antiReviews:
Various Artists -- Free The West Memphis Three Case Overview / CD Review
By Goth Brooks
Free The West
Memphis Three Release Date:
October 10, 2000
Label: Koch
Records
1. Steve Earle –
The Truth
2. Rocket from the
Crypt – Wrong and Important
3. L7 – Boys in
Black
4. Supersuckers
– Heavy Heart
5. Joe Strummer
& The Long Beach Dub All Stars – The Harder They Come
6. Tom Waits – Rains
on Me
7. Supersuckers
w/ Eddie Vedder – Poor Girl
8. Tony Scalzo –
Indicted
9. Zeke – Wrathchild
10. Kelly Deal –
Fucking Hostile
11. The John Doe
Thing – Hwy 5
12. Mark Lanegan
– Untitled Lullaby
13. Murder City
Devils – She
14. Nashville Pussy
– Highway to Hell
15. Killing Joke
– Our Last Goodbye
On May 5th, 1993
three 8 year old boys, Michael Moore, Steve Branch, and Christopher Byers,
headed home from Weaver Elementary School to their nearby West Memphis,
Arkansas neighborhood on their bicycles. A few hours later they were
reported missing and an informal search by their parents got underway.
The next afternoon a child’s body was pulled from a creek in a ditch bank,
in an area known as the Robin Hood Hills. Eventually, the bodies
of the other two missing boys were found nearby. All three of the
boys had been severely beaten and tied in the Hog-Tied fashion, ankle to
wrist with their own shoelaces. One of the boys in particular, Christopher
Byers, appears to have been the focus of the attack: he had been stabbed
repeatedly in the groin area and castrated. All three of the boys
suffered massive head injuries.
I sit and write with
a heavy heart when I think of how those kids suffered this violent attack,
and of the gruesome scene left behind by whoever is guilty of this crime.
I’ve seen the HBO Documentary “Paradise Lost Pt.1", and have read over
the crime scene reports and the synopsis of the case at the www.wm3.org
website about a thousand times trying to understand where justice was served
in convicting Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. of
this crime. Jessie Misskelley Jr. was sentenced to life plus 40 years
in the Arkansas State Prison System; Jason Baldwin was sentenced to life
without the possibility of parole, and Damien Echols, the suspected ringleader
of this trio, and perpetrator of what his accusers call a “Satanic motivated”
crime, was sentenced to die by lethal injection.
The one good reason
I can argue the fact that justice is blind in Arkansas is because three
teenage boys were convicted of these murders with no solid evidence against
them other than the fact that they listened the heavy metal bands like
Slayer and Metallica, and wore a lot of black. From what I’ve read
and from the documentary I’ve seen, I can’t conclude the guilt or the innocence
of the three defendants in this case. I wasn’t there at the crime
scene, and I haven’t done enough research at this point to have a solid
conclusion or a final opinion on the matter.
At this point I can
say I think that Damien Echols was someone who was guilty of nothing more
than having an identity that was so different than the norm, and that his
interest and knowledge of something as taboo as the occult or Satanism
made him a prime suspect in the God fearing Southern Baptist town of West
Memphis, Arkansas. All in all, I think Damien was more of a dabbler
than he was a full- blown practitioner of anything that required elaborate
measures, such as Satanic rituals or ceremonies.
There is no real
evidence that puts the three defendants at the crime scene at the estimated
time of the murders. This is a case full of lack of evidence, what
appears to be a coerced confession from Jessie Misskelley Jr., evidence
lost, and evidence destroyed or overlooked altogether. Am I wrong in the
belief that in order to be convicted of a crime the person has be proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? The only solid physical evidence offered
in the case actually implicates the stepfather of one of the victims, not
the accused. The prosecution botched the case even further by having one
of their key witnesses debunked when it was brought out in court that he
received his masters and doctorate degrees through mail order, not by attending
college.
I’ve read at least
a hundred pages off the www.wm3.org website and can’t cover the extent
of what I’ve learned about the case thus far. I encourage you to
go to the address yourselves and familiarize yourselves with the case and
see what you think, and if you feel strongly enough about it to support
the fight to free the West Memphis three. And I almost forgot to
mention there’s a compilation CD that’ll be released October 10th to monetarily
benefit the three defendants in hopes of a new trial. Musicians as
diverse as Tom Waits and Nashville Pussy have contributed tracks to the
CD in support of the West Memphis Three. My personal favorites on
this CD are Zeke doing their suped-up version of Iron Maidens “Wrathchild”,
Blaine Cartwright and Nashville Pussy giving the treatment to AC/DC’s timeless
classic “Highway to Hell”, and those Rockin’ chicks from Los Angeles who
call themselves L7 making me foam at the mouth with an L7 original called
“Boys in Black”. These three choice cuts alone are worth the price
of the CD.
