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EXCLUSIVE: THURSDAY 11 PM: I’ve learned that on Friday Academy Award-winning film director Peter Jackson and his partner and producer Fran Walsh will 
reveal their longtime behind-the-scenes support of the ‘West Memphis 3″ after a court hearing that may free the imprisoned trio. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy helmer with Walsh have “played a leading role” financially and legally behind seven years of efforts to get justice for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. The filmmaking pair have funded key investigative efforts on behalf of the defense’s day-to-day efforts to prove the three men were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned on charges they brutally murdered three 8-year old boys in 1993. This has included financing extensive private investigators over a number of years and the uncovering of crucial new DNA evidence. Jackson and Walsh also have been instrumental in hiring some of the country’s leading forensic experts to reevaluate the case and uncover new witnesses, all of which contributed to the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision to reopen the case. The first two HBO documentaries that Berlinger and Sinofsky made on the case stirred international outrage over what many including Johnny Depp, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, and Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines felt was a miscarriage of justice and a conviction on flimsy evidence. The directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky are taking their third documentary Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory on the “West Memphis 3″ to premieres at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals. PREVIOUS: As ‘West Memphis 3′ Eye Freedom Friday, Toronto-Bound Docu To Change Ending.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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If idiots like Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines are taking up these guys’ cause, then they are probably guilty as hell!
To the idiot in Minut, I guess you’d rather see innocent men put to death and spend their lives in prison. Go join the Perricides and Bachmannkillers and return to the rock you spend your life under.
That’s the lovely thing about DNA. It’s there or it’s not.
This case has been shady as hell from the get go, which is why it was so great that people committed to seeing justice done like Maines, Penn & Vedder championed them & it’s amazing to learn that Jackson & Walsh are also a huge part of it.
yes, dna was there in the oj simpson case. see?
Of course! Even despite DNA evidence….But then your personal assessments of people you don’t know are so much more reliable!
I’m reserving judgement on this case because I have major doubts about the convictions. But if it had been Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon championing their cause… Hell. boys! Let’s get a rope and hang ‘em high!
They are INNOCENT. Parenthetically, Fran is a stone fox.
I’m saddened to read comments like the one jbinminot made. Those thoughts reinforce my belief that this country is turning into Guilty Until Proven Innocent. Not exactly what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
Heard of Casey Anthony? Apparently not…
The basic precept of our legal system is “It’s better that 9 guilty go free, than 1 innocent be falsely convicted.” The prosecutors in the Anthony case didn’t do their job. The prosecutors & police in the Memphis 3 case, framed them. Also NOT their job.
There was no evidence against them.If there had been any do u really think they would have been offered such a deal?This was to cover someones hind end and it wasnt Damien, Jason or Jessies.It is most definitely beggining to be guilty until proven innocent.I myself would hate to be put on trial, knowing that such incompetent authorities are not even trained enough to hold on to something as simple as blood samples.REALLY?whoever doesnt believe in their innocence doesnt have enough since to even look at the facts, NOT HEARSAY< FACTS!in this case
My apologies, folks. That was the tequila talking. I am the idiot, not them.
always admire people secure enough to admit when they were wrong. not many people can these days.
Has online hating gotten so bad that we’re now applauding the “sorry I was f’d up” comments? Mel and company will be happy to know about this! Here’s a thought…don’t always assume the worst in EVERYTHING and EVERYONE.
Points for saying so!
Yeah, kudos to you for admitting the mistake.
Love that you admitted that! Wish everyone was so honest!
You’re an idiot! It’s testicularly challenge lowlifes like you who make the rest of the human race look bad. You piece of sh*t!
Very interesting. I didn’t peg the very private and reclusive Fran and Peter Jackson to be ones to get involved in such matters, especially in ones that involve controversy.
which explains why their support has heretofore, been kept secret.
I wonder what all these celebs would think if the second the WM3 get out they go up to a camera and said “WE TOTALLY DID IT SUCKERS!! LOL!”?
Except they didn’t.
Lethargic — I’m assuming you were on the jury right? While you joke about this — the real murderer is out there and probably has done it again and again…Like an Anthony Sowell… while you sit here and laugh about 6 boys lives ruined over police corruption and wrongful investigation. (The 3 that were murdered and the 3 that were wrongfully accused.) Shame on you. You’re an embarrassment…
Anyone who’s read two sentences about this case knows these kids didn’t do it. The fact that they are still in jail speaks to how utterly retarded our legal system is.
Shame the crime wasn’t commited in New Zealand. Peter Jackson could have got them off a long time ago by getting the New Zealand government to change the law to allow the murder of 8-year-old boys; the same way he got the spineless turds to change their employment law to suit him and Warren Brothers.
