One of the key elements to the case against Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin was the lengthy collection of documents regarding Damien's mental health and arrest record. His troubled history became one of the main tenets of the trial; the psychiatric reports were used to prove that Echols was a homicidal Satanist with vampiristic tendencies.
Why is Mascara and Murder hosting this document?
Although the subject, Damien Echols, is currently classified as a convicted murderer (pending exoneration), after reading through the stack of documentation it becomes clear that the only thing the boy was ever truly guilty of was having sex with his girlfriend in an abandoned house.
The justice system, in its infinite wisdom, continues to perpetuate the myth that women are incapable of deciding anything for themselves, including at which time they feel they are ready to become sexually active. In the case of Damien Echols and his young lover, both parties were obviously consenting; they were, after all, in a committed relationship -- insofar as puppy love goes.
The fact that Echols was 17 and his girlfriend was only 15 proved to be enough prior evidence of criminality that an Arkansas jury convicted him of murdering three local boys, and ultimately sentenced him to death.
Exhibit 500 is available from a number of online sources, however, I was unable to find it in one complete file. I took the liberty of compiling all pages of the exhibit (510 to be precise) into one PDF document for easier reading:
Exhibit 500 (PDF)
This is a really interesting case - talk about a literal modern day witch hunt. I just read Damien Echols book "Life After Death" & it was a good read. As a teenager who grew up in the deep south I can attest to the cultural climate which would lead to innocent but "rebellious" teenagers who looked "weird", dressed in black & listened to heavy metal (ohmygoodness!) being scapegoated for the crimes. It will be interesting to see if Arkansas will reopen the case w/ new evidence & witnesses. Terry Hobbs has long been suspected. I hope they finally get to the truth & the guilty person(s) are charged.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment, Anon -- I haven't read the book (yet), but I was so overwhelmed when I watched the films, as I could really identify with Damien Echols. Every time I think of him, and of Jason and Jessie, I thank the Universe that I grew up in the much more moderate Great White North.
DeleteI don't imagine that the state of Arkansas will do much to exonerate the boys, but you can bet the formidable legal team that the WM3 has assembled will be tirelessly working to have these bullshit charges cleaned up once and for all.
Thanks for reading :)
Don't base your opinion on the Paradise Lost docufictions. These 3 are guilty as sin. Damien Echols was *not* singled out because he wore black and listened to the mighty met. They were arrested and convicted because they murdered 3 innocent boys.
ReplyDeleteRead all here: www.callahan8k.com
Unbiased -- all documents are stored there. Warning: graphic content
I totally disagree; there is simply no way they killed those kids. I have seen the collective you are referring to, and my conviction remains sound.
DeleteThe men will be exonerated, I am confident.
I totally disagree; there is simply no way they killed those kids. I have seen the collective you are referring to, and my conviction remains sound.
DeleteThe men will be exonerated, I am confident.
As much as I respect your opinion, I'll have to disagree. While there is no "smoking gun", the evidence all points to these 3 dirtbags.
ReplyDeleteThere was no rush to judgement. Others were investigated and eliminated. And make no mistake -- none of these families were exactly pillars of society. And it really pysses me off that Hutchinson is treated like a celebrity.
He never visits his child, BTW
Buy Misskelly a bottle of Evan Williams and he'll most likely confess yet again.
Just keep an open mind and read through the interrogations, the failed polygraphs, the eyewitness accounts, the lack of alibis, the court testimonials. Hutchinson and Baldwin were hiding under the bed when apprehended, as Baldwin's mom was screaming at her husband, accusing him of turning on the "kids" to collect a reward.
They were all a bunch of crackheads.
And keep in mind that an evidentiary hearing was scheduled to take place in Dec. It was what supporters had been demanding for years. Yet, at the 11th hour, the DEFENSE approaches the DA to offer up the Alford plea. Why? Because after all the hundreds of thousands allegedly spent, they had no new evidence to present, other than a single hair that was most likely transferred.
Oh, I've read it all -- including the (more than) 500 pages worth of the infamous Exhibit 500, and still maintain that there is not so much as a shred of real, actual evidence which links these kids to the murders.
DeleteAs for Jessie's "confession," I think the fact that he was interrogated for an entire day without a lawyer present coupled with the fact that he is of borderline intelligence renders his version of events null and void. Numerous witnesses actually testified to the fact that Jessie was in another town at a wrestling match when the crimes took place; although this was noted at length in court, the information apparently fell on deaf ears.
I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of this case here, as I feel that's already done by people who have devoted far more time to it than I have. Besides, I think the fact that the WM3 are no longer in prison speaks for itself. Next step: exoneration :)
Jessie was never interrogated for an "entire day". You should research that nor is he "borderline retarded". You can look that up too. He had scored higher initially on the IQ test.
DeletePeople should also look up the definition and characteristics of someone who is "borderline retarded". That doesn't fit Jessie. He was not and is not that helpless. It's a bit offensive to people who actually are that disabled...
He also confessed MULTIPLE TIMES....even to his own lawyer. The transcripts and audio of his confessions are also available online.
Those witness "alibis" were incorrect. They even had the wrong dates of when the wrestling match was. This is why the jury didn't believe them.
