Shortly after three eight-year-old boys were found mutilated and murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, local newspapers stated the killers had been caught. The police assured the public that the three teenagers in custody were definitely responsible for these horrible crimes. Evidence?
The same police officers coerced an error-filled “confession” from Jessie Misskelley Jr., who is mentally handicapped. They subjected him to 12 hours of questioning without counsel or parental consent, audio-taping only two fragments totaling 46 minutes. Jessie recanted it that evening, but it was too late— Misskelley, Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols were all arrested on June 3, 1993, and convicted of murder in early 1994.
Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution pathetically resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual. Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40.
For over 13 years, The West Memphis Three have been imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. Echols waits in solitary confinement for the lethal injection our tax dollars will pay for. They were all condemned by their poverty, incompetent defense, satanic panic and a rush to judgment.
But there’s still hope for them, and you can help.
The above is the opening splash page for The Official Site for the West Memphis Three. This past week was West Memphis Three Awareness Week, and I had every intent of getting the word out sooner, but less important things and just plain forgetting got in the way. I'm almost ashamed to admit it. No, I am ashamed, because that's the fucking problem with this country, we are too quick to forget. To quick to put the important shit on the back burner in leiu of something far less important and most likely absolutely trivial. Here we are on the Internet with the capacity to flood the world with media, print, and sites with the truth and support of this travesty of justice, and we fill it with bullshit about less-than-nothing.
Though I have been busy and trying to get things rolling as solidly as possibly on a few fronts, that doesn't take away the fact that some things warrant more attention than others. So, with that said, even though the week has passed, this thing is bigger than a week. It's an every day slap in the face of truth and justice. Here's the kicker: You're not immune from shit like this. You think that you're safe because you might know someone or some other bit of bullshit, but when the hammer falls and you're the one on the receiving end of some dumb ass case, you'll wish you paid better attention to what was going on around you and how fucked up things are getting. If we don't reign this kind of shit in, it will get worse, and that's not some conspiracy shit, that's fact. We cannot keep looking away from the failing system. It will consume us. That uncomfortable feeling you have right now is someone's hand up your ass convincing you that your liberties are secure and telling you and everythin's ok, and people like this Wrench guy don't know what they're talking about and they should be ignored. Ignore at your peril.
