Film reveals new 'West Memphis 3' witnesses

[sinkingfeeling]

http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10201031-film-reveals-new-west-memphis-3-witnesses

Peter Jackson's "West of Memphis" documentary reveals fresh allegations in the 1993 murder case of of three young boys in Arkansas.

In the documentary, screening at Sundance Friday, three new witnesses undergo polygraph tests. They declared under penalty of perjury that the nephew of Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the young victims, told them his uncle was behind the murders.

According to lawyers working on the so-called West Memphis 3 case, three friends of Michael Hobbs Jr. came forward a few weeks ago after seeing a "48 Hours" special on the case. Damein Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. have long professed their innocence of the killings, and the case, and fight for their release has been chronicled in a trilogy of documentaries, most recently "Paradise Lost."

[arcane1]

1. That reminds me: Paradise Lost 3 just aired, and I missed it!

:kick:

[EOTE]

6. It's really good.

All three of the films are. And for some reason, I found the third the most maddening.

[arcane1]

7. I've seen the first two numerous times

I'm dying to see part three!!

[EOTE]

8. It's got some really amazing scenes.

(kinda spoiler alert)

My favorite part of the film comes from when Terry Hobbs makes the boneheaded decision to sue Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks for defamation. He seemed to have zero understanding of the implications of such a suit and he soon found himself under intense scrutiny from the defense (I forget the legal term for this). At this point, it basically seemed as if he was on trial for the murder of those boys as he had to account for all of his actions during that day. If he were truly on trial that day, I think there was a good chance he would have been convicted. My jaw dropped while watching this. It was truly amazing.

[Blue_Tires]

2. I don't know why I thought those boys already got exonerated and released

talk about a slow wheel of justice

[REP]

3. Released, yes; exonerated, no.

I believe they had to plead guilty to be released for time served.

On edit: they had to enter Alford pleas, which does allow them to assert innocence (an Alford is similar to a nolo contendre).

[obamanut2012]

9. An Alford is different from a nolo plea

In that an Alford is a Not Guilty plea, while a nolo plea is considered a Guilty plea.

They were forced to do this instead of having the new evidence heard as scheduled, because the Arkansas authorities had scheduled Damien's execution. When Jason heard that, he agreed to the Alford. He was the holdout.

Arkansas did this so they wouldn't have to pay them for the years they were imprisoned.

[REP]

10. That's why I said "similar"

Actually, a nolo acknowledges that there is sufficient evidence to convict at trial without admitting guilt.

I think forcing them to agree to an Alford was a travesty.

[gkhouston]

12. My understanding is that they agreed to it because one of them was quite ill

and needed good medical care. They were afraid to wait any longer for justice to be done.

[justiceischeap]

4. I hope they find who did it and why

If this Hobbs fella did it, he should come forward.

[TheWraith]

5. Stupid reporter, abusing the word "witnesses."

These aren't witnesses, as they did not witness anything. Not even the guy confessing. Hearsay is about as far from eyewitness testimony as you can get. Not saying that they're wrong, mind you, but their claims would have exactly no weight in the legal system. Three guys claiming someone else said his uncle was behind it = third hand data at best.

[mzmolly]

11. Here is the official website for the film.

http://westofmemphisfilm.com/