Image Credit: CBSYou may or may not have heard about Johnny Depp’s crusade. He has long been the most private of movie stars, but this Saturday night, he will break character when he appears on the CBS investigative news show 48 Hours Mystery to defend the West Memphis Three, who as teenagers were found guilty of the hideous 1993 murder of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Depp joins a handful of other entertainers — Eddie Vedder, Winona Ryder, the Dixie Chicks — who claim that the convicted killers are innocent, and that they were railroaded for the crime because of their associations with heavy-metal music, goth fashion, and the occult. One of the three, Damien Echols, is now on death row. (The other two, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, received life sentences.)
The reason that Damien became the focus of the case is that he was portrayed in court as a teenage satanist, which inflamed the community. Actually, he was a follower of Wicca — which may, in a place like West Memphis, seem interchangeable with “satanism.” Even so, that hardly makes him guilty.
I’m as skeptical as anyone when celebrities like Sean Penn pick and choose a cause to flaunt and lecture us about. It isn’t hard, though, to see why Johnny Depp has fastened onto Damien Echols and the West Memphis Three. There have always been innocents on death row, but the issue of people falsely incriminated by their association with subversive pop culture obviously touched a deep nerve in Depp. (As a comrade of Keith Richards, he’s had his own associations with devilish rockers, even if they are in their sixties.) In 17 years, there has never been forensic evidence linking Damien Echols, or any of the West Memphis Three, to this crime. What interests me about Depp’s appearance on 48 Hours is that it marks the re-opening of a case that has already been the subject of a memorable and disturbing movie: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s great 1996 documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. You have never seen anything quite like it.
Back in 1996, I reviewed the film for EW, and here’s some of what I said:
“The mesmerizing investigative documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills begins with a clip that may leave you gasping in horror and shock…The images are so graphically disturbing they leave us with an unflinching hunger to see the crime solved. That hunger mirrors the fear, dismay, and wrath within West Memphis itself, a Bible Belt community where matters of crime and punishment take on an apocalyptic cast.
Three teenage outcasts are arrested and put on trial. There’s no hard evidence linking them to the murders (though one has made a confession brimming with inconsistencies), and the implication is that they’ve been turned into scapegoats because they fit the image of satanic teen killers. The most fascinating of the three is a
witchcraft/heavy-metal dandy named Damien Echols, and he is some piece of work…He looks like he belongs at a Tears for Fears reunion concert, and he seems to regard being on trial for murder as an imposition devised by lesser mortals…A gothic backwoods Rashomon, Paradise Lost inspires a gripping sense of moral vertigo. An abyss opens up before our eyes when John Mark Byers, the righteous, hymn-singing, cold-as-ice stepfather of one of the victims, suddenly becomes a suspect (after giving an incriminating knife to one of the filmmakers!).”
If you watch it, you’ll see that Paradise Lost is a movie that won’t let go of you. (It has the effect I was hoping for — and didn’t get — from sitting through all five overly murky hours of the Red Riding trilogy.) Berlinger and Sinofsky became so possessed by their subject that they made a sequel, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), in which John Mark Byers stood before their cameras and went even further into creepy, questionable behavior. Is he still a potential suspect? And will 48 Hours present any fresh evidence — or just exploit the case, and its new celebrity advocate, to rehash old fears about the influence of satanic rock music on the hearts of our precious youth? You can bet I’ll be tuned in, hoping that Johnny Depp, and the show, will serve justice along with our voyeurism.
The best documentary I’ve ever seen. It’s cool that Depp thinks so, too. It’s absolutely disturbing and riveting. The father creeps me out. This is Backwoods, USA stuff.
Agreed. I don’t know that the teens didn’t do it, but the terrifying John Mark Byers should have been investigated as a suspect.
One of the 3 confessed. Echols and Baldwin both told others they committed the murders. Echols was seen near the crime scene with muddy clothes. Clothing fibers and a knife connected them to the crime.
West Memphis 3 confession, witness corroboration and physical evidence
http://bit.ly/cOT2ft
Um, no. There was NO physical evidence entered into the trial.
Actually, the one confession was ‘Brimming with inconsistencies.’
there was absolutly ZERO physical evidence. they were railroaded because of their appearance. the knife i think you are talking about was provided by the step-father of one of the murdered boys.
oh and by the way. the one that confessed only did so after hours of interogation and is almost retarded. not to mention his “confession” did not match up with the crime scene.
