark said it's been a "fiasco."
Both the Byers sat at their kitchen table and talked of the West Memphis nightmare and the problems they have experienced since moving here. At first things were fine, they both agreed, saying they had made good friends with their next door neighbors, John and Donna Kingsbury. What began as a close friendship with backyard barbecues, fishing trips and over the counter coffee conversations has erupted into a war zone with both sides issuing restraining orders against the other. Marks said the blowup came between the two couples when he swatted the five year old son with a fly-swatter and the Kingsburys allege the spanking left bruises.
"We kept the Kingsbury’s children all the time and we had permission to disciple them," Mark Byers said, "How could they think I would hurt their child, after what happened to ours?"
Both Byers said when they go to the store, people follow them around and are always making comments. Mark and Melissa Byers feel the accusations made during the trial planted doubt in some peoples minds.
"We are victims turned into villains," Mark Byers said.
Mark and Melissa Byers said they had never seen any of the three boys convicted of the murders, but one
had repeatedly accused Mark Byers of being involved in the murders.
"In court they looked like choir boys but I remember what they looked like when they were arrested," Mark Byers said adding they looked like animals. Byers said he felt Damien Wayne Echols accused him because he was the most vocal of the group. "I was interrogated for hours from some guy from Quantico, Va, and I had to give hair and blood samples," Byers said. "I was a baseball coach, a boy scout leader and sang at the First Baptist Church," Mark Byers said, "So why would anybody think I would know anybody in a cult?"
"We have never been involved in cult activities and have not been approached by anyone in the community thinking that we are," Mark Byers said.
The Byers will be the first to say they are not considered upstanding members of the community since the charges of burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor have been filed. It was nothing to look out the door everyday and see Ryan with friends, but now they say parents don’t want their children associated with their son.
Both Byers contend they had nothing to do with the residential burglary they have been accused of. In September of this year, local authorities took three area rugs from their home that were possibly part of those items missing from the Brenda Atwood residence in Cherokee Village.
Byers is also alleged to have sold seven of the missing items at a local auction in Mammoth Spring. Mark Byers said he sold those items, but that he had obtained them at various flea markets and sales and the that 30 other items were not in his possession.
Mark Byers said, "There will be people who do not know us testifying that they had tried to rent the house in February and those people said the house as destroyed at that time."
"In February, we were in Corning, in trial," Mark Byers said, "and the house was burglarized before we moved up here."
Byers said for 15 years he had bought items and took them to auctions and never had he had any problems until now. Mark Byers also faces charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Byers said the incident took place in July of this year, but that he was not arrested until October. Both Mark and Melissa feel they are definitely being
targeted by Both the media and the local authorities.
Bob Slayton with Cherokee Security said since September of this year, they have been summoned to Skyline Drive where the Byers and Kingsbury live a total of eight times. Slayton said sometimes the complaints are against the Byers and at other times the Byers are the ones filing complaints.
Melissa and Mark Byers said they filed terroristic threatening charges against John Kingsbury when he threatened to kill their child. At present Both couples have restraining orders against each other.
In addition to the criminal and misdemeanor cases the Byers face they have obtained an attorney to file a civil case against the city of West Memphis in their alleged negligence of the murder case of their son, Christopher.
The Byers say their intent is to stay in the small wood frame house they are buying. Melissa says all she wants is a normal life, "I’d like to have somebody have a cup of coffee with me but there’s not a person in this Cherokee Village area that would step foot in my house. Nobody will make friends with me," she said almost in tears, "nobody will invite me to church, they don’t want me."
"We came here to start our life over," Mark Byes said.
"It’s been like a year and a half since my child was murdered," Melissa Byers said, "Because of all this mess, I cannot even bury my child and I need to bury my child."
Times are not easy for the Byers, living on a disability income, the couple at present have no phone, no gas for hot water and little if any cash on hand. Mark Byers said Lt. Governor Mike Huckabee was instrumental in helping them pay expenses with their move along with others and that they were extremely grateful to him for that.
"I sold my wedding ring to move here," Melissa Byers said, "I would have sold anything I had to get out of West Memphis."
"We don’t want any trouble and are not going to give anybody any trouble," Mark Byers said.
"Although we have no friends, our peace and solitude is found on the Spring River watching the sun come up and trout fishing," Mark said.
