Amazing story of misguided justice. The state frees them on an Alford plea so they can't sue for being wrongly convicted. Sad the state can wield that kind of power. Good Luck Damien I hope you find your peace.

I saw the documentaries on HBO and only an idiot could believe those teenagers killed the children.  Unfortunately, they had an idiot for a judge and they lived in a state that was only concerned with protected it's behind.  This case is a glaring example of injustice that should be remedied ASAP.  Congratulations to Damien for developing and/or refining the psychological/spiritual skills to endure this injustice.   I wish him well.

It takes an incredible amount of strength to go through what Mr. Nichols went through and survive. It should remind us all that witch hunt hysteria that befell Salem in the 1692 is still very much alive and well in the USA today. Thank you Mr. Nichols for sharing your story. You are an amazing person. I think the West Mephis Three case mirrors back the injustices that can happen and how truely vulnerable we all are when the "justice" system gets corrupted. I wonder what happened to the original prosecutor and sheriff in the West Memphis case. Were they fired or are they living out their lives in a comfortable suburb somewhere well out of the public eye. Unfortunately, Mr. Michols he has to live with the scars of this case. Invictus "Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley

“The most suspicious thing I found out about Damien is that he doesn’t think gummy bears are a proper topping for ice cream ... He’s a sweet guy with a bunch of tattoos.”

Who was Damien Echols in 1993?  Let's look at how he described himself, in his own handwriting, when applying for -- and receiving -- full medical benefits from the Social Security Administration for his mental health issues:

"Homicidal.  Suicidal.  Manic Depression.  Schizophrenia.  Drug Abuse.  Alcohol Abuse.  Sociopathic." . . . . . . . SOURCE:  callahan.8k.com/images/500/1/111.jpg

"I am a sociopath." . . . . . SOURCE:  http://callahan.8k.com/images/500/1/125.jpg

Please, before accepting the word of a demonstrated liar and convicted murderer -- whose convictions were upheld on appeal and who pleaded guilty (with an asterisk) to the crimes in 2011 -- let's be responsible, and do some research on the case.  And by research, I mean going beyond the deceptive advocacy movies, the latest produced by the convicted himself.  The most unbiased and comprehensive source is the library of court documents at Callahan.8k.com.

Among those documents is the 500-page psychiatric history ("Exhibit 500") that Echols' lawyers submitted during the sentencing phase in 1994, in an attempt to gain leniency for their client.  (More recently, Damien and his case-knowledgable wife have taken to lying about even this, claiming that Exhibit 500 was a documented commissioned by Jason's lawyers and written by one perjured woman, rather than a host of medical professionals and law enforcement officials.  SOURCE:  http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/21070/interview-damien-echols-lorri-davis-travel-west-of-memphis)  In the year leading up to the murders, it turned out he'd "had 3 psychiatric hospitalizations -- each associated with anger, thoughts of killing others and thoughts of killing himself." . . . . .  SOURCE:  callahan.8k.com/images/500/051.jpg

E500 Psychiatric History:  http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/img/exh500.html
Summary of E500 Psychiatric History:  http://wm3truth.com/damien-echols-profile/

Among the documented accounts of school fights, setting fires, animal cruelty, blood drinking, professed demonic possession, audio hallucinations, and delusions of becoming "the Christ" and overseeing Armageddon, you will learn that his own family is documented to have feared him:  “Because of…Damien’s threats, particularly towards his father and mother, both parents do not feel that they wish to have him return to their home. They are frightened of him and what he can do, not only to them but to other children that reside in the home.” (Sept, 1992)

For a further look at why Damien Echols remains a viable suspect in these crimes -- including details of his changed and failed alibi, his lies about familiarity with West Memphis and the crimes scene area, the witness testimony placing him near the scene and bragging publicly about the crimes -- please see this 4-page presentation of MYTH vs. FACT.

http://s1311.beta.photobucket.com/user/FredJWalsh/media/EcholsMYTHSvsFACTS-Page1of4_zps476657e5.jpg.html

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http://s1311.beta.photobucket.com/user/FredJWalsh/media/EcholsMYTHSvsFACTS-Page4of4_zps0be03356.jpg.html

Who was Damien Echols in 1993?   A mentally disturbed and at times violent teen whose own family feared him and what he could do to children.   Don't take my words for it.  Take his own words -- and those of his family, and the medical professionals and law enforcement officials who dealt with him.