You are aware that false confessions are not rare, right? I know little about this case, but the fact that someone makes a confession (especially if it is confusing or contradictory) does not truly mean someone is guilty.
Jessie Lloyd MISSKELLEY, Jr. v. STATE of Arkansas CR 94-848 S.W.2d Supreme Court of Arkansas
Damien Echols was observed near the crime scene at 9:30 p.m. on May 5. He was wearing black pants and a black shirt and his clothes were muddy. A witness testified that she had attended a satanic cult meeting with Echols and the appellant. Steven Byers’s mother testified that, approximately two months before the murders, her son told her that a man dressed all in black had taken his picture. There was evidence that Baldwin owned a shirt and boots of the type described by the appellant. Finally, a witness from the State Crime Lab testified that she found fibers on the victims’ clothing which were microscopically similar to items in the Baldwin and Echols residences.
C’mon…if you’re going to trot out the bunk evidence, be honest about its veracity. Nobody reported Damien near the scene that night until after he was arrested; if he was nearby, then you have to implicate Domini Teer, his girlfriend, in the crime as well. Vicki Hutcheson, the ‘cult attendee’, is one of the most tainted witnesses in the history of taint; she’s admitted the stories were made up, as were those of her son Aaron. The dressed in black story was never reported to the police prior to the murders, and nothing links Damien to that incident if it really happened. Baldwin owned boots and a shirt similar to what a witness described – damning stuff. The fiber evidence is garbage; the fibers are also consistent with items sold at Wal-Mart, which would implicate 90% of West Memphis. Why not trot out Dale Griffis as a reliable witness if you’re going to argue the state’s case? The softball girls who’ve since admitted they really only heard from someone else that Damien said all that stuff at the game. Michael Carson, who knew Jason for five minutes in holding, testifying that he confessed to him when he’s never said that to anyone else before or since. A knife from a common lake, found months after the murders, being tied to Jason because it ‘might’ be consistent with the injuries (which have since been relegated to turtle predation).
Face it – the case is weak, and if it wasn’t such a feather in the cap of men like David Burnett and John Fogelman, they’d have admitted their screw up a long time ago.
It airs Saturday, not Sunday FYI. Great article!
ummm, Damien nor Jason confessed. Watch both documentaries and read the book “The Devil’s Knot”. So much evidence was surpressed it leaves you literally screaming.
It’s a real shame that from what I’ve seen so far, 48 Hours and Depp have not looked any farther than the original documentaries. Jessie confessed multiple times, Jason and Damien both confessed.
Dan Stidham the lawyer talking on the clip had every intention of pleading Jessie guilty.
It seems like you have looked no farther than the orginial documentaries. If you had you would not be saying they are guilty.
I highly doubt a recognized news program and someone with Depp’s public persona and reputation are going to go on record after only having watched the documentary! I would think there has been much research and interviewing done. Depp doesn’t attach his name to things like this very often, so I doubt he would do it just because he watched a documentary 10 years ago!
Agreed! You know they would have done lots of research before associating their names with this case.
Just because a bunch of “STARS” stood up for this garbage does not mean ANYTHING PERIOD! They have their own motivations. Oh Yes! Whats wrong with you people. Give the cops SOME credit. Geez. Sometimes the answer is the obvious one. Who Looked like a satanist here? Huh? Duh? You people are star struck. Thats an injustice in its self. Now their free. Great. Just great. Everybody in prison is innocent ya know.
Sunny…you are shamefully spreading false information. Damien and Jason never confessed — not even the proscutors would say that; Dan Stidham had zero intention of ever pleading them guilty and the 48 Hours segment talks about significant new evidence that has come out, as will Paradise Lost 3. Please don’t spread malicious and false gossip when people’s lives are on the line.
Mr.Berlinger:
I am so glad to know there is a Paradise Lost 3 coming out! When will it be released? I became “almost” obsessed with this case after being assigned to write a college paper on it and it has weighed on my mind ever since. I try to find everything I can on it to read or watch.My thanks to you for the great courage you (and your partner) had to film the Paradise Lost documentaries.Great job!I pray these three (now young men) are freed and the real killer/killers are found.Please keep up the great job you are doing and God Bless you for it.
Sunny, I don’t know where you got your information from but Damien and Jason NEVER confessed. The original so-called confession, if I remember correctly, was from Jessie. But it was later retracted because Jessie was questioned ALONE and is borderline mentally retarded. He was questioned for hours but only like an hour of it was actually recorded. We don’t know what happened in that interrogation room but I’m pretty damn sure those cops did more than “talk” to Jessie!
