West Memphis Three's Damien Echols talks up his new memoir, and moving on
Damien Echols with his book.
11:41 am Sep. 19, 201210
Damien Echols always knew he was destined for something bigger than the dead-end existence he was born into.
“I just had the feeling that it was something less mundane, less mediocre than the lives I saw around me," Echols told me in a phone conversation last week. "I would see so many people in the world that I came from—poverty-stricken, illiterate, going nowhere—and it was really nightmarish. I always had that feeling that surely somehow there’s got to be something better than this out there. And it always seemed that those people, from that world never really felt that way; they never really looked for anything else; they never really desired anything else. And I did.”
Echols is currently on his way to becoming—more and more so each day—the “less mundane” person that he always knew he could be, but he’s had some pretty large hiccups along the way. Echols was forced to spend eighteen years of his life on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. In 1993, three eight-year-old boys were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, where Echols lived, and when, less than a month into the investigation, detectives from the West Memphis Police Department had no answers but were desperate for some, they took the easy way out, blaming Echols, his best friend Jason Baldwin, and their acquaintance Jessie Misskelley Jr., the town “misfits,” who later came to be known as the “West Memphis Three.”
Officials chalked the murders up to satanic rituals, creating mass hysteria around a purely invented story in order to quell the city’s fears. Unfortunately, it worked, and the three were tried and found guilty—Baldwin and Misskelley Jr. were sentenced to life imprisonment, and Echols, who was seen as the supposed ringleader, was sentenced to death. In 1996, Paradise Lost, the first of a series of three documentaries directed by filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky about the injustices of the case, was released, over time gaining the interest of many supporters, including Echols’ now-wife Lorri Davis, and celebrities such as Johnny Depp and Eddie Vedder. In August of 2011, after new DNA evidence had been found that absolved the three men of any connection to the murders, the WM3 were abruptly released from prison by way of the Alford Plea, a legal maneuver in which the defendant acknowledges that the prosecution can prove its case and enters a guilty plea, but maintains his or her innocence.
Echols now has a book. Titled Life After Death, it's a memoir comprised mostly of journal entries he wrote while in prison, as well as some writing he’s done since his release. Echols has loved writing since he was 12.
"[It's] something that scratches an itch deep inside of you that you can’t reach any other way,” he said. When he was keeping journals in prison, he always had the sense that he wasn’t recording his thoughts entirely for himself. “Even while I was writing I would think that maybe one day, somehow, this was going to mean something to someone else, or have an impact on someone else’s life.”
The book isn’t all that’s on the horizon for Echols, either. Along with friends and supporters Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (The Lord of the Rings), he and Davis are co-producing the upcoming documentary West of Memphis, directed by Amy Berg, also about the WM3 case, this one with new material about the men’s convictions.
On the day we spoke, Echols was feeling exhausted, he told me. He and Davis had woken up at four in the morning to catch a train to Salem, MA. After living in New York City for his first year post-death-row, the couple bought a house in Salem and were moving in that day. It was also his fourth interview that day, and he had two more scheduled for later that evening. It's not so much the attention that wearies him, but the subject.
“If I could get up in the morning and never discuss this case again,” he said, “I would love to do that, but I can’t. If I were to do that, then it would never be over for me.” Echols looks at his constant seat in the spotlight as a necessary evil. Though the Alford Plea was a miracle in the sense that it allowed the three men to finally be released from prison, they each still have three counts of murder on their criminal records and have been working on being fully cleared of these charges since their release.
Echols feels confident that the only way for this to happen is to keep the case in the public eye, applying increasing pressure on the state of Arkansas until they’re forced to reopen the case.
“Right now, we have no sense of closure, and the only way we’re ever going to get that sense of closure is if we’re completely exonerated; if the people who belong in prison are in prison; if the officials in the state of Arkansas are held accountable,” Echols said, his voice, and probably his heartbeat, escalating.
On a recent trip to Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival, which Echols was attending on behalf of West of Memphis, he was denied a travel visa on account of his criminal record.
“I don’t think most people realize how deeply this case reaches into our lives and affects us on so many levels,” Echols said. “We had to fight, I mean non-stop, even to get into the country to screen the movie, and to help get the word out about this case. It’s just been one thing after another after another after another for the past year.”
The worst part about constantly being poked and prodded by the media (surely myself included) is, Echols said, “having to relive it over and over and over again.” He added, “Imagine the most horrific, traumatic, hurtful thing that ever happened to you in your life, and then having to talk about it every single day.”
Eventually, Echols would like to open up a small center somewhere, where he’ll have meditation and Tarot reading classes; a place that will allow him to “live quietly, self-sufficiently, and move on.” He added, excitement creeping into his voice, “I could share with people the things I learned that helped me to survive almost twenty years in prison under the harshest circumstances, so that they could apply them to the problems they’re facing in life.”
Of course, Echols plans to continue writing, as well. He hopes that the voice he used to write about his case in Life After Death will stand on its own, independent of the story.