You are bitter about Peter Jackson – totally can tell but doesn’t mean you should joke about the WM3 — what is wrong with you? I’m sure you are the 1% that thinks Casey Anthony is innocent.
If you’ve seen any of the “Paradise Lost” documentaries, it is clear these teens were innocent of, and had no knowledge of, the crimes they were convicted of. So happy somebody took up their cause.
As an unbiased person (who hasn’t seen the movies), anytime Hollywood people stand in it makes me wonder their motives. Who protects the convicted killers of young brutally murdered boys? If they are innocent I hope they go free, but my question is what kind of person chooses this kind of case? Are they looking into other murdered boys, or molested children? What are their motives?
The three are innocent. The celebs are trying to protect three innocents.
Joe, you would truly understand if you saw the documentaries or read one of the books on this case. The reason this one stands out is because it was fairly high profile at the time and they were convicted on ZERO evidence. It was an absolute case of a hick town convicting these kids because they were different. The first documentary is truly fascinating on so many levels; I would highly recommend you watch it.
Joe, while the celebs get a lot of press, the simple fact is that this was a widely reported travesty and the celebrities are just a fraction of a massive supporter movement. No one is seeking out grisly child killings to protect the alleged perpetrators — this was just a case where many saw how mishandled it was and how wrong the verdicts were.
That support has since been vindicated by evidence of juror misconduct and DNA evidence. The strong likelihood of a new trial that the state couldn’t win is what led to today’s releases.
That comment makes you an idiot, jbinminiot. Not enough celebrities get involved to use their influence and $ when it would help, so how about some credit where credit is due?
+1
Wonderful, close-minded statement from the Tea Party Chairman. Either that or a disgruntled extra from the Superman set…
The ‘evidence’ is so flawed that there is no way they should have been found guilty and imprisoned. There was not one piece of hard evidence. Maybe they were guilty, maybe they weren’t but their guilt has never been proven beyond a reasonable doubt & justice was not served. You can’t lock someone up and throw away the key based on a wild unsubstantiated hunch.
Interesting that NOWHERE in this story nor in these idiotic comments is it mentioned that at this hearing 2 of the killers will, in open court, admit their guilt in return for time served and will be released after 18 years because they were minors at the time of the original trial.
Why don’t you think?? What’s better – admitting to the crime to get out of jail on a lesser charge – or fight against the system for your dignity and stay in their for life…
When you are powerless you need to make choices for yourself… No doubt the police tampered with evidence and the investigation to make themselves APPEAR to be finding justice… The police are dangerous – some are good but most are bad. They abuse power and tamper with evidence to be in their favor… Corruption is king, and when you’re an 18 yr old boy being put up against a wall and being told you did it now confess – what do you do?
You don’t seem to understand the Alford plea entered. This legal maneuver is a guilty plea in name only — it’s a rare plea where the parties maintain their innocence while acknowledging the state could prevail at trial.
Normally, prosecutors never accept this kind of plea; they want a guilty plea to be accompanied by an admission of guilt. That the state accepted the Alford plea is indicative of how weak they believe their case is. The prosecutor said in his press conference today that a new trial was almost certain and that an acquittal would have been likely.
What’s sad about the Alford plea, is that the defendants, by entering it, give up their right to sue the state for civil damages for the malicious unwarranted, unsubstantiated prosecution for which they lost 18 precious years. Plus they are out on probation and could be back in jail if they violate the terms of said probation. It’s like they still have a noose around their necks.
What is terrifying is the fact that these three men are probably innocent and it took millions of dollars in defense to prove this. If it were you or I in the same situation as these guys we’d have died in prison. How many more people throughout our system have been thrown to the wolves over the years in a similar manner? Bone chilling to think about having your youth spent behind bars for something that you didn’t do.
Please go to https://www.vinelink.com/vinelink/siteInfoAction.do?siteId=4999 and click the ‘Offender’ link on the left side of the window. Enter each defendants name. They’ve been released.
There are two Damien Echols the one who was released is not the same person. They are in court right now.
After 18 years wrongfully imprisoned, even you might say “I’m guilty” even if you were not, if you thought it was the only way to get out.
I’ve read they have to admit culpability or claim no contest so they can’t sue the state (which they deserve to do). It was so evil what was done to them. I hope they write a book so they can live with autonomy.
Watch any of the films…Terry Hobbs (Stepcracker of one of the murdered boys) basically admits to killing them when he hands over the MURDER WEAPON to the director, Joe Berlinger. These poor kids were thrown away because they were ‘different and goth’….sad America, very sad.