SS application notwithstanding, I still believe this man is innocent.  People tend to exaggerate (their symptoms) on SS applications anyway.  Being "homocidal" at one point in life does not translate into an intent to murder (a child, in this case) many years later.  Sounds like nothing more than prosecutorialineptitude and discrimination against the mentally ill.

Echols' three (3) psychiatric hospitalizations for Suicidal/Homicidal impulses were all in the year leading up to the crimes, not "many years" before.  Three children were murdered, not one.  And his extensive psychiatric history was introduced by the Defense, not the Prosecution. . . . . . . . . . .

When something unimaginably horrible like these crimes happens, or, say, the Columbine massacre (to name another that involved, I believe, a similar dynamic between the assailants) people wonder why there were no warning signs.  In the case of the wm3, there were a boatload of signs, mostly from Echols.  (His buddy, the "easily led" Misskelley, was by all accounts a fighter, and just three months before had punched a 13-yr-old girl in the face, resulting in a documented police visit.  Another Misskelley friend told cops he'd recently struck a 6-yr-old girl in the head with a rock.  From Baldwin there were fewer signs, apart from his choice of best friend.  Though, a neighboring father forbid his children to play with Baldwin after seeing some of his drawings and not liking the vibe he got off them.) . . . . . . . . . .

Back to Echols.  Just a few months before the crimes, in January 1993, from the records of his counselor, Sherry Dockins: . . . . . . . . . .

"Reveals a history of abuse as he talked of how he was treated as a child. Denies that this has influenced him stating 'I just put it all inside.' Describes this as more than just anger-like rage. Sometimes he does “blow up”. Relates that when this happens the only solution is to 'hurt someone.' . . . . . . . . . . 

"Damien reports being told at the hospital that he could be another 'Charles Manson or Ted Bundy'. When questioned on his feelings he states 'I know I’m going to influence the world — people will remember me.'" . . . . . . . . . .

"Damien explained that he obtains his power by drinking blood of others. He typically drinks the blood of a sexual partner or of a ruling partner. This is achieved by biting or cutting. He states 'it makes me feel like a God.' Damien describes drinking blood as giving him more power and strength. He remembers doing this as far back as age 10. He does not remember where he learned to do this."
. . . . . . . . . . 
"Damien...wants very much to be all powerful. He wants very much to be in total control. We discussed how some of this is related to his experiences as a child. He acknowledges that some of this is related to his childhood abuse trauma issues but he feels that it is who he is now." . . . . . . . . . .

"Damien relates that a spirit is now living with him. The spirit was put inside him last year. He indicates that a month ago the spirit decided to become part of him and he to become part of the spirit. This is reportedly a spirit of a woman who was killed by her husband. When questioned about how he feels with this spirit or what the difference is, Damien is able to relate that he feels stronger and more powerful with this spirit. He has not seen the spirit but does hear the spirit. In addition, he also reports conversations with demons and other spirits. This is achieved through rituals. He denies that he is satanic, seeing himself more as being involved in demonology..." . . . . . . . . . .

Clearly, in 1993 Echols was a disturbed invidual with strange behaviors and delusions, a desire for fame, and violent tendencies.  To be clear, it is not direct evidence of guilt in these crimes, but it certainly doesn't help.  And it's nothing you'd ever, ever learn from the advocacy movies, especially one produced by Echols himself...

