Original subtitles

Woman over radio: Okay.

Woman: Where were these found, guys?

( mumbling )

Green one on the left side there,

red one on the right side.

Man over radio: Two thirty-one.

Man #2 over radio: Two thirty-one.

( mechanical whirring )

Don't let nobody come up here.

Don't-- nobody in here.

( music playing )

( mumbling )

- ( helicopter whirring ) - ( police siren )

Male reporter: The police in West Memphis, Arkansas,

confirmed today that three young boys were brutally murdered.

The bodies of Weaver Elementary School second graders,

Steven Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore,

were pulled from a shallow creek earlier today.

There are rumors that the boys may have been sexually mutilated.

The police say that they do not yet

have any suspects in the case.

The missing 8-year-old boys

were discovered in an area known as Robin Hood Hills,

a secluded patch of woods

behind the Blue Beacon Truck Wash

along Interstate 40 in West Memphis.

d Moon is full, never seems to change d

d Just labeled mentally deranged... d

Woman: Imagine all the evil that you could think of,

to how someone could be murdered.

And that's how these three children died.

Man: No family should have to go through this.

Unfortunately, it's gonna happen again somewhere.

Another town.

It's gonna happen again, I'm sure.

Lot of bad people out there in the world.

Man #2: I don't know why

these three little boys were murdered.

Did they see something they were not supposed to see?

Did they hear things they were not supposed to hear?

I-- I do not know that. I see no reason.

I-- I see no motive

for why these three little boys were murdered.

Man: Live from KAIT-8 TV,

good neighbors you can turn to

for news, weather, and sports.

Tony Brooks,

Diana Davis,

Terry Wood,

and Dick Clay.

This is KAIT-8 News.

Good evening, I'm Diana Davis.

And I'm Tony Brooks.

In a statement given to the police

and obtained by a Memphis newspaper,

17-year-old Jessie Misskelley

allegedly confesses to watching two other suspects

choke, rape, and sexually mutilate

three West Memphis second-graders.

Jenna Newton reports.

Jenna Newton: According to the published report,

Misskelley told police he watched

18-year-old Damien Echols and 16-year-old Jason Baldwin

brutalize the children with a club and a knife.

The report says Misskelley told police

Echols and Baldwin raped one of the boys

and sexually mutilated another as part

of a cult ritual.

Misskelley is quoted as saying

he did not take part in the rape and mutilation,

but that he helped subdue one victim

who tried to escape.

At a press conference, Inspector Gary Gitchell said

the case against the accused teens is very strong.

Man: Scale of one to 10, how solid do you think the case is?

Eleven.

( all clamoring, applauding )

Newton: It appears satanic worship

may have played a role in the murders.

Since the very beginning of the investigation

people all around West Memphis

have come forward with stories of satanic cults.

Reverend Tommy Stacy's church is down the street

from where the bodies were found.

One year ago, Damien Echols told

the church's youth minister

he had a pact with the devil,

and he was going to hell.

( church bell rings )

Tommy Stacy: I do know that my youth director

talked to Damien extensively

at the revival that we had,

and he told him that he could not be saved,

that he could not

give his heart to Jesus.

And my youth director

then tried to get him to take a Bible.

And he made the statement

that he could not take a Bible because if he did,

the rest of them would get him.

In West Memphis, Jenna Newton, KAIT-8 Night News.

Christopher never hurt anybody.

He had a gentle, loving, and giving heart.

And they crucified him in those woods.

And they humiliated his little body.

They took his little manhood

before he even knew what it was.

And I hate them for it.

I've never hated anybody in my life.

And I hate these three.

- And the mothers that bore them. - ( tapping table )

I can't imagine...

what was going through Michael's mind.

You know, was he... calling for me?

How long did they leave him there tied up

on that ditch bank before they decided to kill him?

I mean, what were they doing to him?

Was his-- was he conscious or unconscious?

Did he watch the other two boys... get cut?

Moore: He was really being killed by real monsters.

( kids shouting )

( laughs ) God. On TV!

- Man: Now. - Pam, first of all,

what is-- what are you holding in your hand there--

In my hand, it's Stevie's Boy Scout.

I got it back yesterday.

And I been wearing it around my head like this.

( chuckles )

Did he-- did he like scouting?

Oh, he loved it. He loved it, yeah.

He loved it.

Man #2: Do you blame yourself for this?

I have. I have. I've been, uh-- I've--

I have been on a guilt trip about it.

But... it wasn't my fault. I was at work.

Have you contemplated joining Stevie, um...

- Have I thought-- - ...before your natural--

- Would I ever... - Have you thought about suicide?

Have I? Oh.

Uh... suicide?

I've-- I've felt like dying,

but not suicide, you know.

No, not suicide.

Do you feel that the people that did this

- were worshipping, uh-- - Satan? Yes, I do.

Why?

Just look at the freaks.

I mean, just look at them.

They look like punks.

( music playing )

Well, Jessie told me he didn't do it.

Didn't have anything to do with it.

He wasn't there.

- And I believe him. - ( camera clicks )

I think the cops just can't find who done it...

and they gotta put it on somebody.

I wanna tell the whole world my son is innocent

- because I know he is innocent. - ( camera clicks )

- I know where he was... - ( camera clicks )

and I know he's innocent,

and I wanna tell the world, and I want the world to know.

This boy is not capable

of the crime that he has, uh, been arrested for.

I've seen him take a little kitten,

and-- and love it just like you'd love a little baby.

- ( camera clicks ) - It's like a nightmare,

a nightmare that you can't wake up from.

Our son's innocent.

We intend to prove it.

John Mark Byers: "Yea, though I walk through

the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil."

And I'm not scared of the devil.

I gotta know who my comforter is.

"Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me."

And I thank you, Lord,

for letting me be able to believe

in that with all my heart.

I hope y'all really believe in your master the Satan,

Sleuthfoot, devil himself,

'cause he's not gonna help you.

He's gonna laugh at you, mock at you, and torture you.

He didn't need your help,

the devil's got all the devils he needs.

The good Lord said Lucifer

and a third of the angels were cast from Heaven.

He didn't need them, but he took their mind,

and he manipulated them.

And they prayed to Satan, and they prayed to the devil.

And they had their satanic worship services out here,

and they had all types of wild homosexual orgies, I've been told.

Crazy things.

To me, this place as I stand is like hell on Earth.

Because I know that three babies were killed

right out here where I stand.

I know my son was castrated,

and possibly laid there on that bank and bled to death.

I know he was choked.

I know one boy's head was beat in beyond recognition.

I know one little boy was skinned

almost like a animal.

Cut, had to shave his head,

had all types of injuries to the head

where they just kept beating,

and pounding on them,

and killing them, and killing them.

It's like they enjoyed it.

They killed them two or three times.

Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin,

Damien Echols, I hope your master the devil

does take you soon.

I want you to meet him real soon.

And the day you die, I'm gonna praise God.

And I make you a promise, the day you die,

every year on May 5th

I'm gonna come to your graveside,

I'm gonna spit on you,

I'm gonna curse the day you were born,

and I'm sure while I'm standing there,

I'm gonna have to have other bodily functions

let go upon your grave.

I promise you as God is my witness,

I'll visit all three of your graves.

The statement Jessie made to the police is-- is a lie.

It's not true, you know.

I don't see why he would do

something like that to another person.

I can see where they might think I was in a cult

'cause I wear Metallica T-shirts

and stuff like that, but...

