The West Memphis Three

     In 1993, three boys: Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, were murdered in the Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis. Later, the West Memphis police department arrested 3 boys: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Misskelley who soon became known as the West Memphis 3.

      And in 1996 HBO created a documentary called Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills which interviewed the three accused boys,the victims families, and the people involved in the case, such as the attorneys, and the ones working on what happened.
      The producers of Paradise Lost then over the coarse of 18 years made Paradise Lost 2: Revelations and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. These films made a lot of impact not only in the case but in society.
      People started to realize that these boys were innocent. Celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Natalie Maines, and Metallica started to speak publicly about the case. And really use their advantage to get these innocent men out of jail.
     But all bad didn't come out of the citation. Damien Echols met his wife, Lorri Echols, and got married. And in August of 2011, 18 years in the penitentiary, Damien, Jason, and Jesse were free.
     They entered an Alford pleas which made them say they were guilty even when innocent. Justice was not served and they will still try to clear their names but now they can do it outside jail.

Photo By: M-J Milloy