Where is genetic evidence linking Nichols to the crime??  If Nichols and his alleged partners carried this out then where is the DNA evidence linking him to the crime? Why wasn't the father of one of the boys who reportedly last saw the three boys alive investigated further? Many crimes against children are committed by a close family members.  Nichols, because of his rep, was an easy target. I've have seen firsthand what assumptions can do. I know of a case of a man who lived as a hoarder in a run down house at the edge of a wooded park. An elderly woman who had been walking in park next to where this man lived was found murdered- her throat had been slit. Police immediately assumed this odd reclusive hoarder was responsible and put the man in in jail.  Well it turns out he had NOTHING to do with the crime. Years later, DNA evidence linked another man to the crime. This other man wasn't even on the police's radar at the time.

There was little physical evidence in this case, largely due to an outdoors, cleaned up/compromised crime scene and bodies that had been submerged in water overnight.  The case against Echols and his cohorts was largely circumstantial, in addition to the “direct evidence” of witness testimony and confessions, and the admittedly limited physical evidence of clothing fibers and a knife that could not be tied conclusively to the crimes.  Additionally, Echols performance on the stand as an arrogant witness who, it was demonstrated, had lied about his alibi, was also disastrous and helped to seal his fate with the jury. . . . . . . . .

Supporters of Echols may point to a lack of conclusive DNA evidence as proving innocence.  In reality, this is far from exonerating, especially with the outdoors and compromised scene/bodies.  Despite our current "CSI" culture, DNA was actually recovered from the assailant in “just 4.5 percent of homicides,” according to a recent study of 400 murder cases, that was published right here in the Globe 

SOURCE:  http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/11/07/the_case_against_evidence/ . . . . . . .

It remains that Echols had a changing and failed alibi, faced witnesses (still not recanted) who placed him near the scene in muddy clothing and later bragging about the crimes, and police statements from others that contradicted his own account of whereabouts during the relevant hours.  It also remains that his friend Misskelley confessed not once, but on six (6) documented occasions, in the span just before his arrest on June 3, 1993 and the time just after conviction in February 1994, implicating his friends Echols and Baldwin every single time.  Also notable, by his lawyer’s own account, Misskelley maintained guilt for the entire summer of 1993, between his arrest in June and September (there are documented confessions to his lawyer from June and August).  Lastly, Misskelley’s post conviction confessions were the most detailed and plausible accounting of the crimes, and cleared up a couple of his earlier inconsistencies. . . . . . . . . .

For a fuller account of the evidence pointing to wm3 guilt, please see the fact sheet at www.westmemphisthreefacts.com

this is the case was referring to earlier. How many more men are sitting in jail because people in law enforcement made false assumptions? Conviction upheld in 1998 Bird Park murder.By Staff reports The Walpole Times Posted Jul 31, 2009 @ 12:58 PM WALPOLE — Massachusetts’ highest court has affirmed the conviction of a Norwood pizza delivery man for the savage murder of an elderly Foxboro woman that shocked the town of Walpole over a decade ago, according to Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating. “The jury’s guilty verdict against Martin Guy stands, and the SJC has also rejected his bid for a new trial,” Keating said in a press re-lease. “I am pleased for the family of Irene Kennedy that this chapter is settled in the best possible way.” Keating praised the SJC ruling as thoughtful and joined the court in praising the work of Assistant District Attorney Robert Nelson, Keating’s head of homicide prosecution. “Another man (Edmund Burke of Walpole) was sitting in jail awaiting trial for this murder on the day I assumed office,” said Keating, who was sworn in January 1999, following the Dec. 1, 1998 murder in Bird Park. “It was more than four years after I ordered the charges against an innocent man dropped, within days of taking office, before the CODIS DNA database linked the evidence in this murder to Martin Guy.” Guy’s DNA had entered the database after he was convicted of stabbing his neighbor, Christopher Payne, to death in Norwood in September 1999, Keating said. Guy and Payne, who was originally from Westwood, lived in different apartments in a building near the Norwood Post Office and had a late night altercation that resulted in the stabbing. The complete decision is available online at: http://www.sociallaw.com/slip.htm?cid=19303 Read more: Conviction upheld in 1998 Bird Park murder - Norwood, MA - Norwood Bulletin http://www.wickedlocal.com/norwood/news/x1307070948/Conviction-upheld-in-1998-Bird-Park-murder#ixzz2Nl3355Pa Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike Follow us: @WickedLocal on Twitter | 119311408344 on Facebook