I know I didn't do nothing like that.

I couldn't kill an animal or a person.

I don't worship the devil or anything like that.

I worship God, you know, like everybody--

every normal person in this-- around here does.

I got a favorite pet. A pet iguana.

I've had it for a little over a year now.

I usually go fishing by myself,

right in my backyard.

Just go out there

and my pet cat would be out there.

His name's Charlie.

Whenever I catch a fish I just give it to him.

I didn't kill these three little boys.

I didn't kill those three little boys.

They were, like, under a lot of pressure.

They had to find somebody to lay this off on

before people started losing their jobs.

And the public was getting real upset,

saying the cops were incompetent,

couldn't do their jobs,

so they had to do something fast.

And we were, like, we were the obvious choice

because we stood out from everybody else.

So it worked out to their advantage.

( metal locks slamming )

Daniel Stidham: No one's gonna be saying that

you're stupid or that you're dumb--

( stutters ) or making fun of you,

but the court's gonna be very interested in determining

exactly at what level you are functioning.

How well you're able to read. How well you're able to write.

- Things of that nature. - Uh-huh.

- That make sense? - Mm-hmm.

Okay. So, if the court determines that-- that you are operating,

below average, then there's a possibility

that the court will not be allowed

or the state will not be allowed

to impose the death penalty against you.

- Do you understand what that means? - Yeah.

We've got about 10 weeks

before the trial comes up in January.

- Yeah. - Are you looking forward to just having the trial?

- ( phone ringing ) - A little bit, but not much.

( continues ringing )

( receiver clicks )

- Hello. - Woman: Operator, I have a collect call.

- Your name, please? - Misskelley: Jessie.

- Will you pay? - Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

- Hey, son. - Misskelley: Hey.

- How you doing? - All right.

You doing all right? That's good.

I been doing all right.

- But my hand still hurts. - Your hand still hurts?

- Yeah. - Did you ever find out if it was broke or not?

No, I ain't found out. It-- I can move it.

- But-- - Well, if you can move it, it's not broke.

( stutters ) It just-- it hurts.

Well, if you can move it, it's not broke.

It's gonna hurt for a while

'cause you bruised it pretty good.

You just gotta learn not to hit them walls.

Hit somebody else.

- Jack his jaw. - Yeah.

There wasn't nobody in my room to hit.

- Oh, okay. ( chuckles ) - So I just hit the--

- Well-- - I didn't hit the wall, I hit the commode.

- Hit the commode? - Yeah, I hit it on the side.

- Well, you can sure-- - Didn't even put a dent in it, either.

- ( laughs ) - That must be a hard commode, man.

I heard that.

What time y'all gonna come up?

- I don't know. - Y'all can come up anytime

'cause y'all be in here with me.

Jessie Sr.: Well, uh, we'll see you Saturday.

( clock ticking )

( car approaching )

David Burnett: They're gonna have to go through the metal detector

when you come through the front door.

Every-- I want everybody to do that.

They've got that portable thing that they can bring

from Little Rock, if you need it.

Like the airport deal.

But we couldn't afford no $3,000 metal detector,

so what I planned on doing was using two portables at this door.

That's why I want all-- everybody outside of lawyers,

and I want them to come through this door.

Yeah, there's a potential problem area with the-- the...

the strong feelings of the family,

and that's to be understood,

so security, not only coming in and out of the courtroom

( stutters ) is a problem,

but, uh, keeping the onlookers and the family,

( stutters ) and people segregated from--

from the-- the accused is another problem

that you'll-- you'll have, Darwin.

My intention was to bring this boy in before--

long before court, and have him inside.

Stidham: Obviously, I'm very concerned about security,

simply because the death threats

and other things that have happened,

but I don't wanna give the jury the impression,

if we have 20 state troopers and 50 county deputies,

and-- and it's gonna give the impression to the jury

that my client is a very dangerous person, which he's not.

And I don't want the jury to-- to get the wrong impression,

I don't want there to be such a circus

in the courtroom with reporters and cameras,

that the jury forgets about what they're here for,

and that is to administer justice.

John Fogelman : We expect the proof's going to show that

this defendant confessed,

that he was not coerced, um...

The-- we do not contend that the proof's going to show

that every word that came out of his mouth was the truth.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

this statement that Mr. Misskelley gave

the West Memphis Police Department

is a false story.

The interrogation techniques

that were deployed against Mr. Misskelley

at the time of his statement on June the 3rd

rendered him completely incapable.

It-- it broke his will.

They scared him beyond all measures.

The proof is going to show that this defendant

was an accomplice to Damien Echols

and Jason Baldwin in the commission of these

horrifying murders, and we will ask you

to return your verdict of guilty

on three counts of capital murder.

( children yelling, dog barking )

Lee Rush: We don't know what the truth is,

but when it really gets down to brass tacks...

his daddy and I are gonna look him square in the eyes

and say, "Son, did you do this?

Did-- was you even there?"

That's when we will believe.

Well, if he told me he did it...

which I don't believe he did, but if he told me he did it...

he'd have to do his time.

Suffer the consequences.

If he admits to this, he would be strictly on his own.

We wouldn't even send him a dollar for a pack of cigarettes.

- No. No, you're wrong there. - Yes, we would.

- No, I would. - No.

He's my son!

I'll send him money.

But he will have to do his time.

This is...

I wouldn't give him a nickel.

- He's my son. - Now, we could be talking about--

- He's my flesh and blood. - We could be talking about my son.

Well?

If my son did something that horrible, that--

no, I wouldn't give him a nickel.

- Let him suffer. - You can't turn your blood away.

I don't know how you say you could,

and we're gonna have a problem over this.

But I know how it is being up there in jail without anything.

( chuckles ) Well, that's beside the point.

If he-- if he's guilty... if he's guilty

of doing this to these little boys...

- No. - Well, he's not.

Well, I'm saying he's not, too, but...

if he happens to be-- if it's proven... no.

Forget it, no.

No.

But I don't believe he did it.

I'll never believe he did it.

This is to Jessie Jr., today's his 18th birthday,

and I haven't seen him,

I don't know where to go see him at,

and we'll sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

All: d Happy birthday to you d

d Happy birthday to you d

d Happy birthday, dear Jessie d

d Happy birthday to you d

d Happy birthday to you d

d Happy birthday to you d

d Happy birthday, dear Jessie d

d Happy birthday to you. d

- And don't smoke too much. - ( laughing )

Woman: Now he's legal to get them, ain't he?

Jessie Sr.: Yeah, he's legal to smoke now.

( laughing )

Shelby Misskelley: I may not be

his biological mother, but giving birth

don't make a parent.

And I've had him since he was four.

And... it took me about a year

to assure that little boy I was gonna be here for him.

He wouldn't wanna go to school.

He wouldn't wanna go outside and play

because he afraid I wouldn't be here when--

when he come in.

And when he was in kindergarten if he happened to come in

and I happened to not be

where he could see me when he first come in,

he'd be hysterical when I got to him.

And... I've always known that...

he was-- he had a problem.

And I... I've always been real protective of him.

Mom sent me this one.

"There are all sorts of sons.

Sons can be slouchy, sons can be sweet.

Sons can be grouchy."

It says, "Sons can be neat. Sons can be broke,

sons can be well-to-do.

But no son could ever be loved more than you."

And it says, "Happy Birthday."

I cry a lot when I'm in here

'cause I miss my family and everything and...

and I just cry a lot, you know?

