August 19

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1909
American Revolution
Americans raid Paulus Hook, New Jersey, 1779
Automotive
Louis Schwitzer wins first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1909
Civil War
Dakota Indians bypass Fort Ridgely, 1862
Cold War
CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran, 1953
Crime
A Jewish youth is killed by a mob, 1991
"West Memphis Three" released from prison after 18 years, 2011
Disaster
Fire on Saudi jet kills 301, 1980
General Interest
Old Ironsides earns its name, 1812
Allies raid Dieppe, 1942
Captured U.S. spy pilot sentenced in Russia, 1960
Hollywood
Basinger and Baldwin marry, 1993
Literary
Joseph Conrad becomes a British citizen, 1886
Music
The Beatles kick off first U.S. tour at San Francisco's Cow Palace, 1964
Old West
John Wesley Hardin killed in Texas, 1895
Presidential
Bill Clinton born, 1946
Sports
Little person makes big league debut, 1951
Vietnam War
Many Americans against a bombing halt, 1968
Cambodia and U.S. sign military aid pact, 1970
Democratic candidate McGovern attacks Nixon policy in Vietnam, 1972
World War I
President Wilson appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , 1919
World War II
Adolf Hitler becomes president of Germany, 1934

Crime

Aug 19, 2011:

"West Memphis Three" released from prison after 18 years

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On this day in 2011, three men, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the murders of three boys in Arkansas, are released from prison in a special legal deal allowing them to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict them. Echols, 36, had been on death row, while Baldwin, 34, and Misskelley, 36, were serving life sentences. Collectively known as the “West Memphis Three,” the men had always maintained their innocence, and questions about the evidence used to convict them had persisted for years. Their case attracted widespread attention and the support of a number of celebrities.

In May 1993, the bodies of three 8-year-old boys, Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore, were found naked and hog-tied in a drainage ditch in a wooded section of West Memphis, Arkansas. Investigators initially had few solid leads; however, because the bodies appeared to have been mutilated, rumors circulated about a possible connection to satanic cult activities. A tip eventually led investigators to focus on the teenage Echols, a high school dropout who grew up poor, was interested in witchcraft and regularly wore black clothing. Then, Misskelley, an acquaintance of Echols, confessed to the murders following a lengthy interrogation by authorities, and implicated Echols and Baldwin. Described as having a below-average IQ, Misskelley provided information about the crime that conflicted in key ways from details known to the police, and he soon recanted his confession. Nevertheless, in February 1994, he was convicted of first- and second-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years.

In a separate trial in March 1994, Echols and Baldwin were convicted of capital murder. During the trial, Misskelley refused to testify against the two, and prosecutors had no eyewitnesses or physical evidence linking Echols and Baldwin to the crime. Instead, the prosecution presented evidence that Echols, the alleged ringleader, read books about witchcraft as well as novels by Stephen King and Anne Rice, and said he was motivated to murder the boys as part of an occult ritual.

The case gained national attention with the release of the 1996 documentary “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,” which cast doubt on the men’s guilt. A movement grew to free the West Memphis Three, and celebrities including Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder, Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines and film director Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) spoke out in support of the three men and helped fund a legal team to fight the convictions. In 2007, lawyers for the West Memphis Three said new forensic tests showed there was no DNA evidence to link the men to the crime.

In the fall of 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a hearing for Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley to determine if they deserved new trials. However, before the hearing took place, the trio’s lawyers and prosecutors in Arkansas reached a deal allowing the men to enter an Alford plea and go free. With this little-used legal tool, a defendant is allowed to maintain his or her innocence but plead guilty because it is considered in his or her best interest to do so.

In a statement following his release from custody on August 19, 2011, Echols said, in part, of the plea deal: “I have now spent half my life on death row. It is a torturous environment that no human being should have to endure, and it needed to end. I am innocent, as are Jason and Jessie, but I made this decision because I did not want to spend another day of my life behind those bars.”

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This Week in History, Aug 19 - Aug 25

Aug 19, 1991
A Jewish youth is killed by a mob
Aug 19, 2011
"West Memphis Three" released from prison after 18 years
Aug 20, 1989
The Menendez brothers murder their parents
Aug 21, 1863
Outlaws attack Lawrence, Kansas
Aug 21, 1911
Theft of Mona Lisa is discovered
Aug 22, 1933
The Barker clan kills an officer in their fruitless robbery
Aug 23, 2006
Austrian teen escapes after eight years in captivity
Aug 24, 1982
A Wall Street scheme is hatched
Aug 24, 2012
Killer in Norway massacre is sentenced
Aug 25, 1984
In Cold Blood author dies

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