Melissa's feelings were somewhat pessimistic, "I could stand on the side of the road with a strainer of trout and someone would come by and say, Mrs. Byers did you catch those trout? I could
say, ‘yes,’ and they would say, ‘now are you sure you didn’t steal them?’"
Witness Claiming Reports Are False
Michael Carson stands by testimony
Stan Mitchell, Arkansas Sun
1996-12-00
A witness in the West Memphis triple murder trial says recent reports that he committed perjury when he testified in 1994 that Charles Jason Baldwin confessed to killing three eight-year-old boys while the two were jailed are false.
Michael Carson, a then 16-year-old who testified that Baldwin described in detail how he sexually mutilated one of the three children killed in the May 1993 massacre, told The Sun he stands by his testimony.
"Yes," Carson responded when asked if Baldwin had, in fact, confessed to him about killing the three boys, Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. "What I testified to is what he [Baldwin] told me. I haven't changed anything. I told them exactly what he said.”
Baldwin was sentenced to life without parole for his part in the murders, while codefendant Damien Echols received the death penalty. A third defendant, Jessie Lloyd Misskelley, was tried separately and was sentenced to life plus 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
During oral arguments at an appeal hearing for Baldwin and Echols held several days ago, Angela Grinnell, Baldwin's mother, produced a letter from a Kentucky musician who claims Carson told him he lied when he testified that Baldwin had confessed to taking part in the killings.
Dated Oct.28, the hand printed letter addressed to Baldwin at Arkansas's Varner Prison unit was on stationery that read: "Johnny (Running Bear) Preston," who is "A Distinctively Unique Harmonica Stylist" and also writes songs. Preston related that he was in Jonesboro in March or April 1994, and while passing The Forum in the downtown area, picked up "a kid who later told me his name was Michael Carson."
Carson said he has never met Preston nor has he ever had a conversation with the man. According to Preston’s letter, Carson began asking questions about the penalty for perjury. When pressed for information about why Carson was concerned about perjury, Preston said the teenager "told me about being in jail with (Baldwin) and he had what he called a bad conscience because he had lied on a boy in court about some kids being killed around Memphis."
The bodies of the three boys were found with their hands and feet bound with shoelaces in a water filled ditch near their West Memphis homes.
After saying
he recalled something about the murders, Preston said Carson "started crying and said Jason didn’t tell me nothing, and that the only reason he lied was to get in good with the cops who wanted to nail him on a few things."
Asked about the letter, Carson stressed: "That’s just something somebody has made up. They’re just trying to make me look bad so [Baldwin] can get off. I don’t go around crying about things in front of total strangers."
The letter further states that Carson charged that Prosecutor Brent Davis of Jonesboro knew his testimony was false, "but told him he couldn't be helped if he didn't help out with the state‘s case."
Carson said that portion of the letter is also untrue because he was not in trouble with the law at the time he testified, and did not need to work out a deal with the state. “I had nothing to gain by testifying,” Carson said. ”I had already gone to court (for burglary) and had already been given probation. I didn’t testify to cut a deal with anyone. That’s not true.”
Davis said Carson was given a polygraph before the trial and the teen passed the test, ’with flying colors.‘
While being held at the juvenile detention center at the Craighead County Jail in Jonesboro, Carson said he approached Baldwin and questioned him about the murders. ”I had already asked (Baldwin) once if he did it and he said, ”No,‘’ Carson said, ”Then, a couple of days later, I asked him, just between you and me, ‘Did you do it?,’ Carson said, adding,” and he said, ’Yes.’”
It was then, Carson said, that Baldwin related how he had used a knife to cut the Byers child in the pubic area and performed a sexual act on the younger boy. ”That’s when I put my hands on the table, pushed my chair back and walked away from him,” Carson said. Carson‘s testimony about Baldwin's jail house confession and a red fiber found at the crime scene were the evidence on which Baldwin was convicted.
Val Price, an attorney for Echols told The Sun he anticipates justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court will rule on Baldwin‘s and Echols' appeal by the end of the year.
----------------------------------------------------------------
LETTER FROM JOHNNY (RUNNING BEAR) PRESTON
[The information in this letter cannot be verified for authenticity and is only included because of the subsequent newspaper article above that resulted.]
October
28, 1996
Mr. Jason Baldwin,
Since I am in possession of information which, if pursued through legal avenues, could well impact your personal situation with regard to a future reopening of your case, I strongly suggest that you not only answer this letter, but forward me the name and address of the attorney who represented you at trial.