After that I go to bed, try to sleep.

Alice Sanders: My name is Alice Sanders,

my son was Antonio Sanders,

and he got killed Halloween night 1990.

Brenda McLean: My name is Brenda McLean,

and my brother was stabbed to death.

I'm Brenda East, and my son Robert,

23 at the time, was murdered in 1990.

My name's Ann Marlin.

My daughter was Sheila Elron Dixon.

She was murdered January the 12th of '91.

I'm Wanda Raymond.

My daughter was murdered June the 27th,

we think, we're not sure.

They're calling it a crime of passion.

He not only throwed her out

and let her lay two weeks,

he poured acid on her to deteriorate her body.

I didn't have the pleasure of...

telling my daughter good-bye.

Funeral was a closed casket.

This is what I had on the casket,

and it's still very unreal to me.

When the telephone rings I expect it to be her.

My name's Todd Moore.

My son was Michael Moore. He was murdered along with...

Christopher Byers and Steven Branch, May 5th, 1993.

I cannot describe the pain...

that my family has went through.

You know, they didn't just kill my son, they killed part of me.

They killed a part of my wife, our daughter.

I'm so frustrated because it seems like

they have so much rights.

We have no rights.

Like, it had in the paper the other day,

now taxpayers of Crittenden County

are gonna have to buy them a suit,

because they don't want them to go into court

looking like what they are, criminals.

They're in jail. They should wear jail clothes.

Why do they need to have

a nice suit bought by the county

so they look presentable?

They don't want them in shackles and chains.

You know, these are not boys that murdered our kids.

You know, they stopped being boys,

you know, when they planned this.

And, I hear--

I sit there and watch their parents and stuff

coming out of court crying,

talking about their son's rights.

What about our son's rights?

Where in the hell was his rights out on that ditch bank?

He had no rights.

He had the rights to be brutally murdered.

Be beat to death, a 8-year-old little boy. Where was his rights?

Diane: I'm Diane Moore, Michael Moore's mother.

Last week in-- in Flash Market,

the Echols man was in there, staring me down.

Like it was my fault that I had a child

that his child could murder.

We set in that big store,

we seen the people that are supporting these people,

that look at us like we're scum,

and these other people are just...

the greatest thing that they've ever known.

And now they wanna to have them all just dressed up,

and act like little choirboys in court and...

Here you go, he didn't do anything wrong.

My son didn't do anything wrong, he's just a boy.

Fogelman : Now on June the 3rd,

did you have a-- an assignment to locate

a particular person?

My assignment was to contact Jessie Misskelley, Jr.

At that time was the defendant a suspect?

- No, sir. - If he was not a suspect

why were you assigned to contact him?

He was a... a friend with--

friends with Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin.

What if anything did he tell you, uh...

during this conversation before the tape recording?

Okay, he had told us that

he had attended some satanic-cult-type meetings,

that boys along with girls would attend.

There would be sessions of sex,

orgies as he called them.

Uh, that dogs and animals had been killed,

and in fact those animals--

portions of them had been eaten by the members.

John: I believe as there's angels on Earth,

I believe there's demons on Earth.

And I believe as angels try to help people,

I believe demons try to possess

and hurt people to do the devil's will.

Just how angels try to help people to do God's will.

( organ playing )

Man: d O, worship the king d

d Of glorious above d

d And gratefully sing d

d His wonderful love d

d Our children... d

Man #2: At this time Mark is gonna sing a song

entitled "Whatever It Takes,"

a beautiful song.

Y'all listen to him as he comes and shares.

Mark?

John: I believe the Lord's gonna direct me,

guide me, and lead me.

And we're gonna give the glory to Him.

( music playing )

d There's a voice d

d Calling me d

d From an old rugged tree d

d And it whispers d

d "Draw closer d

d To Me d

d Leave this world d

d Far behind d

d There are no lights d

d To blind d

d And a new place d

d That may you d

d Will find" d

d For whatever d

d It takes d

d To draw closer d

d To You, Lord d

d That's what d

d I'll be willing d

d To do d

d For whatever d

d It takes d

d To be more d

d Like You d

d That's what d

d I'll be willing d

d To do d

d I'll take sunshine... d

There's no doubt in your mind

that at about 5:30 pm, Jessie was sitting--

He was sitting right down here.

I had seen the police over there twice.

I'd also seen little Jessie over there,

and they had talked to him, and he was talking to me.

- Police officer talked to him? - Yes, sir.

They had to find somebody to pin this on.

This publicity was getting out of hand.

Stidham: Could you ask those folks inside

to step out for just a second?

Um, I know that I've talked to-- to each of you,

if not directly, indirectly.

We need to be very, very careful about

who we talk to with regard to the media involved in this case.

There are several members of the media

who apparently have no ethics,

and have decided that they're gonna do everything they can to dig up

mud and sling mud.

It's not gonna do anything but hurt Jessie

and his chances of receiving a fair trial.

You as-- as friends of Jessie and relatives of Jessie,

are prime targets for these members of the press,

and if we just remember the one rule is,

don't talk to anybody and then we won't have to worry about it.

Does that make sense?

So, again I caution you not to talk to anybody

in the press, 'cause it's just gonna hurt us. Thanks.

d Grace d

d For my will d

d To break d

d That's what d

d I'll be willing d

d To do d

d That's what d

d I'll be willing d

d To do. d

Man: Amen.

John: Eat it up.

You know, one thing I like

about this right here black powder gun...

is they can't pull any type of ballistics on it.

If by some chance you was to shoot something with it,

every bullet rifles through the chamber

just a little bit different.

So, they just can't pull no ballistics off this.

There's a few people I wouldn't mind going on shooting with it, but...

hopefully the courts and the justice system take care of them, but...

they reach prison, they gonna get took care of.

I told Todd I could save the state a lot of money.

If they'd just let me line them three son of a guns up.

I'd say, "This one here's for you, Jessie."

We gonna go for the jug of water.

( gunshot )

Oh, Jessie, I done blowed

- you half in two, son. - ( Todd chuckles )

( gun clicking )

Now this one here's for you, Damien.

You that black circle right in the middle.

( gunshot )

- Oh, you've got hurt. - ( Todd chuckles )

Damn. That sure looked painful, didn't it?

Yeah, hey, Jason?

I want you to smile and blow me a kiss for this one.

Now let's go back to Jessie.

I just wounded him,

I want him to bleed a little bit like he made my baby bleed.

Oh, Jessie.

You know, that breaks my heart thinking about that scum.

'Cause this right here's all that needs to be done to him,

just shot slowly.

With a real nice firearm,

and it ain't got no consideration

or no feeling of who it's aiming at,

just like they didn't care about killing my baby.

I'd be happy lining them up.

I wouldn't have had no problem with it.

I think old Jessie's still kicking a little.

Y'all go ahead and put him out of his misery.

What kind of-- what kind of range we got in the courtroom?

Ah, probably about 10-foot right here.

Go ahead and waste old Jessie.

I don't see that to being much of a problem.

No.

'Cause I can just see the scum.

That's good.

Go ahead, he's wiggling.

All right. Oh, I could live with that.

( gunshots )

( thuds )

Fogelman : During the course of these conversations,

was anything shown to the defendant?

- Yes, sir. - All right, and what was shown to him?

Okay, there was a picture that Inspector Gitchell showed him.

Okay. And what was that picture of?

One of the victims.