"Getting The Wrong Man"- Newsweek Jun 13, 1999 8:00 PM EDT 0 "It was a brisk December morning when Tom Kennedy found the body of his wife, Irene, who had been strangled and stabbed 29 times while on her daily stroll through a park in the Boston suburb of Walpole. Then, a few hours later, a police bloodhound led officers to a nearby dilapidated bungalow where Eddie Burke, a 48-year-old handyman, lived with his mother and 32 cats. He was practically a textbook match for police profilers: a loner who knew the victim and was clearly eccentric. Cats in his home scampered over microwaves, televisions and bedding stacked floor to ceiling--except, that is, for the five dead ones stashed in refrigerators. Burke was visibly nervous and gave contradictory answers when questioned by investigators. There was blood on his clothes and hands. And forensic dentists would soon match his teeth with bite marks left on Mrs. Kennedy's breast. Nine days after police first entered Burke's fetid home, they returned to arrest him for murder. Hundreds of jeering townspeople--"Murderer!" some shrieked--lined Pleasant Street Dec. 10 as a cruiser took him away. It seemed the last anyone there would see of Burke. Walpole, home of the state penitentiary, had one more criminal behind bars. Forty-one days later, there was no crowd waiting when the murder charge was dropped and Burke came home from jail. The open-and-shut case popped back open shortly after his arrest. Within 24 hours prosecutors learned that DNA collected from saliva on Mrs. Kennedy's chest couldn't have come from Burke. Incredulous, they ran more tests, which again exonerated him. In addition, the blood found on Burke turned out to be feline; he had been tending to injured cats. A palm print left on Mrs. Kennedy's thigh didn't match Burke's hand, while the bite-mark evidence proved inconclusive. Even the bloodhound came under attack; he may have simply been sidetracked by a house full of cats. Yet for six weeks, police kept insisting they had the right man in jail. Burke, at times suicidal, cowered as other inmates taunted, "Meow, Eddie!" Burke's is a case study in the large impact of a series of small investigative missteps. Unlike Richard Jewell--who initially was reported to be a possible suspect in the Atlanta Olympic bombing before eventually being cleared--Burke's case didn't make national headlines. But he says it still managed to ruin his life; when he returned home from jail his most valued possessions, including all his cats, were missing. He says his neighbors won't talk to him. Yet there doesn't appear to be any overt misconduct by police and prosecutors. They followed a logical course and had the backing of reputed scientific experts. "This was not a case where we just went out and grabbed Eddie Burke," says Jeffrey Locke, the former county D.A. who initially handled the case. "Compelling evidence pointed to Eddie Burke. And the checks and balances all worked in this case." It was unquestionably a gruesome case. Mrs. Kennedy was eviscerated, a nipple was bitten off and a knife shattered her eye socket. The Kennedys would arrive each morning at Bird Park and split up before meeting back at the parking lot next to the Burke residence. When Irene didn't return, Tom backtracked and found her in a wooded spot where she had stopped to urinate. Shane, the police dog, was given a sniff of dirt near Mrs. Kennedy. The dog followed a circuitous route to the parking lot, then to Burke's home. When investigators knocked, Burke refused to let anyone in. Rather, he voluntarily went to the police station and, over the objection of a lawyer, provided impressions of his teeth and consented to tests for trace amounts of blood. "I knew it'd clear me," Burke said. Instead, they seemed to seal his fate. While he was locked away, Burke's life was put under the microscope. He was demonized in newspapers and on TV, each story accompanied by a menacing, courtroom image of Burke. The sociopathic profiles were fueled by details of his home's contents--X-rated videotapes, kitchen knives, the book "Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them." "They didn't mention the three Bibles in my room," Burke says. "They could've just as easily said I was a religious fanatic." And the reports of dead cats in refrigerators had some townsfolk fearing they had a homegrown