As the credits on this page attest, I am a musician/songwriter of national note. During March or April, 1994, I chanced to be in Jonesboro, and while passing the ‘Forum’ building, I picked up a kid who later told me is [sic] Michael Carson. As a homosexual, I was interested in him as a potential sexual partner, and I was not disappointed. In any event, at first Carson resisted my advances on the ground [sic] that he had been in trouble in the past, and didn’t want to go back to ‘Craighead’ whatever that is. When I told him I had a life sentence and was on parole, and had just returned from Mena, Arkansas to see a former cellmate named Otis Strain who had been at the Kentucky State Penitentiary with me in 1978-79, Carson, feeling he could trust me since I’ve been in prison off and on since 1965, opened up and told me all about his problems with the law.
He said he was addicted to dope and had been reduced to burglaries to support his habits. We the [sic] smoked some weed, and then he started asking questions about law when I told him I had about 25 year's experience as an assigned legal aide while in prison. Specifically, he wanted to know the maximum penalty for perjury. I told him that in Kentucky the penalty was 5 years and I assumed it would the same in Arkansas.
Curious, I sort of pressed him for details, and his reasons for being concerned about the penalty for perjury. Well, at this point he told me about being in jail with you and he had what he called a ’bad conscience’[sic] because he had lied on a boy in court about some kids being killed around Memphis. When I told him I recalled reading something about the case in 1993, he started crying and said ’Jason didn‘t tell me nothing’ and that the only reason he lied was to get in good with the cops who wanted to nail him on a few things.
Mr. Baldwin,
Michael Carson was either lying about all of this, or he just felt really bad about his role in the case and wanted to get it off his chest. While I did not forget our conversations, I did sort of put it out of mind until I remembered that a Jason Baldwin was supposed to be involved in the Memphis killings. For a long time afterward I didn't think too much about this sexual encounter and verbal transaction, but eventually it dawned on me that Carson had confessed to me that his lies had caused a person to go to prison, and this is not only illegal, but downright morally wrong. Now, I can help you, rest assured I will but it would have to be done through your attorney if you have one. If not, since I have plenty of money, I just might hire you a lawyer to reopen this case. A conviction based on perjured testimony is unconstitutional especially where, as here, the prosecutor used the testimony knowing it was a lie. (Carson insisted that the prosecutor knew it was all a lie, but told him he couldn't be helped if he didn't help out with the State’s case).
Send me your mom’s address for I want to contact here about this. Also, you tell me what kind of sentence you received, and what the Arkansas court of Appeals or Supreme court done [sic] about your appeals. If the state courts have finalized your appeals, then you have one year to apply in the Federal court for a petition for a Writ of habeas Corpus. I’m an expert on Federal habeas--if your lawyer has abandoned the case I can and will prosecute a habeas from our offices here. Meanwhile, you write back and send me your trial lawyer’s name & address. Send him this letter for he probably will want to contact me.
Johnny Preston
Kentucky State Reformatory
Missing $28,000.00 Puts Youth Probation Office Under Prosecutor's Eye
Ray Pierce, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
1998-01-13
Prosecuting Attorney Brent Davis of Jonesboro has begun an investigation into the Crittenden County Juvenile Probation Office after a Legislative audit showed more than $28,000.00 unaccounted for. The audit for the period of September 1993 to December 1996 discovered unaccounted for funds and unauthorized or undocumented disbursements totaling $28,757.19. A chain saw purchased in 1996 for $212.80 also could not be found, the report stated.
The custodians of the funds were former
Chief Probation officer, Jerry Driver, former intake officer Steve Jones, former Juvenile Probation officer Rick Wilson and former Juvenile Probation Officer Jay Southard, the report said.
The auditors found six checks written to or endorsed by Driver in 1994 totaling $2,250.00 In 1995, 27 checks totaling $l4,l54.00 were issued or endorsed by him. In 1996, 35 checks totaling $10,146.00 were either written to or endorsed by him, the report stated. Notations on many of the stubs reflecting checks made payable to Driver indicated the payments were for computers and software, trips to various cities, overtime and other travel. Several stubs didn't indicate what the payments were for and others couldn't be read.