When I showed Jessie this photograph,

he-- he took it into his hand, and he just--

he just went back in his chair like this.

And-- and he just locked in on it,

fixed in on the photograph

and just kept staring at it and staring at it.

Initially, Mr. Misskelley denied any involvement

- whatsoever in this, didn't he? - Yes, sir, he did.

Officer Ridge, the photograph that was

just introduced into evidence

depicting one of the boys' bodies,

- that was shown to Jessie? - Yes, sir.

And this was immediately prior to him admitting

and telling you this story about being present

when the boys were killed?

Shortly before, yes, sir.

Why did you guys do that?

There had to be a reason to do that.

There are times when Jessie would not be talking,

he's-- he's getting slower with information, he's--

he's telling us things that are just--

it's over and over the same thing.

Those techniques are used to evoke a response.

You and Inspector Gitchell did these things

to invoke a response.

- Yes, sir. - Invoke a confession.

Invoke a response to keep him talking.

Did it ever occur to you

that Mr. Misskelley has a mental handicap?

No, sir, it didn't to me on that day.

Do you have any special training

- dealing with people with mental handicaps? - No, sir.

Did it ever occur to you that--

that this was gonna scare him,

showing a picture of a body?

( sighs ) That it would scare him?

I don't know, I-- I guess he's scared

into making a statement, yes, sir.

Misskelley: I-- I'm getting nervous every day.

- Why? - Why?

- Oh. - Why?

- Okay. - That's a stupid question.

- Okay. - Boy, I can barely hold this phone.

Boy, it's-- it's getting closer

and closer and closer.

- I know. - I ju-- I don't wanna even think about it.

I can imagine what they gonna go to me. I can imagine.

But I'm not gonna think that, though.

Think good thoughts, okay, while I'm on the phone.

Huh?

Talk-- talk about something good while I'm on the phone.

- Hey! - Yeah?

You're supposed to be talking to me, not your friends.

Well, he's talking about something else.

These people make me mad.

- You know it? - Uh-huh.

They-- they get to go out and screw people, and I can't.

Oh. ( chuckles )

Well, y'all do. But I can't do that.

- Well, you will later. - I will later?

- Mm-hmm. - How do you know?

- I mean, if I can get out we will... - I know that.

...but if I don't get out, we won't.

What I was gonna ask you, that last-- that Sunday.

- Uh-huh. - That I had--

- I dreamed about you. - Uh-huh.

You won't believe what I was dreaming.

( stutters ) It freaked me out. Wanna hear it? Huh?

- Yeah. - We was--

- we was having sex, all right? - Okay.

We went to-- we went to a bathroom, we had sex.

We-- when I was going somewhere going--

going out the front door, we had sex right there.

We done it out in the yard, in front of everybody,

and it freaked me out.

I woke up, boy, I was sweating bad.

Man, I hope that dream come true quick.

What are you gonna do when you get off the phone?

- Sneak back home. - Go back home?

- Uh-huh. - I'm gonna go back home, too, when I get off the phone.

- I wish you could. - Huh?

- I wish you could. - Yeah.

- Well, my time's up, okay? - Okay.

- I gotta go, okay? - Okay.

- Love you. - I love you, too.

- Bye-bye. - ( phone clicks )

( Christmas music playing )

Can you get it in there all?

Yeah.

( clicks )

( sniffling )

( clicks )

I think those two oughta do fine.

Yeah, I'm sure they will, babe.

Yeah, this one's good, this one came out.

Okay.

( sighs )

John: Big difference from any other Christmas.

Be one we'll never forget.

Byers: Yeah, I know,

it's the first one without him.

( sighs )

Wish you could've been here to hear me sing lately.

He liked to hear me sing.

( sniffles )

Well, I think his little Christmas tree,

it'll stay there real well.

It's in there tight enough.

I don't think the wind will blow it over or anything.

Come here and kneel down here by me.

Oh, God, why did you let this happen?

Please help us through it.

God, please help us through this.

Ridge: This is a enlarged photograph of the crime scene.

This is the ditch where the bodies were found.

Michael Moore was found in this area right here

at the bottom of the screen.

Steve Branch was found just--

just behind where these trees are in the stream.

And Christopher Byers was found just below

that body right here.

This is Exhibit 22,

- which is the body of Michael Moore... - ( woman gasps )

...after removing him from the water,

the way he was found.

This is the body of Steve Branch.

Steve Branch is the young man that had the--

the injuries to his face.

Fogelman : Is it a particular part of his face?

Ridge: On the left side and down here.

State's Exhibit 24,

the body of Christopher Byers.

And what kind of injuries did Chris Byers have,

that you observed?

It looked as though his penis had been removed.

( crying )

( cameras snapping )

Could you see the pictures from where you were sitting?

Yeah, that's why I had to leave.

- Why? - Because al--

always along with seeing my little boy the way he was,

I'll always have that picture of what

he looked like... in my mind.

But you never knew until now.

You were worried early on that, that--

and you said early on, that you really didn't wanna know,

but now you're hearing it.

Is it a lot harder than what you thought

it was going to be, to hear this?

It's a whole lot harder than I thought it would be.

It's like going back to May 5th

and reliving it all over again.

( tape recorder clicks )

Stidham: Inspector Gitchell,

let's talk about the things that--

that Jessie told you

that are just absolutely incorrect.

Now, on page nine of his statement,

Inspector Gitchell, Jessie says

that the murders took place around noon.

How did you know that was incorrect?

Because the boys were-- the young boys were still in school.

Did at any time when he was telling you

these things that you knew were incorrect,

did it ever occur to you that what he was telling you was false?

His entire story was false?

In Jessie's case, I feel like he did tell us a good bit of the truth,

but then they also lessen their activity in a statement.

That's just common.

At least in my 20 years' career--

Is it common for the police

to simply ignore these big obvious problems

and just assume that if everything else that he's telling you

has gotta be correct?

Jessie simply got confused.

Stidham: You and I can tell the cops

that we know what our rights are and, uh, basically go to hell.

We're not gonna sit here and take this and walk out.

Jessie Misskelley has no concept of being able to leave a police station.

I mean, the only thing that the prosecution has--

has put on against Jessie is this

wild story that he told the police.

And I hope that the fact that there's no physical evidence

linking him to the crime scene is-- is gonna have

a lot of impact on the jury.

And we're talking about reasonable doubt, uh--

But-- but I think you need to deal with the lack of physical evidence.

Not just-- not-- not to just let them get away

with the fact that they were in the water and it all washed away.

A crime scene that clean

has to be purposefully planned-- done that way, okay?

( stutters ) The fact that it looked washed down

was not just happenstance.

- Right, okay. - Okay? ( stuttering )

That is probably something like you said we can, maybe--

( stutters ) Somebody intentionally, purposefully...

with great cunning and intelligence...

tried to get a-- get rid of...

every spot of blood, semen, mud, footprint--

anything that may have been there,

they purposefully tried to get rid of all that.

An 18, a 17, and a 16-year-old kid

don't pull this off, no.

Lot of-- I think there's a lot of

professional killers who don't leave it this clean, you know?

I really do believe

that if the jury hears

what lust serial killers are like,

and what they do, and how they leave crime scenes--

with the missing evidence, the souvenirs.

I have no doubt where there's a serial killer

running around that-- that did these murders.

I have no doubt, hell, he may be in Idaho now but, I mean,

I'm-- I don't have any doubt about it, you know?

