A Harvest Of Innocence: The Trial Of The West Memphis Three

The FOX True Crime Podcast w/ Emily Compagno

Fox News

True Crime

4.8 • 708 Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On May 5th, 1993, three young boys were murdered and mutilated in West Memphis, Arkansas. The gruesome crime scene led investigators to believe that the homicides were part of a satanic ritual. As the community searched for the devil among their fellow men, three teenage boys became targets: Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley, and Damien Echols. The trio were subsequently arrested and convicted of the crimes, yet despite a false confession, no evidence linked them to the murders. Judge Dan Stidham was Jessie Misskelley's defense attorney and was the only lawyer to work the case from beginning to end. He reflects on his years-long battle for freedom and justice and discusses the impact the case continues to have on him to this day. Judge Stidham has been a full-time District Court Judge in Arkansas since 2008 and spent 20 years in private law practice. In his new book, A Harvest Of Innocence, Judge Stidham reveals chilling new information in the case of the West Memphis Three. Follow Emily on Instagram: @realemilycompagno If you have a story or topic we should feature on the FOX True Crime Podcast, send us an email at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	On May 5, 1993, three young boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas.
0:09.0	Eight-year-old's Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore met up after school that day
0:15.0	and played into the evening on their bikes and skateboards.
0:19.0	When the boys were called in for the night, they never returned
0:21.5	home, and their disappearance sparked concern among the small, safe, and godfaring community
0:27.3	in which they lived. The following day, the three boys were discovered in a drainage ditch
0:32.6	in the woods of Robin Hood Hills. Their bodies were so savagely mutilated that investigators believed it could
0:39.5	only have come from a satanic ritual. The horrific loss of innocent lives led the West Memphis
0:45.9	community to search for the devil among their fellow man. The attention turned to three teenage
0:51.4	boys, 16-year-old Jason Baldwin, 17-year-old Jesse Miss Kelly, Jr., and 18-year-old
0:57.6	Damian Eccles. The trio were social outcasts. Known for donning black clothing and listening
1:03.7	to heavy metal music, the boys became targets within their Bible Belt town. On June 3, 1993,
1:14.2	Jason, Jesse, and Damien were arrested for the three homicides, marking the day that three more lives were ultimately destroyed from the
1:19.4	chilling crime that rocked the community. I'm Emily Campano, and this is the Fox True Crime Podcast.
2:00.0	Thank you. And this is the Fox True Crime podcast. dubbed the West Memphis 3, Jason Baldwin, Jesse Miss Kelly, and Damien Eccles became the face of what came to be known as the satanic panic that swept across the American South in the 1980s and 90s.
2:11.2	In 1994, the three went to trial. Jesse Miss Kelly was found guilty of first and second degree murder and was sentenced to life
2:19.5	in prison without the possibility of Pearl.
2:22.5	Jason Baldwin and Damien Eccles were tried together and the pair were later found
2:27.0	guilty of first degree murder.
2:29.8	Jason was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and Damien Eccles was
2:34.0	sentenced to death. However possibility of parole, and Damien Eccles was sentenced to death.
2:35.8	However, besides a false confession, there was ultimately no evidence that could link the three
	...

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