If Innocence Matters, Damien Echols Should Not Be Executed

In 1993, 18 year-old Damien Echols had dyed black hair, wore heavy metal t-shirts and read Stephen King. When a terrible crime happened in the small town where he lived, he immediately became a suspect, simply because he was “different”. The prosecutor even suggested that Echols was a Satanist and that the victims were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual.

Echols was convicted in 1994, along with two other teenagers, and he’s been on death row in Arkansas ever since.

There was no physical evidence, weapon, or motive linking Damien to the murder of three eight year-old boys: Michael Moore, Stevie Branch and Christopher Byers. His guilty verdict was based on a recanted confession by a peer with a severe developmental disability. And now new DNA evidence has emerged that could prove once and for all that he’s innocent.

Some of the country’s leading pathologists found that much of the forensic evidence used to convict Echols was false and inconsistent with the cause of death and with the wounds found on the victims’ bodies.

The Arkansas Supreme Court is currently reviewing the new DNA and forensic evidence, as well as a juror misconduct claim, to determine whether or not to grant Echols a new trial. A hearing is scheduled for September 30th.

Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and Axl Rose are among Damien’s notable supporters. Depp even recently took to 48 Hours: Mystery to plead for a new trial.

Please tell Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe that innocence matters. Without your help Damien Echols could be executed for a crime he did not commit. Click here to take action.

Executing Echols, while so many questions about his guilt remain, would be a miscarriage of justice. Let’s hope that Echols gets the new trial he deserves.

Note: This 48 Hours episode aired earlier this year.

(Damien Echols and his two co-defendants, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin, have come to be known as the “West Memphis 3.” Click here for more info on their cases.)

Photo provided by: http://freewestmemphis3.org/
By Stefanie Faucher, Associate Director of Death Penalty Focus

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

J.C. H.

2:25PM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

I think this article is out-of-date. According to recent news reports, Echols & his co-defendants were released August 19 after having filed Alford pleas to lesser offenses. (An Alford plea indicates that although the defendant is innocent, he acknowledges that a court could likely find him guilty--in this case of a lesser offense--based on available evidence.)

Obviously, this was something of a compromise between the state of Arkansas and the defendants, who will still be considered criminals under the law & will lose some of their civil rights (such as the right to vote) for a limited period but at least are now freed. Given how long they served, I certainly would not fault them for taking the deal the state offered.

send a green star

Michael Brendan O.

9:03AM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

In the circumstances described if this killing goes ahead it can only be called State Murder.

TERRY R.

7:37AM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

OBVIOUSLY A RETRIAL IS THE ONLY JUSTICE HERE.

SusanNoMailPls D.

9:09AM PDT on Sep 18, 2010

I have tried to sign but will not accept my post-code?
Innocent until proven Guilty!

Corinna M.

10:14PM PDT on Sep 16, 2010

I sent a post card to Governor Mike Beebe's office. I sure hope this guy gets a second chance to show that he is innocent.

10:11PM PDT on Sep 16, 2010

Our justice system is so backwards. Innocent people locked up, and guilty people set free. It would take a miracle to change this, but all we can do for now is help one person at a time and lift all of our voices together.

Kristin H.

6:41AM PDT on Sep 12, 2010

I am SO glad this case is garnering media attention, though it makes me feel heartbroken for all the other miscarriages of justice that go undiagnosed. I believe in the death penalty, because there are certain crimes, I feel, that warrant such punishment. But when people are on death row when they are innocent, and have no business being there...well, it strikes a chord. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelly were wrongfully accused, and they deserve justice. At one point I believed, because of their probable innocence and the mishandling of the case from the beginning, that they deserved a fair trial. Now, in light of their obvious innocence and the evidence clearly indicating a killer who yet walks free, I believe they should be released, quickly, and without undue process. This case indicates a tragedy in our justice system...a mistake that can yet be put right. Noone can give back to those boys/men the lost years that were taken from them...I only hope they will emerge stronger and wiser for their experience, and that the true killer/s will be brought to justice.

Karen C.

9:48AM PDT on Sep 11, 2010

If there is a credible question to his guilt then he should be granted a stay and the court should review the evidence. I know this must be very hard for the victim's family but mistakes seem to happen in the justice systems since it's the state versus the person. So, we must be sure that the case was tried properly.