You know, it is somebody who knew what they were doing, had done it before,

and probably has done it since then or--

or will definitely do it again.

Are you aware of any personality traits

of people who are likely to possibly confess?

Low IQ.

Highly suggestible.

Always attempting to solve the immediate stress factor.

Get the interrogators off my back

and just let me go home.

Naively assumes that they can all straighten it out later on.

It's extremely difficult

for the average person to believe...

that someone would confess to a crime they didn't do.

And what I didn't like about this confession

is that most of it emanated from

questions right off the bat,

without-- without any narrative of any-- any length at all.

Without any descriptions about feelings,

or conversations or anything.

I-- I just don't understand

if he was in fact involved in this crime,

how he made a mistake on the time factor.

And the thing that really bothers me is the ligature--

what was used to tie up the-- the victims.

Now, he certainly knows the difference between, uh,

shoelaces and a rope.

That should have been a--

a signal that something was radically wrong.

That's when the questions should have been more probing

to determine whether or not he was making it up

or giving a valid confession.

Fogelman : Out of the hundred or more people that y'all talked to,

are you aware of anybody other than the defendant who told you

one of the victims

that had their genitals removed,

and one of them had cuts to the side of the face,

and there'd been some grabbing of the ears?

Uh, there was no one else

that mentioned those particular injuries,

and you yourself, Mr. Fogelman,

you're pointing to the wrong side of the cheek.

- Oh. - ( all laughing )

Was there any kind of emotional response?

He had tears coming down his eyes.

Right. Had y'all yelled at him,

or been mean to him or...

- No, sir. - ...threatened him,

or promised him anything?

Done any of those things?

None of those things happened whatsoever.

All right.

( squawking )

( signal crossing honking, clanging )

Dr. Ofshe, could you give us some examples of--

of the police being coercive,

leading or suggestive during the course

- of the interrogation? - Ofshe: Yes, I can.

Perhaps the most powerful example,

in my opinion,

is the example of the eight revisiting

of the question of the time at which the killings occurred.

The first example occurs on page three.

Detective Ridge says, "All right, when did you go with them?"

Mr. Misskelley says, "That morning."

Detective Ridge asks,

"I'm not saying when they called you,

I'm saying what time was it that you were

actually there in the park."

Mr. Misskelley says, "About noon."

Detective Ridge now says,

"Okay, was it after school had let out?"

This is immediately after Jessie saying it's at noon.

He's now suggesting it must be later

by saying is it after school let out.

Jessie says, "Yes."

Detective Ridge follows up

with his victory on page 24.

And this time Detective Ridge says, and I quote,

"Okay, the night you were in the woods,

had you all been in the water?"

Jessie replies, "Yeah, we've been in the water.

We were in it that night playing around in it."

This is the first time in the record

that it is directly suggested to Jessie

that the correct answer is this happened at night.

Immediately upon that being suggested,

Jessie is-- responds by accepting,

and now he starts to use the word at night,

where he had never used it before.

That is an influence tactic.

It is a way of getting someone to accept something

out of pressure and out of suggestion.

But that's one example.

There are many other examples

of manipulation on important points throughout this record.

Brent Davis: Mr. Ofshe,

is your going rate approximately $300 an hour?

- No, that's not. - What is it?

My rate is $150 an hour for consultation,

and $300 an hour for time spent

in court or in deposition.

So, if you're initially asked to evaluate a case,

you don't get the-- the $300 an hour

unless you give an opinion that's consistent

with what the person asked you wants to hear.

If they don't call you as a witness,

you don't get your $300 an hour, correct?

Incorrect.

I don't know what

the terminology is in Berkeley, California,

but when the defendant identified who it was

who was castrated, when he indicated

that one of the boys was cut in the face, you don't know,

and you can't give an opinion

that any of those questions

were coercive in nature, can you?

No, I can't, because the record

that we are dealing with is very incomplete

because this part of the record is preceded,

as everyone agrees, by over two hours

of interrogation in which many subjects were discussed,

for which we have no record.

( music playing )

( music continues )

d Welcome to where time stands still d

d No one leaves and no one will d

d Moon is full, never seems to change d

d Just labeled mentally... d

( police siren )

( radio chatter )

d ...freedom in my sight d

d No locked doors, no windows to find d

d No things to make my brain seemed scarred d

d Sleep, my friend, and you will see d

d The dream is my reality d

d They keep me locked up in this cage d

d Can't they see it's why my brain says rage? d

d Sanitarium. d

Stidham: Jessie Misskelley

didn't tell the police anything

that they didn't already know.

They led him through this entire taped statement,

and ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

we don't know what happened

before they turned the tape recorder on.

They didn't videotape it.

The officers didn't take notes on all the questions,

they testified to that.

They even testified they couldn't remember some of the things they asked him.

How do we know what really happened?

The defense, through bringing in so-called experts

such as Mr. Ofshe,

have tried through smoke and mirrors

to make it sound like

a person that confesses to such a heinous crime

and admits their involvement

and gives you specific details in the involvement,

that's indicative of someone who was forced

or coerced to confess.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

my client, little Jessie Misskelley,

is an innocent man.

He's innocent.

And I would ask you to go back to that jury room

and bring back a verdict that rings of justice.

Truth and justice.

And I would ask you to bring back a verdict

that you can live with for the rest of your life.

Davis: See this picture? This is--

this is the Moore boy.

This defendant won't look up,

he won't look at you.

But this defendant's actions,

and you just think about it.

If this defendant does not chase down Michael Moore...

if he does not run through the woods,

and chase him down, and bring him back...

Michael Moore lives.

Michael Moore gets to go home at night,

his parents get to be with him.

But because of this defendant's actions,

because of what Jessie Misskelley. Jr. did,

Michael Moore's dead,

Stevie Branch is dead,

Chris Byers is dead,

and there's no getting around it.

I think when you go back,

and you apply your common sense,

and you do what's right,

and you think about the evidence in this case,

you're gonna know that what the evidence shows is that this defendant

ran down Michael Moore.

That this defendant was there.

He was involved, and he's guilty

of three counts of capital murder.

Three, two, one.

The jury went out at 4:20 this afternoon.

They'll decide if Jessie Misskelley is guilty

in the deaths of Christopher Byers,

Michael Moore, and Steven Branch.

Misskelley is charged with capital murder,

and if guilty, could get the death penalty.

Two other teenagers charged in the crime

will be tried later this month in Jonesboro.

In Corning, Wade Hoffman, ARN News.

Short, but sweet.

Shelby: I'm gonna go get you something

to twitch your nose, and make them come back

with a not-guilty verdict, can't you?

If I could twitch my nose and do that,

- I'd have been gone a long time ago. - We've been praying to God.

Just bow your head.

- There's still hope. - That's right.

Misskelley: I'm not giving up, though.

All: No, no, no, no, no.

Don't ever. Don't give up--

and don't get in there and get mad and go off.

There's always hope.

They tell me, "How come he always keeps his head down?"

Because I was told to keep my head down.

- That's right. - That's right.

Shelby: If you'd raised up and looked around,

then they would be saying something else,

- so it really don't matter. - Don't let it bother you.

- They're gonna-- they're gonna-- - ( coughs )

That's like they're saying about Damien.

- On which station? - They making remarks--

- Damien's a good kid. - That's what it was--

- I guess, I don't know-- - Shelby: I don't know Damien.

I didn't realize how much I loved him until this.

- I always loved him, but this is just-- - Well, thanks a lot!