Jones received two checks in 1994 worth $398.00 according to the auditors. Wilson received one check worth $150.00 in March 1996. Southard received two checks in1996 worth $525.00. Additionally, the total included other checks or missing funds totaling $922.00. Driver was placed on administrative leave as a result of the allegations in February 1997. He resigned that month, said Basil Joiner, who replaced Driver as Chief Probation Officer in April 1997. Joiner said Jones resigned in 1995, and Wilson and Southard left in 1996. Joiner said that, to the best of his knowledge, none of those resignations were because of the missing money.
The department's account was opened in September 1993. It was closed in October 1996 after Crittenden County Judge Brian Williams said those funds should have been deposited with the County Treasurer. The account held fees paid to the department by juvenile probationers. Some payments from the state were also deposited into the account.
Joiner said that Wilson and Southard are working to try to provide documentation to the auditors for the checks written to them. "It's just a matter of them cleaning that up," Joiner said. Joiner said he didn’t have any other information about Jones. Attempts to reach the four men by telephone in the West Memphis area Monday were unsuccessful.
Davis said his office received a copy of the audit findings last week. He said the investigation could take another week or two. After that, he will decide whether to file charges.
Damien Echols: Still Fighting For Justice
Pamela Brown, Little Rock Free Press
1998-05-20
Jonesboro, AR: Death row inmate, Damien Echols, who was convicted in 1994 for the brutal deaths of Christopher Byers, Steve Branch, and Michael Moore from West Memphis, was back in court May 5 for his appeal
hearing. The hearing, which fell on the fifth anniversary of the murders, was also the original date set for Echols' execution.
Outside the Craighead County courthouse Tuesday morning, John Mark Byers, stepfather to Christopher Byers was confronted by a group of supporters for Echols. Mr. Byers, who adamantly feels the ones guilty of these crimes are in prison, could not be swayed to believe they may be innocent. However, he did comment that if new evidence cleared the three, he would make a public apology.
Among the supporters present were the founders of The West Memphis Three Support Fund. This organization formed two years ago raises public awareness for these three young men they felt were unjustly accused. The support group also created a website (www.wm3.org) dedicated to exonerating the three. As well as local media, on hand were the filmmakers that made the documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. They returned to Jonesboro to get footage for a sequel. This time cameras and tape recorders were not allowed in the courtroom.
Inside the court room, Damien sat patiently, cuffed and shackled. He was noticeably thinner from the first trial, and his shoulder-length hair had been cut almost military style. He was dressed in a white button down shirt and dark pants. Despite his hardships, he maintained a serene exterior. Throughout the hearing, he would occasionally rock in his chair and turn to peer out into the courtroom, exchanging glances with his supporters and his family.
Judge David Burnett, who presided over the original trials, was again hearing testimony. Edward Mallett, an attorney from Houston, represented Echols. His first motion was to ask for a new judge to preside over the hearing. Judge Burnett denied this motion, claiming he was the "most qualified" person to hear proceedings since he was familiar with the case. The next motion was for a continuance, this too was denied. The May 5 date was a result of two previous postponements, and according to Judge Burnett, the fact this was the anniversary of the murders was purely coincidental.
The pace of the trial changed when Bruce Sinofsky, one of the filmmakers, was called to the stand. Before the hearing, the film crew had outfitted Mr. Byers with a microphone to get good audio for their interview. When Mr. Byers went into the courtroom to testify, he was still wearing the microphone. Sinofsky testified he listened
to the hearing outside via the hidden microphone but did not record the hearing. He stated that he forgot to take the microphone off Mr. Byers before he entered the courthouse. The judge insisted the microphone be removed if Mr. Byers was going to remain in the courtroom.
Daniel Stidham, attorney for Jessie Misskelley Jr., took the stand. He testified that the HBO film crew offered to pay Stidham in exchange for an interview with Misskelley for their documentary. Mr. Stidham felt this might create a conflict of interest with his client, and suggested that Misskelley seek independent counsel for this matter.
The film crew made the same offer to Damien Echols' and Jason Baldwin's attorneys. Unlike Stidham, they accepted payment in exchange for their client's interviews. This, according to defense attorney Mallett, created a conflict of interest between client and attorney.
Mallett's motion was that the presence of cameras in the courtroom hindered Echols and Baldwin from receiving effective counsel. Stidham also testified that the lack of funds for the defense prevented him and the other attorneys from acquiring the services of experts and for forensic testing. For the Misskelley trial, Stidham obtained the services of an expert on police interrogation techniques and an expert on false confessions. These experts accepted no payment or deferred payment only because they felt that the Misskelley case was a classic example of police coercion.