This is exactly why some people think they are innocent. They haven't seen all of the facts. I used to think they were innocent, too. The Paradise Lost films, Damien's book, West of Memphis, and even the 48 hours program are all very slanted and omit a ton of information. It's not real journalism and Damien is a chronic liar.
finally someone who didnt believe all the propaganda about these 3
DeleteI am near the end of Echols' book and saw the documentaries, but I wonder why, like in the Jay Mohr interview and others, Echols isn't more honest about what Exh. 500 is. He mentions that some woman wrote it when it's actually a collectionn (still reading through it so I can't say what it ALL is) or seems to be a collection of his psychiatric records at two different institutions, two diff. states. as well as his writings, etc. So why say the woman who compiled the docs "wrote" it, as he does in his book. that's false. That's not to say he's guilty, but it is to say he weakens his case when he/his supporters can't address the other sides arguments. It comes down to more than just wearing black and teen angst. I wish he'd address the Exhibit straight on. And police records that say he threatened parents, threatened suicide. Doesn't mean he is a murderer but what he says in his book and what is in the public record gives me pause. A doc. alone is not the record. A film is formed by filmmakers. I like the doc filmmakers, but it's interesting what they kept in and what they kept out.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a link to the interview you're referring to? I haven't read the book, and have never heard (or read) Damien speak about the contents of Exhibit 500. Without hearing or reading for myself, I wouldn't feel right about commenting on it either way.
Deletehttp://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/21070/interview-damien-echols-lorri-davis-travel-west-of-memphis
DeleteJessie was not interviewed for hrs on end before confessing. He took a polygraph w/ in 1.5 hrs and failed. He then confessed in less than 4.
ReplyDeleteIQ? Tested higher on previous testing and was found by an expert to be guilty of malingering, so he wasn't retarded even when he tried to be -- albeit, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
There was no wrestling match that night. And when he produced a ticket, it was for the following week.
Echols failed a polygraph and his alibi was ripped to shreds. He even admitted on the stand that his timeline kept changing to try to fit the facts. Now today, he claims an entirely different alibi as to being on the phone w/ 3 different people and claims his lawyers were incompetent because they never called them to the stand. But in reality, they weren't called to testify because they all gave statements that they didn't reach him until after 9pm.
Baldwin didn't even bother to offer up an alibi.
Echols defense approached the prosecution to offer up the Alford plea. A judge can only accept that plea if he feels the prosecution has enough evidence to get a conviction. They had an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Dec. They chose to plead guilty instead -- supposedly because Damien might be executed. Anyone w/ half a brain knows he couldn't be executed before this hearing, and if a trial was granted, couldn't be executed before the outcome.
They say they have all of this evidence, yet haven't privies anything to Ellington. Why? Because they are attempting to gain "exhoneration" via court of public opinion.
Now echols is stating that Baldwin took the plea because if the other 2 were freed, no one would give a shit about Baldwin. In reality, it was Misslelley that had the weakest shot at the scheduled hearing, due to no juror misconduct. The Alford plea would only be accepted if all 3 agreed. This is documented, but supporters don't let facts get in the way of their adoration of these 3.
Check out his ridiculous claims here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yUUEw-Wrc
In fact, spend some time on YouTube and check out his interviews. In every interview, the answers are all the same -- word for word -- rehearsed.
He had to relearn how to use a fork? I thought Miskelley was the retarded one. BTW, I predict Misskelley will soon tire of the attention the other 2 are receiving and being referred to only as the retard.
You said: "He even admitted on the stand that his timeline kept changing to try to fit the facts."
ReplyDeleteYou mean like how Miskelley's play by play of the murders (the only bit actually recorded during his interrogation) changed repeatedly until it aligned with when and how the murders were known to have taken place?
Again, not going to get into the nitty gritty of this case, as it's been done to death. I think it's quite telling of the prejudices which still exist even today -- the same prejudices which convicted them in the first place -- that those who still maintain the WM3 are guilty aren't even willing to look at the much more likely explanation of what happened to those sweet boys in the hills.
Ritualistic Satanic Abuse isn't real... Get over it, world.
No, but children do murderer children.
ReplyDeleteYou are referring to the 1st confession, what about the others?
I feel strongly about this case because of the misconceptions and flat out lies being propagated by the wm3 support group. Echols continues to lie and lie and lie everytime he opens his mouth and hid "chubacabras" (his term of endearment, not mine) eat it up w/ a rusty spoon.
Lets put it this way: if I am on death roe for a crime I did not commit and I had evidence to exhonerate me in a court of law, I would not plead guilty a mere 4 months prior to the evidentiary hearing. They can use any excuse in the world, but the truth is, if the defends were confidant in their evidence, they would have been in a much better position come that Dec hearing. They could have then bargained w/ Ellington and most likely freed that day. Their new evidence is a hair that was most likely transferrence.
My thoughts? They have not produced any other new evidence because either there was none or it did indeed implicate the 3.
At any rate, justice should not be based on celebrity support and misinformation.
It's been interesting reading and going back and forth on two points of view. It would be easier to take your views more seriously if it wasn't completely filled with spelling errors. Other than that, it appears that you and Miss Kitty have done your research well before just throwing whatever out there that pops into your head.
DeleteRE: the hair evidence--you can't have it both ways. The DNA evidence found on the bodies can't simply be dismissd as casual transference without explain why, if it is so easy to transfer DNA, there was no DNA, hair, blood, or similar evidence from any of the WM3 on any of the victims or anywhere around the crime scene.
ReplyDeleteMagpie, there was indeed DNA found at the scene that did not exclude the 3, including that found on a penile swab from I believe the branch autopsy. But just as the Hobbs/Jacoby hairs, they are not an exact match, therefore inconclusive.
DeleteSo its disingenuous to state that all DNA excludes the 3.
Sorry about the spelling errors. I'm typing on a phone. But I think you got the gist.
ReplyDeleteI just don't like convicted child killers free to roam the streets.
IMO Terry Hobbs, one of the little boy's step-fathers is guilty.
ReplyDelete