I mean, no, I always loved you,

I'm just saying I didn't realize how much.

You're coming home.

Gotta get out of here.

Just say a prayer when the jury comes out. You're fine.

Oh, I will. I'll say one right now.

'Cause we'll be sitting there saying one for you.

Hopefully I'm going home tonight.

We sure hope so. We hope we can carry you home.

( chatter )

It's getting kind of hard with you guys--

( both chattering )

- ( mumbles ) - But you got it? You wanted the controller.

Burnett: All right, ladies and gentlemen, I-- I--

in the audience, I am acutely aware

that your feelings are on edge,

that there's a great deal of emotion involved,

but the court cannot tolerate,

and will not tolerate any verbal outburst,

any display of emotion whatsoever.

And I-- I recognize that that's difficult,

and that's why I'm warning you in advance.

The verdicts read as follows.

"We the jury find Jessie Lloyd Misskelley, Jr.

guilty of first-degree murder

in the death of Michael Moore.

We the jury find Jesse Lloyd Misskelley, Jr.

guilty of second-degree murder

in the death of Stevie Branch.

We the jury find Jessie Lloyd Misskelley, Jr.

guilty of second-degree murder

in the death of Chris Byers.

Signed by T.J. Williams, foreman.

All right, Mr. Misskelley, if you could

come around to the front here, and Dan, and...

All right, Mr. Misskelley, did you hear the--

the jury's finding, and the reading

of the verdict in your case?

Misskelley: Yes, sir.

Do you have any legal reason

or cause to tell the court

why sentence should not be imposed at this time?

( mumbles )

You'll have to an-- I heard you,

but you need to answer out a little bit louder.

- No, sir. - All right.

Um, is there anything you wanna say

before sentence is imposed?

You have a right to-- to make any statement

that you care to at this time.

No, sir.

Are you satisfied with the service and advice

of your attorneys through this trial?

- Yes, sir. - All right.

All right, based upon the jury's verdict

finding you guilty of first-degree murder

in the death of Michael Moore, you'll be sentenced

to the Arkansas Department of Corrections

for a term of life.

In the count involving the death of Steven Branch,

the jury having found you guilty of second-degree murder,

you'll be sentenced to an additional term of 20 years.

And in regard to the death of Christopher Byers,

the jury having found you guilty of second-degree murder,

you'll be sentenced to an additional term

of 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

That is you will receive

a life sentence plus 40 years.

It's hard to think of if how...

it would have gone any other way

but you never can tell with a jury of 12,

and they could have found a verdict of not guilty,

and, uh, we had to sit there and tell ourselves,

"God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,

the courage to change the things we can,

and the wisdom to know the difference."

So, we had to be willing to accept what happened,

and thankfully the verdict went our way.

Well, listen, there must be mixed emotions

because you have the guilty verdict, but you--

you still have the loss to deal with.

This doesn't change anything.

- John: Our son was still murdered-- - Christopher's dead.

- Our son is still dead. - And he was tortured to death

by three murdering bastards on a ditch bank.

He was eight years old.

And guilty is guilty,

and I hope the little sucker, when he hits Cummins,

they get his ass right off the bat!

Because he deserves to be tortured

and punished for the rest of his life

for murdering three eight-year-old children!

Man: Jessie, how come you kept

your head down the whole time?

Woman: Jessie, you held your head down

through most of the trial.

Anything you wanna say now?

Man: Did you do it, Jessie?

( indistinct questions )

Say, get that back, get a hold of him.

Woman #2: Did you do it, Jessie?

Woman: Jessie, do you have anything to say?

- No. - How are you feeling right now?

Man: Jessie, what did you say?

Nope.

( engine starting )

Prison's not a safe place.

Jessie, sweetie.

I'm gonna mail him a skirt.

One down, two to go.

Hopefully the same thing will happen to the next two,

and we'll get the same verdict.

They found my son's testicles in a jar of alcohol

in Damien Echols' house

with his fingerprints on the jar.

Now, how do you dispute that?

Some idiot started a rumor saying that

they found, um...

children's sexual parts

under my bed or in my house, and...

There was no body parts in my house or...

It's just-- I think maybe the police had something to do with it, just...

'cause how-- if they can make us look bad in front of the public

then people are gonna kind of have their minds made up

before anything ever comes out.

What we want to talk to you about is all the stuff

in the paper about a deal with Jessie.

We-- right now we don't know

what his situation is,

although we think that he is more inclined to testify

right now than he has been at any point up to now.

The Friday that Jessie was convicted, they questioned him.

The officers who took him down

inquired of him what had really happened, and apparently Jessie,

contrary to somebody that was innocent that would say things like,

"Gee, I've just been

convicted and I didn't do it

and what a terrible injustice."

Jessie talked all the way down there

about how he committed the crime

in specific details.

Unfortunately, we need his testimony real bad.

If it was a perfect world,

you know, we would take what we have on Jessie and leave it,

and we'd go and get the other two.

And get them and be happy, but it's not.

And, uh... we need his testimony to be sure

we get convictions on the other two.

I think we're gonna negotiate his sentence down some

in order to get him to testify.

He's not gonna, you know, testify

just out of the goodness of his heart.

The only way that I think that

he will be willing to testify

is if the life sentence is removed.

Now, I do wanna say all is not lost if he doesn't testify,

but the odds are reduced significantly.

Uh, we've still got some evidence.

What we've got, besides Jessie--

( clears throat ) is we've got a--

a fiber that was found on, um--

it was found on Stevie's shirt,

that matched a fiber from Jason Baldwin's mother,

which is called secondary transfer.

We've got a fiber from a-- a shirt--

or a couple of fibers from a shirt

found at Echols' house, found, um--

one of them was on, like, the Cub Scout--

Michael's Cub Scout cap,

another one maybe on the shirt, that matched Damien's.

Fiber evidence it's--

it's-- in my opinion, it's better than hair evidence,

but they can't say that it came from that particular garment

to the exclusion of all others.

We've got the Hollingsworth clan that says

they saw Damien and Domini out

on the service road.

We've got some, um...

kids that say that Damien at a--

they heard him at a girls' softball game, overheard him say

that he killed the three boys,

and that he was gonna kill

two more before he turned himself in.

- And-- - Man: They haven't scared them off yet

like they did the other ones?

- Well, no, not yet. - ( Davis mumbles )

- ( woman coughs ) - And we've got

a guy that was in jail with Jason,

who says that Jason made some incriminating statements to him.

Now, there are some things that they will--

are gonna try to do to attack this kid's credibility,

but, um-- oh, and then we got the knife that was found

in a lake behind Jason's house.

So, that's what we've got but that's all,

basically that we've got.

And you asked what the odds were

of convicting them without Jessie,

and it's, you know,

50-50 might be-- might be good.

Paul Ford: The only way he'll come up there,

and sit down in that witness chair

and testify is if they cut him a sweet deal.

You take all the things

that are wrong with his statement,

and then add to the-- add to that recipe mix,

that, "I'm talking now because I got a sweet deal,

and I'm not gonna--

I'm gonna get out in 10 years."

Hypothetical. "I may get out in 10 years."

Well, heck yeah, who wouldn't sing?

You know what I'm saying? So he-- then he--

then his evidence, his statement,

his whole thing looks bad,

and that's-- if that's their best evidence, and trust me it is,

if they can't use that statement against you, they got nothing.

And this dog and pony show is over.

Good morning. How you doing?