“Everyone wants to hear about the case right now—that’s the thing they want me to write about,” he said. “But I would hope that maybe they like my voice enough that they would want me to write about other things, and that it frees me up to keep writing about other experiences, other practices, other adventures.”
Many people believe the west memphis three did commit these crimes. They were convicted because of the evidence and confessions, not because they were "misfits." The murders of the three eight-year-old boys were committed on a full moon. There was court testimony from witnesses that there was a teenage cult in the area. Echols was involved in the occult.
Many people believe Echols was guilty as charged. The West Memphis Three were found guilty by a unanimous jury the first time and plead guilty last year instead of waiting for a trial. Misskelley (one of the 3) confessed FIVE times, three times to the detectives, once to the police and once to his own lawyer. All of the West Memphis three had failed alibis.
Echols had a history of threats of violence, violence, psychiatric treatment and psychotic behavior. His reported actions included brutally killing a dog, starting fires at his school, threatening to kill his teachers and parents and stating he liked to drink blood. See court documents exhibit 500 for evidence of this. Echols' stated under cross-examination that he was interested in the occult. Echols' journal contained morbid images and references to dead children.
Police took a necklace from Echols when he was arrested. An outside crime lab later found blood from two distinct DNA sources on the necklace. One source was consistent with Echols himself. The second source was consistent with both victim Steven Branch and co-defendant Jason Baldwin (one of the 3). A car load of people saw Echols in muddy clothes near the crime scene. Echols went around bragging he committed the crimes to at least three different people after the crimes were committed.
Read alternative sources about the case. The movies only present one side of the story.
http://wm3truth.com
http://callahan.8k.com
http://www.terryhobbs.com/2012/06/todd-moore-sets-record-straight.html
Here are more links about the WM3 case:
Statement about Damien Echols stomping and killing a dog
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/joehb.html
Testimony by Jason Lance Crosby stating that heard Damien Echols talking about wanting to catch a bum with Jason Baldwin at one of the overpasses and torturing him to death just to see what it felt like.
http://callahan.8k.com/images/j_crosby/report_06-08-93_01.jpg
Echols’ psychiatric records http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/img/exh500.html
about his history of violence and drinking blood
Who was Damien Echols in spring 1993?
http://wm3truth.com/damien-echols-profile/
Then why wasn't there any DNA from them at the crime scene? The fibers that were found there, the prosecution's only evidence, were just found with certainty not to be a match.
And, why did them let them out?
Posted on behalf of a friend:
Echol's "history of violence" is pretty short. He got in a few fights and he licked blood off of another kids finger. There were rumors that he "stomped a dog to death" but nothing to corroborate them as anything other than rumors.
As far as unanimous juries all I need to say is tampering with a jury can get whatever results you want. It doesn't mean they were correct.
Baldwin didn't have a failed alibi. His family provided his alibi so it was deemed not credible because thee might lie to protect him. But that doesn't mean that his alibi wasn't the truth. It just means that the prosecutors were able to make everyone ignore the alibi.
As far as Jessie's multiple "confessions" they don't match up with the forensic evidence or even basic concepts of reality. Christopher Byers was not mutilated with a knife. That alone invalidates all of Jessie's "confessions".
Even more interesting is how Terry Hobbs claims to have been in the area where the bodies were found during the time frames Jessie claimed to have been killing the kids in and yet he didn't see or hear anything. Oh wait. I forgot he told a girlfriend that he found the bodies "buried" underwater and decided to re-submerge them and not tell anyone about it so someone else could find them. And let's compare his history of violence to Damien's history. Terry shot his brother in law who died a year later as a result of the injury. He broke into his elderly neighbors house and assaulted her when she was in the shower. He also has been accused of molesting Stevie and Amanda by multiple people including Stevie and Amanda. And last but not least what about all of the people who have come forward claiming to have heard Terry confess...
For discussion and fact finding about this case please come to: http://www.wm3blackboard.com/bb2-0/index.php
This article is replete with misinformation on the case! The author is a Revisionist liar!
Perfect example of the media spin at its worst! Three children Stevie, Chris and Michael were murder by Echols, Miskelly and Baldwin. The American public has become brain dead!
As for the HBO pseudo-documentary doesn't the fact that
the opening scene contains graphic images of the murdered children's bodies raise
red flag for the supporters? I don't know how anyone in good conscience
Could allow that into a film for public viewing. In my opinion, HBO, Sinolsky and Beringer are
heartless and evil. Why aren't the supporters upset for the children and their families? My heart breaks for the little boys parents whose worst nightmare relized is replayed on HBO. HBO cashing in through viewers like you. Cancel HBO and boycott Depp movies!
Although an extreme invasion of a human being's privacy I have just read most of the 'confidential' exhibit 500, prior to this I read 'Life after death' and I watched Paradise lost objectively. However, never a doubt.