Posted by lukin:
if eddie vedder says they didnt do it let them out. vedder for president
Posted by dolly:
good to know borderline retarded people are so clever, thanx for the update. Are you the stepdad by any chance?
Posted by Nayrb:
I had heard of the case a while back, but never checked into it... I just went through and read a lot of the details, and the sheer number of discrepancies and problems surrounding this case is amazing. I could be wrong (the legal jargon in the papers hurts my head), but it looks like the federal level is where they're finally making progress. I'm really afraid that any court that is Arkansas based isn't going to ever truly give them many fair chances - there still seems to be too many people condemning them, regardless of the case.
Posted by Anuj:
I remember when I saw the documentaries, I was so shocked I couldn't sleep that night. I went to a local benefit for them (not very well organized, but whatever...) and bought the shirt online (it came with a free bumper sticker). I've thought about writing to Damien, but I can't think of anything in particular I would like to discuss.
Posted by Justice:
The Three are guily as hell. Jessie Miskelly confessed three times, his last confession was against his lawyers wishes. In that confession he admits that he gave the police the wrong information in the first place to throw them off. They are guilty.
Posted by EycHaus:
With Tookie Williams being all over the news, this is gonna be the next major case...
Posted by GTD :
Free the Three, dammit! When I saw the guilty verdict come down in Paradise Lost, it's a good thing I didn't have a beer in my hand 'cause it would have flew through the TV screen. That psycho setpdad is the guilty mofo. Nice false teeth, jagoff.
Posted by laura:
in the words of Reba: "Don't trust your sould with those backwoods southern lawyers, cause the judge of the town's got blood stains on his hands"--i live in texas...so i'm not offended by 'backwoods southern'
Posted by Anna:
Echols, Baldwin & Misskelley didn't do it! Free the West Memphis Three!
Posted by Shayn:
That judge, the prosecuter, and the cops of that town need to be hung, shot, quartered, and the rest of their relatives sterillized for doing that to those kids. F*ckers at the most volitile extreme.
Posted by Nicard:
I saw the HBO docmentry and I was shocked there was no real evidence at the scene. In all forensics you learn something is transfered both ways. Not enough to convict.
Posted by Meg n Dezz:
anyone wanna help us bust em out?? they didnt do crap
Posted by brandy:
i think that the police are just trying to put the crime on these three teens because they seem to be different from the so called normal. But when i seen the movie about the case i did not see any way the court could say they did this!
Posted by Graci
Nunez: I think their life had to end and that's
why that happened to them...
bella666
this is bullsh!t. just because u like
metal doesnt mean that u'r gonna kill someone. i listen to death metal,
i dont beleive in god, i dont like children, my favorite number is 6, my
favorite colors are black and red, i'm a capricorn(capricorn's talisman
is the black cat, the witch and the demon), and i cut myself just to see
how much it bleeds...but havnt killed anyone nor am i about to, plus i'm
a really nice person(or so i'v been told....)
GOTH BROOKS
Me and francis the photographer just got
back from Blood Drive 2000 where some of the bands who contributed songs
to the free the West Memphis 3 CD played. Zeke, Supersuckers and X, who's
John Doe contributed the track Hwy 5 to the CD. Also a few favorites who
aren't on the CD. The Damned, and The MISFITS. Killer show!
One More Thing
You still cannot spell worth a SH.IT !!!
To Flounder
Doesnt matter,i've proved my point. Jackass
GOTH BROOKS
Miguel, the BROKEN review w/ pictures
and a couple of songs on realaudio is up. Check it out.
Flounder
To the So Called English Major. Learn
to capitalize before you criticize.
to the so called law student.
dude, if your a law student i hope to
hell you never defend me some day with your misspelling and run away sentences!!