In each trial, the defense was given $1,000 for expenses. Stidham expressed that due to lack of funds he was unable to afford an odontologist (forensic dentist) to investigate a bite mark on the face of one the victims. Stidham contends that the police department had knowledge of the bite mark before the trials began, and if this evidence had been brought out in the trial, could have exonerated the accused.
Judge Burnett's response to the under-funded defense was that he would have provided more funds had he been asked. Stidham said that he did not ask for more funds for fear of "tipping his hand" to the prosecution. As it stands, this appeal hearing may not be the proper forum for the bite mark evidence since it could be considered new evidence.
The motions for the bite mark evidence and ineffective counsel were not ruled on. A continuance for the defense was accepted by the judge, and the hearing will be scheduled to take place June 9 and 10.
Byers Gets 8 Years
Angelia
Roberts, The News Staff
1999-06-03
SHARP COUNTY- The moral of the story for well known John Mark Byers has to be if a state trooper answers, hang up. His wrong number resulted in his arrest and parole revocation with eight years at the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Byers became nationally known as one of the parents in the West Memphis murder of three small boys. Both he and his now deceased wife, Melissa, moved to Cherokee Village shortly after the death of Christopher Byers and became well known once again after their arrest for burglarly, was banished from Sharp County and surrounding areas as part of his probation agreement.
Once again, Byers was scheduled in Sharp County Circuit Court after he mistakenly dialed the wrong number to set up a drug deal. The recepient of the phone call was Arkansas State Trooper Brandt Tosh.
Tosh said that when he received the call, he was busy writing a ticket to a motorist. Byers asked what he was doing and Tosh said he was busy at the moment.
Byers begain discussing the selling of some drugs and Tosh said he thought someone was playing a joke on him. "Not too many people have my cellular phone number," he said, "but I decided to play along."
Into the conversation, Tosh said he realized it was no joke and a time and place was set up to make the buy.
Craighead County authorities at Jonesboro met with Byers to make the illegal drug buy and then arrested him.
Sharp County officials learned of the probation violation, filed a revocation of probation and had Byers served with the warrant to appear in court.
WM3 Supporters Picket Justice Building
Glen Schwarz, Little Rock Free Press
2001-03-21
A diverse group of activists rallied at the Justice Building on the Ides of March to show their support for the West Memphis three. The three young men were convicted in 1994 of the murder of three prepubescent boys from the same town. Earlier in the day the Arkansas Supreme Court had heard arguments for a retrial of Damien Echols, who claims that his defense attorneys were compromised by an agreement with HBO producers to produce a documentary about the case. The activists unveiled a postcard wall that stretched over half the length of the justice building.
Ironically, the very same 1996 documentary that was the basis for Echols appeal was the catalyst that brought the case to the attention of the
activists gathered at the Justice Building. From as far away as New York and Los Angeles, they had come to show their support for the three. The postcard wall that they carried also contained messages of support from people across the nation and world.
According to Grove Pashley of L.A. the HBO documentary "Paradise Lost" stirred his interest in the case. He says, "The documentary showed that there was a lack of real evidence in the case and that the three were convicted as a result of religious persecution." The three were practitioners of occult practices that are unpopular in fundamentally Christian eastern Arkansas. Pashley worked with Kathy Bakken and Burk Sauls to form the "Free the West Memphis 3" organization. The cause has attracted the support of several celebrities. The group has also created a website at www.wm3.org to disseminate information on the case.
Damien Echols is currently under a death sentence after his conviction in the case. Circuit Court Judge David Burnett has repeatedly set May 5 as the execution date for Echols, because that is the date that the murders took place in 1993. The two other defendants in the case were given life sentences by separate east Arkansas juries.
"People from all walks of life have come here to show their support." said Pashley. "All they want is a fair trial for the defendants." This was not the first trip to Arkansas for many of the supporters. "I am obsessed with the case." said one young lady from New York. After picketing at Justice for over an hour, the group serpentined the post card wall around to the front entrance of the State Capitol. Later that evening many of the supporters gathered at Vino's Brewpub. One of them spoke for their cause at the "7 Minute Max" show. Also T-shirts and other fund raising items were available. Eddie Spaghetti, a guitarist with the Supersuckers, entertained the capacity crowd with a 45 minute acoustic set.
After hearing the appeal by a new Houston based lawyer for Damien Echols, the Arkansas Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on the argument for a new trial in about two weeks.
