West Memphis Three Update

The backstory, if you are unfamiliar with it, is told in Mara Leveritt's wonderful book, later made into an HBO movie, Devil's Knot.  It is the story of "Satanic Panic" - boys accused of murder in part because of their proto-Gothic lifestyles, railroaded by a lazy and incompetent, and dishonest prosecution, and sentenced - one to death, one to life without parole, and one to 40 years without parole.  Reading the tale, one is amazed that a jury could even consider such weighty sentences on such scant evidence and with so little worthwhile investigation on the part of the state.  I oppose the death penalty on ethical grounds even in cases where guilt is as completely assured as is possible.  But I am outraged that the death penalty can be given out by a kangaroo court - which is what happend in West Memphis Arkansas a decade and a half ago. And that result would have stood had it not been for good luck on the part of the defendants, which may take even longer to eventually bring their exoneration and release. The update follows:

Today, I posted the following at Tête-à-Tête-Tête:  

Hearing today.

And if it weren't for two documentaries, Web sites and rock band support of the "West Memphis Three," the case would have faded away, said Jeffrey Walker, a criminology professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

"If it wasn't the 'West Memphis Three,' if it wasn't the West Memphis killings and it wasn't the attention this had been given, (the appeal) wouldn't be heard," Walker said.

In other words,  Damien Echols would likely be executed and Jason Baldwin would likely spend the rest of his life in prison (while separate defendent Jesse Misskelley would likely spend most of his life in prison), despite being, in all likelihood, innocent.  What will prevent an even greater miscarriage of justice in this case is the mere happenstance that investigative journalist Mara Leveritt got interested in these boys.  The "Justice System" would have gladly let the case, and Damien Echols, die.