- Man: Morning. - Good morning.

Man #2: Are the rumors false about Jessie

- turning state's evidence? - Yes.

- Good morning. - Is it true that Jessie's

going to testify against Damien and Jason?

It's false.

I just left Jessie at the jail,

and he told me that he was not gonna testify.

He didn't wanna get up there and lie,

uh, that the officers have been working on him real hard, but, uh,

but he wasn't gonna listen to them and this was--

his decision was final.

But he can always change his mind again.

I-- you know, he has.

He's a very confused and scared kid, and--

and the officers have scared him to death.

Shelby: Yeah, they have.

Well, I told him last night, I said,

"Jessie, if you get up there and lie,

I'm gonna be in that courtroom.

And you're gonna have to sit there and tell that lie

when you know that I'm sitting there listening to you,

when you know I know the truth that you are lying."

( cameras clicking )

Woman: Damien, are you in a cult? Are you in a cult, Damien?

Man: Damien, are you worried about

Jessie testifying against you?

- Not in the least. - ( clamoring )

Fogelman : In looking at young people involved in the occult,

do you see any particular type of dress?

I have personally observed people wearing,

black fingernails, having their hair painted black,

wearing black T-shirts.

Sometimes they will tattoo themselves.

Fogelman : Do you have an opinion as to whether or not

there are occult overtones

or evidence of occult involvement

in these particular murders?

Well, the date being close to Beltane...

- What is that? All right. - ...a holiday, May 1st.

Also, the day before that is Walpurgisnacht.

Then you go into

the fact that some groups of occult--

cult groups or-- or-- will use a full moon.

In several occult books,

they will talk about the life force of the blood.

Usually the younger the individual,

the more pure it is,

the more power or the force it has.

A lot of times they will take blood,

and store it for other services

and other use,

as well as consume it or bathe in it.

Now, the... the items drawn on the front,

what is that?

That is a-- that is a pentagram.

That happens to be a Wiccan,

or-- or white witchcraft pentagram.

All right, now if you would open,

the book to the front page.

- Yes, sir. - All right.

Now... explain what that is.

- That's confusion to me. - All right.

And the reason why we got a-- a white witchcraft...

Wiccan pentagram, then we have

upside down crosses, which comes from another type of occultism.

What type of occultism

- do the upside down crosses-- - That's black witchcraft.

Is it Wicca, Satanism, or both?

- Both. - Okay.

And did you notice anything in particular, about the book?

There's a chapter in here called "Rise of the Devil," and, uh...

it is underlined in red,

and there-- there's a couple sentences in there,

reference to, uh, blood, and its life force.

How-- how were you accepted into enrollment

at Columbia Pacific University?

I had to fill out a--

and several series of papers including all my education,

background, experience.

Did you ever fill out a little flier like this?

- No, sir. - That says,

"Call toll-free for information on how to become a doctor."

This is a mail order college, isn't it?

What classes did you take between 1980

and 1982 to obtain your master's degree?

- What cl-- - What classes?

- I testified-- - I'm asking what classes.

What classes did you take?

I told you-- I answered that before, none.

You did not take any classes.

Between 1982

and 1984 when you became a Ph.D.,

what classes did you take?

- None. - None. Okay.

Is it your opinion,

and do you want to tell this jury...

that these crimes were motivated by occult beliefs?

Yes.

Hutchison: We're not trash, by no means.

My son was born in West Memphis,

he was raised in West Memphis,

and for the life of me I cannot understand

why people has got this bad image of him.

So what if he wore a black trench coat.

He's not the only one that does.

You know, so what if he wore black T-shirts,

black pants.

Johnny Cash wears black, doesn't he?

Pam Echols: Well, I wear black.

Michelle wears black.

- Domini wears black-- - Michelle: ...wears black. ( laughs )

It's-- we're all just partial to black, I guess.

I like black myself.

And I'm by no means no devil worshipper,

nor is he.

He was going to school,

he wanted to go to school to be a priest.

He was faithful in the church,

and he looked into a little bit of Wicca,

but he-- he never went to it,

and I think if people looked into what--

to what Wicca is,

they would understand it a little better.

The only thing Wiccans do is worship the earth.

Echols: People probably think

that I'm in Satanism because

usually what people don't understand they try to destroy.

Or ridicule.

Try to make it look bad or wrong.

West Memphis is pretty much like

second Salem, right now.

Because everything that happens there,

every crime no matter what it is,

it's blamed on Satanism.

Burnett: He's been previously sworn.

Val Price: Yes, sir, that's correct.

Please state your name for the court.

Damien Wayne Echols.

Why did you change your name?

I was very involved in the Catholic church,

and we were going over different names of the saints.

St. Michael's was where I went to church in,

and we heard about this guy from the Hawaiian Is--

Hawaiian Islands, Father Damien,

that took care of lepers,

until he finally caught the disease himself and died.

All right, was that the reason you chose

Damien as your first name?

- Yes, it is. - Okay.

Did the choosing of the name Damien

have anything to do with any type of horror movies,

Satanism, cultism, any of that nature?

- Nothing whatsoever. - Okay.

All right, after the time period that you were

really into the Catholic religion,

did you start focusing on another particular religion?

- Wicca. - Wicca. All right.

Could you explain to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury

what-- some principles about the Wicca religion?

Um... it acknowledges a goddess

in a higher regard as a god,

because people have always said

we're all God's children, and men cannot have children.

Um... it's basically like

a close involvement with nature.

Is there a difference between

the Wicca religion and witchcraft?

Wicca is also called witchcraft.

The word Wicca was bastardized,

it originally meant "wise one."

Did the fact that

you like to wear all black all the time--

were you different in-- in other ways as well?

Yes, I've never had

a lot of the same interests that other people have,

like sports, things like that.

I've never been into anything like that.

Okay. Did it--

did it help you deal with other people,

to have people kind of

standoffish and sort of back away from you?

Yeah, it would make--

It was like a defense mechanism.

It would make people think, like,

"Well, he's weird, I'm not gonna go around him."

So, it kept people away.

The state had introduced a book,

Never On A Broomstick.

Are you familiar with that particular book?

- Yes, I am. - All right, were did you get that book, Damien?

At the library in Crittenden County.

All the books that they were

getting tired of or had for a long time, I guess,

they all had them sitting on a rack out front

that they were selling for 10 cents each, so I got it.

All right, did you underline

any of those portions in the book?

No, that was done when I got it.

I think it was because somebody had a report to do

or something, because all during the book there's, like, little notes,

certain dates and stuff, like, from the 1600s

in the outside margin.

So, was that book kind of like a history of--

- of witchcraft, and how it's developed... - Yes.

- ...over the ages? Okay. - Yes.

Are you familiar with the contents of that notebook?

Yes, I am.

I noticed on the inside of the front cover there,

- there appears to be a couple of quotes there-- - Yes.

Could you, uh,

read each of those to the jury

and then tell them where that came from?

"Life is but a walking shadow.

It is a tale told by an idiot,

full of sound, and fury, signifying nothing."

That's from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

Um, "Pure black looking clear,

my work is soon done here.

Try getting back from me, that which used to be."

That is off a Metallica tape

called Injustice for All.

Talks about how warped the court systems are

and stuff like that.

On May the 5th,

did you kill Michael Moore?

No, I did not.

On May the 5th,

did you kill Stevie Branch?

No, I did not.

On May the 5th, did you kill Chris Byers?

No, I did not.