Flounder
What strikes me as most trajic in this
case is that nobody knows if the real killer has been found or not. As
a law student, I hear horror stories like this weekly. The main problems
in all cases are: an oafish and untrained police force, appointed counsels
who go underfunded and unrespected, and the blatant unprofessionalism and
downright fraud of the prosecutorial and judicial bar. This country is
in a frency of 'get tough on crime' thought. This, more than the threat
of big brother or the rise of militant political factions, is the greatest
threat the American freedom that this country has ever known. Who's going
to feel the hammer of moral righteousness next? This sort of hysteria is
threat to our entire criminal system. If you don't heed the warnings, just
wait until its your turn.
colleen
i wrote an article about a year or so
ago on this subject for a fanzine called stain outta philly. i'm glad someone
else has sparked an interest in this sham of "justice". keep the faith.
WATCH DOG
I wasnt there so cant really say one way
or the other. No more than a lot of folks can. But it seems like there
is injustice all over and when something happens down south they want to
make a civil war issue over it. When I moved down there I was told to go
back home. And when people up here find out that Ilived downsouth, they
call me a redneck. Im just so sick of this mason dixon crap. It ended 135
years ago. Let us all move on.
GOTH BROOKS
Yeah but what do you know and what do
you think about this here case?
WATCHDOG
I LIVED IN THE SOUTH FOR SEVEREL YEARS
AND BEEN HARRASED, AND ALSO LIVED UP NORTH AND WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN DOWN THERE? FUNNY THING, MY FRIEND LEFT THE SOUTH AND
WAS IN PRISON WITHIN ONE YEAR. COME VISIT THE FRIENDLY STATE OF MICHIGAN,
WE WILL MAKE YOU FEEL AT HOME. OR AT LEAST FIND YOU ONE.
Migel
With a watch dog like you we are in deep
sh*t! Go down south and see this ignorance for yourself. Just like L.A.?
Hum I seem to remember a police beating there and a riot a few years back.
Besides these kids were in Arkansas the same place that gave us that back
woods jackass Clinton.
Punk4Christ
To everyone reading this I actually live
in west memphis and am a Southern Baptist as well as a fan of Metellica
and other rock bands. First i want to say u should not pass judgement on
southerners or babptists. though i dont think that the 3 were treated fairly
you cant honestly place blame on the babtists or any other group of people.
Peace out and Jesus Saves
WATCH DOG
WHY DID I HAVE TROUBLE POSTING THAT LAST
ONE? I HAD NO CUSSWORDS OR ANYTHING IT SAYS NOT TO PRINT. IS THERE A PROBLEM
OF SOME SORTS?
JOHNDOE
SORRY ABOUT THAT. IT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE.
AND IT D*D. MY FREIND IS SERVING NINE TO FIFTEEN YEARS FOR SOMETHING HE
DID NOT DO. AND THIS HAPPENED IN MICHIGAN. AKA WATCHDOG.
JOHNDOE
SORRY ABOUT THAT. IT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE.
AND IT D*D. MY FREIND IS SERVING NINE TO FIFTEEN YEARS FOR SOMETHING HE
DID NOT DO. AND THIS HAPPENED IN MICHIGAN. AKA WATCHDOG.
GOTH BROOKS
West Memphis, Arkansas
WATCHDOG
To migil, have you ever been down south
or is this opinion of yours popular culture brainwashing? And if im correct
yhis happened in memphis? Memphis is a major city and with a large black
population. The only difference between it and say n.y.c. detroit or l.a.
is it`s geographical location. You make southerns look smart.
GOTH BROOKS
Yes Paul, there's so many facts that I'm
aware of in this case that I couldn't possibly cover in this article. I've
got that piece of information filed in with the "overlooked, and lost evidence."
Thanks for bringing it to the attention of anyone who reads this article,
who is not familiar with the case, or that specific piece of information
having to do with the case. To be even more specific about that information,
the police recieved a 911 call from a Bojangles restaurant on the evening
before the bodies were discovered about a black man who came into the restaurant
in a disheveled and erratic manner. He went into the womens restroom and
was sitting on a toilet w/the stall door open, mumbling to himself and
breathing heavily. The shift manager at the restaurant went in and tried
to see what was going on with this guy. The restaurant manager said the
man had mud, and what appeared to be blood on his hands and clothing. The
man abruptly left after the restaurant manager attempted to see what was
going on. The police were called and never entered the restaurant or took
any kind of report that evening. They returned the next day, after the
bodies were discovered and took blood sample off the wall of the restaurant
for lab analysis. The officer in charge of the blood sample to be analyzed
testified in court that the blood samples were lost in transtit to the
lab. (This is documented in the Paradise Lost pt.1 video)
Paul
I think there was also something about
a man with blood all over him walking into a bathroom at a restaurant.