Although the 'nons' love to reflect on exhibit 500 as damning accounts of Damien's dangerous behaviour, as a person who has worked extensively in the Youth Justice System, to me these reports depict a young man struggling in his environment and surroundings with a Mother that offered her children no protection and maybe not through fault of her own but maybe a victim of her own circumstances. So it isn't any wonder this young man suffered depression and on occasion had issues with parent and authoritive figures. It was obvious that several admissions to Hospital were as a result of either Jerry Drivers little compassion for young people and his Mother and Jack's incapability to parent him (probably as a result of little to no education, limited parenting skills and low IQ). His (Damien's) intelligence, far superior to those around him and far superior to the people in this world that believe he and Baldwin, Misskelley to be guilty.
This young man lived in a home that was hateful, he was confused about where he belonged in the world and like most teenagers living in the same impoverished conditions, at times acted out against those that were suppose to love, protect and support him in such a way that was far better than what they did. Similarly, this young man was embarrassed of where he came from. As a young teenager, I remember my own life being a struggle if I didn't have what the other 'cool' kids had and at times had much angst towards my parents, running away from home to 'teach them a lesson', ideas that if I killed myself it would 'serve them right'. But it never drove me to murder three children, the same way it NEVER drove Damien to murder three children.
As a female from the other side of the world, I see the 'South' as having always been stereotyped and dubbed slow, narrow minded, red-neck country, so it's little wonder exhibit 500 proved to be exciting and was used out of context to portray Damien as a dangerous young man.
I wore black, I liked everything goth. I was a young female that wore big black boots, black jeans, metallica tshirts and had metallic posters in my room of satan like images. As an act of rebellion I'd draw upside down crosses on my catholic school diary, I misbehaved in Religion classes and had no respect for my teachers. I had issues dealing with authority and when Kurt Cobain died I held a vigil and engraved his name in my arm. My girlfriends and I cut our fingers and rubbed them together in efforts to become 'blood sisters'. Ridiculous and embarrassing to admit now but I was a teenager and I was, by no means capable of murdering young children.
Wm3truth and the like are grasping at straws, three young teenagers could never be so meticulous to have covered any traces of evidence behind them (in the dark no less!), they had not the strength to carry out such an atrocity (the wm3 teenagers had very little physical strength) and lastly zero motivation. And if you'd like to refer back to exhibit 500, Damien Echols' reports positively demonstrated he had feelings of guilt towards his actions. The 3 young boys in that court room displayed no feelings of guilt, because they were INNOCENT.
Small town, media pressure, narrow minded hysteria with a small time Police Department attempting to prove their capabilities resulted in three more victims of West Memphis. Tax payers money wasted, killer still at large.
Somehow I get this feeling that the WM3 story is not over yet. It seems to me that Echols will show his true colors again pretty soon. How soon? Well, as soon as we all finally forget about this case and Echol's ego gets hurt with lack of attention to his persona, he'll come up with another horrible crime thinking that he'll manage to get away again. I can only feel sorry for his wife who probably has already realized what a monster she married and what she has done with her propaganda campaign that led to release of WM3. I really feel sorry for this woman who has been manipulated so shamelessly. She ought to apply her talents and energy to more honorable things that would not disappoint her later.
A lot of people are going to regret their support someday. I hate to give props to a child murderer, but he really has snowed the masses over the years. It's sad that young outcasts are so desperate for connection that they'll lionize this guy. Then again, they do "understand" him - unlike those dumb yokels in the South who just can't see past that durn satanic heavy metal nonsense.
Yeah, poking your finger and swiping blood with a girlfriend is pretty much the equivalent of stomping a dog to death and cutting out its intestines, planning to sacrifice your first-born baby and attempting to blind some kid with your fingernails in a school fight. He wasn't dangerous at all! I wonder why they even suspected this guy in the first place...
Every alternative killer theory focuses on a single killer. It is highly improbable that one individual was able to hogtie three eight year old boys before killing them. The WM3 supporters point to the pair of Christopher Morgan and Brian Holland as likely suspects. They were suspects prior to the WM3 but there was no evidence linking them to the killings. They also said John Mark Byers was the one who killed them - before they pointed the finger at Terry Hobbs. On one hand, they vilify the system for convicting the WM3 with no concrete evidence but then use the same tactics to accuse others. I simply cannot believe that either of these men could have restrained three boys by themselves. I have watched all of the documentaries on this case including "West of Memphis" and they all have one thing in common: they are biased accounts of this case. They did not discuss much of the evidence used to convict the WM3, preferring to focus on the theory that they were singled out for prosecution because they were misfits. Short of the three dead boys coming back to life and naming their killers, we can never know with certainty who killed them. All we have is an imperfect justice system which works most of the time. The people that were prosecuted were the ones with the most evidence linking them to the crimes, as it should be. If there was a miscarriage of justice, it has been put as right as it can be. If the WM3 were guilty, they at least served a significant amount of time for their crimes. As for the Alford plea, I do not believe that their guilty pleas will ever be removed. At least the WM3 are free to live out the rest of their lives - a reprieve that three eight year old boys were never given.