Sonique, that’s incorrect. You’re thinking of Mark Byers, who provided a knife to the filmmakers. Terry Hobbs has become a suspect much more recently after the DNA testing.
Byers later became a vocal supporter of the WM3 and believes Terry Hobbs to be the killer.
You know, I’ve seen the movies, read the books, kept up with the case over the years, and I believe they’re probably innocent. I think it’s fairly obvious.
While it’s absolutely terrible these poor kids have been wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years, it disturbs me they’re the ones who get all the media coverage. I want to see them free as much as anyone else, but I wish all the rich celebrity money was going toward finding the sick fucking murderer responsible for all this. Three boys are dead and whoever this cocksucker is, he’s ruined the lives of three other young people.
We need to find this creep. Quit dicking around with these three kids who are obviously innocent. Let’s get to the point here. FIND HIM!
Totally agree…
To this day, there are only two people whose DNA has been found on the murdered children. Terry Hobbs (found on one of the other children, not his stepson) and Hobbs’s friend he was with the night of the murders. The state has had a very credible suspect for years. The media and celebrities are not where you should be directing your anger.
Why the hell should celebrity money go to finding the real killer? THAT’S WHAT THE STATE IS SUPPOSED TO DO, rather than railroad innocent people. They have the resources to investigate and prosecute this case properly and it shouldn’t take any celebrity money to do it. That’s simply ludicrous.
You’re an idiot and it’s no doubt you know absolutely nothing about this case. Even many family members of the victims now believe the WM3 are innocent and new DNA evidence excludes these three. Do some research and get some facts before blabbering your gibberish on topics you know nothing about. And good for those handful of celebs that support them, at least they don’t want these men wasting away in prison for something they did not do.
It’s amazing that among all of the inhumanities going on in the world celebrities picked this cause…
So, tell us, Rick, what exactly have you do for humanity lately? I mean, are you seriously upset because three wrongly convicted men will now go free? Maybe you should start a service that tells celebrities what causes they should and shouldn’t become involved in, because, after all, you seem to know what’s more important in the world.
Rick, what inhumanities do think are any worse than convicting and imprisoning three minors for murders they didn’t commit–and sentencing one to death?? The murders of those three little boys were heinous and deplorable, but falsely accusing the wrong people only makes it worse! It meant that they stopped searching for the REAL killer, and it needlessly ruined the lives of three young men and their families. It also taught society at large that you can be prosecuted just for looking and acting different from others in your community.
Sonique, that was John Mark Byers, not Terry Hobbs, who gave a knife to Berlinger.
Its disappointing to know that this is a terrible case of stereotyping, metal heads don’t mean satan worshippers.
However, that being said, I am proud they are finally getting out. They were wrongfully accused on the statement I had made above, they had long hair and listen to Slayer. Maybe people will start realizing not everyone who listens to metal is bad? Oh wait, no. I apologize, I started dreaming again.
What is being missed, is the phenomenon that took place during the 90′s where the mere mention of “Satanic Cults” caused panic and media witch hunts, particularly during ratings week. That entire decade saw many lives turned upside down, including an entire town in England that was accused of molesting children in the “name of Satanism”, later it was found to be mass hysteria and “false memories” planted in impressionable young minds”, but the damage was already done.
This entire case revolves around a very possible coerced a false confession from a young man with a mental disability by over zealot investigators that were responding to an town in terror.
We like to consider ourselves advanced beyond the dark ages, but in the face of anger and fright we still tend to run for the torches and pitchforks. I think this blog may have a few torch carriers right now. ?
I have been following this case since I saw the original documentary in Australia years ago. I decide to buy the
DVDs so I could spread the story to friends and colleagues. I have continued to remain updated via regular visits to the wm3 website, always hoping for good news. Today was the day! I am so happy for these guys and all the people who have had the faith to keep on fighting and never giving up. Eighteen years is such a long time. I have visited America on a number of occasions and on the most part have loved your country and its friendly people. I hope to visit again. I was once told by a seasoned traveler that America is a place that represents the best and worst of nearly everything and I think that is how a free society should probably work….nothing is perfect but somethings are certainly better than others. This story shows the worst of the American justice system but also the best of the American people, I think you are amazing. Good luck for the future wm3, I hope that life is kinder to you, than it has been so far. To the true murder/s may karma seek you out. I am sure you already know that, it has probably been tapping you on the shoulders for some time now, your time will come.
RIP – Steve Christopher and Michael
What a terrible, naive life you must live.
You know nothing of me, you are sad.
If they were so innocent. How come they been locked up in prison since what 1993. They have been in prison so long pretty sure they wouldnt know what to do when they get out.