The manager called the police but they just drove around the car prak without
even getting out.
Migel
the people down south don't like anyone
who is different this is no surprise that they would convicet three kids
for this.
T
They recently took bite mark trsts and
they didn't even match the ones on the body.. it's pretty much bullsh*t
SOURCHUX
Me again. What I meant to say was, "but
it sure did influence the jury in this town full of southern baptist idiots
to find them guilty when the had no other solid proof.
SOURCHUX
Your right BUTCH, these 3 weren't convicted
because the wore black and listened to metal, but it sure did influence
the jury to find them guilty when they had no other solid proof.
metallica7
if metal turned these 3 in killers then
im suing dan folgolberg forturning me into a puzzy in the 70's!!!! heheh
just kidding but in all sense its the same arguement
BUTCH
I'm going to buy the album just for the
Tom Waits song (check him out if you never heard of him---good stuff) As
for the Memphis Three, I've seen the HBO special and read some reports
on the Internet about the investigation. I don't think they did it...I
think that grotesque stepfather who looks like Frankensteins bastard love
child with Cher is responsible. ALSO, I don't think these kids were convicted
because they listen to metal and wore black clothes. They were scapegoats.
So don't make this into some it's the backward southerbaptist idiots persiquting
outsiders. Its not that at all. It is plain injustice! Not a conspiracy
against metal music.
antiGUY
Never heard of these other bands? Ok they
aren't household names but they are well known in the underground. enuff
of that. I am have to hand it to Goth on this one. He hit the nail right
on the head. Going by the evidence there is no way these three should have
been convicted. I do not know if they did it or not but I doubt it for
two reasons. 1) The stepfather of one of the victims did have a knife with
human blood on it. 2)At least one of the victims had bite marks on his
body and the teeth marks DID NOT match any of the accused. That same step
father NOW has false teeth but did not at the time of the murders. The
arresting officer had it in for Damian Echols for years and when they hadn't
come up with any suspects in a couple of weeks they pulled in one of Damian's
friends Jessie Misskelley, interigated him for hours (NOT ON TAPE) finally
got a confession that was factually incorrect on several counts plus this
kid had an IQ in the low 70's. This was the only solid evidence used in
this case that I know of besides a knife found in a stream by one of the
defendants home. So with the questionable confession, the lack of physical
evidence and the contradictory physical evidence I do strongly feel that
these three do deserve a new trial where all the facts can be examined.
Accident of Birth
I've heard of Nashville Pussy, who in
the hell are the rest of these no-names?! Oh, yeah...And Justice For All
(blatant Metallica reference)!!
GOTH BROOKS
These artist are taking action in the
"here and now", based on their beliefs that the trial was unfair due to
ignorance of the cold, hard facts that there is no substantial proof, or
overwhelming evidence against the defendants, nor has a witness to the
actual crime come forward and pointed a finger at the accused and convicted
in this case by placing them at the scene of the crime. The benefit CD
is to raise funds for a new trial in hopes that it will be a fair one this
time around I'm sure. it's your right to believe what you want to believe.
Like I said before, My sincere hope is that you can come to your own conclusions
without being influenced by what I say. I'm also not out to sell you the
CD. That's not my job, and not what this is all about.
metallica7
sorry i wasnt clear enough in my first
post.. i meant to say that i havent found really anything yet on "either
side" pro or con. no really i wouldnt let it phase me in how i feel. im
just pissed that this extreamly violent crime and investgation was so blotch
along with the media frenzy forced the "3" into prison. i guess im saying
is i cant purchase a cd in support of a cause where im not sure if their
guilty or not for fear of being hypictital, and in the same breath, dont
these artists also set themselves up for the same onslaught?
GOTH BROOKS
Hey M7, My most sincere hope is that you
won't be influenced by what my article says without finding out the facts
for yourself. And if you do find the somehow, someway or something that
was considered solid enough evidence to convict these guys, please let
me know.
metallica7
i dunno...i like anti-guy have followed
this case from day one and i really cannot comment on it due to the fact
that theres 2 sides to the story and that i havent completed reading all
the material. i do know that being tried by a jury of your peers, somehow
someway they had to have found something other than the occult, and metal
music issues to convict all 3 defendants, one of them really just a patsy
tag along. even tho i do like and listen to some of the artists above,
i wont be buying this cd for i cant support something i dont feel strongly
about
metallidude
that really sucks that we live in a country
that you can get the death penelty because you listen to metal and wear
black cloths.