Oh, so being questioned alone when one cannot collude with others’ stories and being mentally challenged makes you innocent????
I think Christina was referring to the fact that he was questioned without the presence of a lawyer, which a person that is borderline mentally retarded would definitely need.
Isn’t it “innocent until “PROVEN” guilty? It was just the opposite for the WM3-they were deemed guilty from the very beginning! If anyone is REALLY interested in this case, they should read the book “Devil’s Knot” which reveals much more than even the documentaries. It’s funny to me how many “officials” were also up for re-election that year.And talk about stereotyping people, WOW!! What if this happened to your child? It’s scarey to think something like this could happen in the USA, but it does. There are also a lot of people who gave statements about seeing the boys near the crime scene, going to an esbat, etc. and later re-canted their stories! Isn’t that interesing? And what about John Mark Byers getting his teeth ALL pulled shortly afterward? Come on people, use your common sense on alot of this. That’s all it would take to see what happened to the WM 3.Oh, and one more thing, why was the black man who was covered with blood and went into Bojangles the night of the murders never pursued, and then the blood sample the DID have of his (along with other evidence) somehow “accidently” got lost? Whatever!!!!!!
Please provide a link to the ‘confessions’ of Damien and Jason. None of Jesse’s ‘confessions’ have been consistent, and he never testified against Damien and Jason, nor has he tried to come clean since. These latter confessions are mostly indicative of his willingness to please people when he’s one on one.
Yeah, it says Saturday in the article. Already have my DVR set to record it. These men deserve justice and a new trial, which will prove they DIDN’T DO IT!
Sadly, until new evidence comes into play, there will never be a new trial. Knowing they are innocent, and proving it are 2 different things. I believe they are innocent. It’s just too bad they can’t prove it, and that they got ruined with their first trials.
Owen, thanks for remembering us! Depp saw the film in 1996 and reached out to me then because he was so disturbed by the film and has been an ardent supporter ever since. Sadly, we are in the process of making Paradise Lost 3, which will premiere on HBO at the end of the year or in early 2011. It is truly mind-boggling this case is still not resolved. Thanks.
Joe Berlinger
Joe,
I met you and Bruce at UCSB when you screened the documentaries a few years back, and I’m glad you two are still working on the case. I never dreamed this would still be going on back in 1996, but I hope relief will come soon. Will your third installment focus on Terry Hobbs? My only recommendation would be to do a rundown on some of the details from ‘Devil’s Knot’ on the initial stages of the case; the roles of Jerry Driver and Vicki Hutcheson would be a good place to start.
Thanks again for all your work and for being the ones to bring this case out into the open.
Tully
Damien Echols was not a teenage Satanist. He was a self-imposed student of several religions, including Wicca (which is NOT Satanism, by the way), basically to widen his range of knowledge. He was raised in Catholicism, thought about going into priesthood, and now doesn’t affiliate himself with any particular religion. He has never been a Satanist.
i did not make these fellows do it..can’t tell you who but let’s just say what he did to those boys even made me throw up a little in my mouth….
Of course the Republicans have a bug in their bonnet about the “Ditzy Chicks”. First, loud mouth goes and makes that horrible comment about our president, and in France at that. Then they have the senate call an unscheduled meeting when radio stations boycott their music. Poor little twits.
Sorta like what your side is doing now with Obama? jodibell, your name says all I need to know about your intelligence.
What does that have to do with anything? Why even bring that up? Also, it’s their right to say what they want wherever they want. Grow up.
Will this ruin anything for him & Alice In Wonderland? It’s bad enough the Republicans still have a bug up their collective butt because of the Dixie Chicks. Now they probably want to do the happy dance because of Johnny Depp supporting these three, even if they really are innocent of that crime.
It’s asinine misconceptions like yours that put Damien, Jessie, and Jason behind bars in the first place. WTF does political affilation have to do with knowing those boys were wrongly convicted?
Are you a Republitard yourself, Carrie? Maybe if you stopped being so snotty for a few minutes, you’d see I’m not against Johnny Depp or the possibility that those three are innocent.
Carrie is right. You Damnocrats think you know everything
I’m sorry did you even read what she said Jean? When did she say you were against Johnny Depp or that you thought they were guilty? She just said maybe you shouldn’t assume that every Republican thinks they are guilty.