Jeffrey Dahmer. "People read the paper," Burke says, "and thought, 'Scary character who eats kitty burger'." Burke is still embarrassed to admit that he gets so attached to his cats that he is reluctant to bury them. "I was heartbroken and I kept putting it off," he says. "Nobody was supposed to know--it was just between me and the cats." But while Burke sat in a cell, the chain of evidence that landed him there was unraveling. The forensic evidence was suspect, and a witness reported seeing a man in his 30s with a slight build and long hair in the park the morning of the murder. Later, she identified Burke, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall, 230 pounds, bald and a decade older, from an array of photos. At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a renowned expert, Jim Starrs, singled out the Burke investigation as a succession of "grotesqueries." Starrs criticized the techniques used to match the bite marks, saying that too little three-dimensional evidence was consulted. Lowell Levine, a New York State Police forensic specialist whose previous cases range from identifying the remains of the Romanovs to serial killer Ted Bundy, now claims he never said the match was unequivocal--despite media reports that quoted him saying, "That is Ed Burke's bite." After the DNA tests appeared to exonerate Burke, authorities cast them in doubt. Walpole Police Chief Joseph Betro, citing an empty carton of orange juice found near the body, told a citizens' forum that drinking orange juice could camouflage DNA. "That's ridiculous," says Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic-science expert. The police were understandably eager to close the case. Walpole was gripped by fear that a sadistic killer was loose, and Eddie was the only suspect ever identified; the killer is still presumably on the loose. Lt. Rick Stillman, a spokesman for the Walpole police, says, "We could not have foreseen the way this was going to go." But Burke insists a lawsuit will be necessary "to recover my reputation." He will need to recover more than that to break even. His life savings are exhausted: Legal bills and state-mandated home improvements have surpassed $75,000, and the city billed him $1,500 for shots, food and adoption arrangements for his cats. Six months after he was arrested, Burke remains a pariah in a town he loves. His two favorite pet stores have banned him with "no trespass" court orders and kids drive by his home yelling, "Die, murderer! Die!" "Hopefully instead of all this crap," he says, "at some point it'll be clear to everyone that I didn't do it." By most folks' standards, it wasn't much of a life. But Burke would give anything just to have it back."

Before the WMPD ever arrested Echols, there were several reasons to believe he was a perpetrator of the crimes.  First, his name was suggested by his parole officer as someone capable of doing it.  Second, when questioned four days after the crimes, and then once again five days after the crimes, Echols story of his whereabouts changed dramatically, in several respects, between the two accounts.  Third, a family who knew Echols on sight came forward and said they'd seen him walking the service road in muddy clothes the night of the crimes, at a time he was supposedly at home.  Fourth, a peer of Echols told police he'd privately admitted to the crimes on a very drunken night, but that Echols had then retracted his comments the next morning, citing drunkenness as the reason for having offered them.  (This peer, William Jones, was set to be a witness for the Prosecution until he bailed out shortly before trials.)  Fifth, there were various similar reports of Echols taking credit for the crimes in public spaces:  the softball field, the roller rink, and around Lakeshore.  And finally, on June 3, 1993, one month after the crimes, Echols' friend Jessie Misskelley offered police a confession implicating himself, Echols, and mutual friend Jason Baldwin.  Misskelley would go on to maintain their guilt to his own lawyer for three months, from the time of arrest through September 1993, and would offer a total of six (6) confessions available on record between the day of his arrest and the weeks shortly after his February 1994 conviction of the murders of Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Chris Byers.