Paradise Lost 1 and 2

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 12:37pm

Did anyone see these movies? They originally aired on HBO...I rented them this week through Netflixx.
They are two documentaries that focus on the brutal murders of three 8 year olds in West Memphis Arkansas and the trial that follows.
Three teens end up being arrested and tried for the crime and end up being convicted in spite of an astounding lack of evidence. In fact there is some compelling evidence that points towards the stepfather of one of the murdered boys who comes across as clearly disturbed in the two films.
Basically the three kids were caught up in a witch hunt that stemmed from a "satanic panic" that swept the town after the murders. It seems they became prime suspects because they dressed in black, listened to Metallica, and one had an interest in Wicca.
The whole cased is based solely on the confession of Jesse Miskelly who has an IQ of 70 and was examined for 12 hours without any representation before giving his confession. A confession which is filled with inaccuracies.
This confirmed to me that if you are poor in America and charged with a capital crime you can kiss your ass goodbye. It is revealed in the second film that one of the defense attornys was only paid 19/hour and they only had 1000 to spend on a case that was filled with forensic evidence.
The three of them are still in jail, one facing the death penalty. The movies also confirmed my belief that the death penalty should be abolished because it so clear that not everyone is granted a fair trial....

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 12:44pm

I haven't seen the documentaries, but I have read the book about the case, called Devil's Knot. It made me SO angry, it's the most blatant miscarriage of justice. It got to the point where I couldn't read it in public as I was shouting at the book every other page.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 12:57pm

For more information on the case you can go to the following link. No matter how you feel about the outcome I highly recommend the films...especially the first one.

West Memphis Three Updated On: 11/10/05 at 12:57 PM

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 12:58pm

This story is a very compelling argument against the death penalty. How anyone can argue that killing people says that killing is wrong is beyond me.

Your link is off, erik.

Updated On: 11/10/05 at 12:58 PM

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/10/05 at 12:58pm

Oops! Fixed it. Thanks.