Dude, I don’t know what you’re talking about. 1. What does republicanism have anything to do with this? 2. Where does Carrie say that you’re against Johnny Depp? 3. Don’t comment if you aren’t a fully functioning adult
Then there would only be about 5 comments on this page…
Damnocrats? Republitards? I would prefer if people like you guys didn’t vote.
I’ve always been very interested in this case, and certainly will be watching. I have to point out one flaw in your article: Damien isn’t a Satanist. This is one of the things that bother me most about articles on this case. Damien was a neo-pagan, and despite what everyone seems to think Paganism does not mean Satanism. In fact, as satan is a christian concept, and pagans do not follow christian concepts, its not logically possible for someone to be both pagan and a satanist. If you know anything about paganism, the association with satanism doesnt even make sense. There was never any legitimate evidence to support satanism anyway, unless you could Metallica CDs and black T-Shirts.
Read the article again, the writer does not say that at all: Quote: “The reason that Damien became the focus of the case is that he was portrayed in court as a teenage satanist, which inflamed the community. Actually, he was a follower of Wicca”
Jake, the article has been changed since so many comments brought up the fact that Damien wasn’t a satanist. Originally, the writer agreed with the people of West Memphis that he was a satanist even though that doesn’t make him a murderer.
To Jean Genie, that’s possibly the stupidest thing to worry about! Johnny doesn’t even care if his movies flop, he does them because he loves them, not because of a box office draw. If he is far more concerned about these three boys than about a movie he made, shouldn’t you be as well? Shouldn’t there be more concern over the justice system than the box office? Johnny will do just fine! It’s those boys that deserve your concern and attention.
Thank you for your answer, Ellen. I really do appreciate the point you made – it’ll help me get my priorities straight.
I always think everyone is guilty but after reading a book about the case and seeing the documentary I firmly believe these boys are innocent. I’m glad that someone is using their star power to help right an injustice.
Another reason to be a Depp fan imho.
BTW, retract your statement about satanism and Wicca. For starters Wiccans do NOT beleive in any being called Satan. For that matter most satanists don’t even worship the Christian being either.
Wicca is not a form of Satan worship. You might want to do a bit more fact checking on your articles.
Wicca is not Satanism. Satan is Christianity’s trip, witches do not believe in “The Devil”. We tend to take responsibility for our own actions as opposed to having a convenient scapegoat (the devil made me do it) to blame it on. A bit more investigative research, please.
Nicely put…but we DO take responsibilty for our own actions…not TEND to. So you’re right… no convenient scapegoat needed. “An it harm none, do what ye will.” Blessed be.
I believe the statement was, “Actually, he was a follower of Wicca — which may, in a place like West Memphis, seem interchangeable with “satanism.”
Which is true. A lot of people ASSume that Wicca is the same as satanism. That is because they choose not to research the way of life. In the article above when he quotes his original review of the documentary he says, “a doe-eyed satanist” now I’ve never seen it to begin with but if the documentary portrays Mr. Echols as a satanist, than the reviewer is not calling him one, the documentary is. If I’m wrong about that, than I apologize, but that’s how I read this.
It’s a shame that people who know nothing about Wicca make statements about it in a negative light and using their symbols as evil things. Maybe if people actually do the research they wouldn’t be so quick to judge other religions or practices.
Just to clear something up, those of us who believe in Satan know we are just as responsible for our own actions as those who do not believe. Anyone who uses him as a scapegoat is a coward.
First off if anybody really understood satanism they’d know it truly has nothing to do with Satan, therefore would not even be part of this. Satanism is primarily about self indulgence….doing what you want to be happy….sin or not….. and most pagan religions first ‘rule’ is do what you want as along as it doesn’t harm others….and you can follow some pagan religions and still be a practicing Christian and/or catholic. People need to learn about religions before they try to use it for/ against someone or something.
To set the record straight, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin never confessed to the crime, but were convicted based upon the false confession of Jessie Misskelley, who was a mentally disbled teenager who immediatley recanted and refused to testify against the other men.
There is overwhelming evidence of their innocence including the fact that none of ther DNA was found at the crime scene, while DNA of others was discovered. The so called mutilation was deemd to be post mortem animal bites by the country’s leading forensic pathologists, and not a knife as the prosecution claimed. and there was shocking juror miscondcut at the Echols /Baldwin trial.
The young men had no contact with the victims, and had very strong alibis, all of which did not matter. They were wrongfully convicted for a crime they did not commit.