Have you ever participated in any type of human sacrifice?

No, I have not.

19-year-old Damien Echols admits he stands out in a crowd.

He says he loves heavy metal music, likes--

( chuckles ) Shorten it a bit.

"Practices the Wicca religion."

Three, two... one.

19-year-old Damien Echols says he's--

Three, two... one.

19-year-old Damien Echols admits he stands out in a crowd.

He says he likes to wear black most of the time,

practices the Wicca religion,

and loves heavy metal music,

but he says he's definitely not a killer.

( car horn blares )

Hobbs: I believe they did it,

and if they were to be set free on the street,

then they would have to look behind their back--

watch behind their back to see if Pam Hobbs went and followed them.

Because I'm just saying this as a human, you know...

I-- I would, I believe I'd try and kill them, too,

if they ever walk the street and I'm still alive.

I believe I'd be stalking them.

To do to them...

Probably shoot them and then cut them up.

Marie Hicks: When I was down at the courtroom,

and Damien walked past me,

I wanted to just go over there and take my hand

and just claw down his face,

inflict any kind of pain that I can inflict on him.

I know eventually we're going to have to forgive him,

I know that and I understand that,

but when it happens in your home,

and you watch your wife lose her mind--

you know, whatever happened to her.

Your home is tore apart, busted up.

I don't feel it's fair right now

for someone to ask me

to forgive the ones that caused it.

( stutters ) It'd take some time,

a long time before I could forgive them.

Jackie Hicks: You-- you say that it's gonna take time.

We don't know how much time we got.

Pam, we wouldn't be able to see Stevie again.

We have to forgive in our heart because

the Lord... forgave us.

He forgave us, He shedded His blood for us.

He shedded his blood for them.

And-- he just-- just asked us to have a...

a-- a forgiving spirit.

And I refuse to serve sin and Satan.

Because I'm gonna see Stevie again.

I'm gonna be with Stevie again.

I'm gonna be with my mother again.

I'm gonna be with her mother,

your grandmother, both of them.

I'm gonna be with all of my loved ones

that have passed on and went to Heaven.

( sobbing )

Man: If you could speak to the families

of these-- these kids, who think you did it,

you know, what would you say to them?

I don't know.

Echols: Jason was my best friend.

We did about everything together.

It was kind of like we even lived together most of the time,

stayed at each other's houses, wore each other's clothes.

It was more like we were brothers.

We used to go out and snake hunt all the time.

Snakes and music were, like, about our whole life, really.

We lis-- we were, like, all the time, looking for new groups

that we would like or something.

Our favorite kinds of music

were, like, Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth.

U2.

We'd do just about everything together.

Davis: Now I want to draw your attention

back to August of last year.

Were you in the Cricket County Juvenile Detention Facility?

- Yes, I was. - Okay, and what were you in there for at the time?

- Burglary. - Okay.

And when you were there,

was there a Jason Baldwin

in the juvenile detention facility at the same time?

- Yes. - Now, while you were in contact

with this Jason Baldwin,

was there anything mentioned about his involvement

in the murders of three 8-year-olds?

Yes, well, we was sitting there playing Spades

and I wanted to get to know everybody off in there,

'cause I don't know what you call it,

but I just wanted to get to know him.

And I just straight out asked him if he did it.

And he denied it, the first time.

Okay, did you have an occasion again

while you were in the detention facility

to ask him was he involved in the murders

of the three 8-year-olds?

Yes, I think it was, like, the next day.

I believe it was the next day.

And can you tell us what the scenar--

what was going on, what was happening

at the time that occurred?

Well, me and Jason Baldwin were scraping up the cards,

going ourselves for lunch.

I said, "Just between me and you, I won't say a word.

Did you do it?" And he said yes and he went into detail about it.

You said he went into more detail. What did he tell you?

He told me how he dismembered the kid

or I don't know exactly how many kids,

so he just said he dismembered them.

He sucked the blood

from the penis and the scrotum,

and put the balls in his mouth.

Now, Michael, when was it

that you came forward with this information?

I'm not really sure.

I believe it was like a couple of months later.

Davis: What caused you to come forward

at that point in time?

Why-- why did Michael Carson

no longer wanted to stay uninvolved?

Why didn't you come forward in February this year?

'Cause I saw the family on TV,

and saw how brokenhearted they were about their children being missing,

and I got a soft heart, I couldn't take it.

( coughing )

Now, he tells you this and then you're silent

from August until February.

- Is that right? - Yes, sir.

And then in the second conversation

you've ever had with this young man

in his entire life, he tells you all this stuff.

Yes, sir.

After he's had one conversation with you.

Yes, sir.

Ford: One day when I was up here in Jonesboro working

and phone rings, secretary says,

"You won't know who he is, but he needs to talk to you."

I pick up the phone, he says, "I'm Danny Williams,

I'm embarrassed to tell you what I need to tell you."

He said, "But I work with the juvenile department here

and I do drug and alcohol counseling.

And there's a guy named Michael Carson

who's gonna testify that Jason confessed to him in the jail,

and I know he's lying."

I said, "What are you talking about?"

He said, "Well," he said, "Several months ago,

Michael Carson was one of the kids that I worked with,

and he and I had a conversation

where I told him that this Jason Baldwin

had been accused of killing three boys and sexually mutilating them."

And basically, he gave Michael Carson the details

that he testified to at the trial.

At the time, Carson says nothing.

And then, he later-- Carson later tells him,

he said, "Hey, by the way, Danny, I've--

I've-- telling the police that, you know,

Jason confessed to me."

And so he calls me up and says, "Hey, no, no, no."

He said, "This kid's a liar,

he's no good, I know he's lying.

And the only reason he's got this information is because I gave it to him."

The counselor of this kid called the prosecution

and told them what a liar he was,

and the prosecution still used the kid--

- That's right. - And now they're trying to keep out the fact--

the background of the kid.

Obviously, we want to get that information out,

but the judge acts like he may not let us use him at all.

We should absolutely be able to let

that jury know that he is LSD-dependent

because it does affect his ability to recall.

You know, the judge takes us--

takes all that away from us, yeah, the kid looks pretty believable.

Not only are they-- are they keeping out the background

of the kid when he testifies

so the jury doesn't have all the eggs,

but now they're keeping out the counselor who even knows about this kid

who told them the story in the first place

prior to him ever telling the police.

All that goes to the credibility.

Wadley: I think that would have shown the jury

that he didn't have quite that kind heart,

that soft heart that he tried to tell them.

That's right.

Fogelman : Detective Allen, I want

to direct your attention to November the 17th, 1993.

Were you asked to, uh,

make contact with some property owners

at the Lakeshore Trailer Park

and also get with the Arkansas State Police dive team?

Allen: Yes, sir, I was.

And after a period of time--

( stuttering ) of searching,

do you know whether any items were recovered?

- Uh, yes, sir. - All right.

Marked for identification purposes

is state's exhibit 77,

and I ask if you can identify that.

Yes, I can identify this by my, uh...

11/17 of '93, M. Allen, that I put here.

- Where did you get the knife? - I got this knife

from a diver with the-- with the state police.

How long did this search take place?

- How long? - Yes, sir.

From memory, I'm thinking maybe

10:30 am is about the time they got suited up

and started-- started to look.

And you quit-- you quit at when?

They located the...

knife at 11:35 am.

- So, what-- - Or 11:30-11:35.

- So, about an hour. - About an hour and a half, yeah.