West Memphis opens files on slayings

By The Associated Press

WEST MEMPHIS — West Memphis police Monday opened the case file on the slayings of three 8-year-old boys for reporters and other members of the public to review.

Gary Gitchell, West Memphis police inspector, said the files were opened at the order of Circuit Judge David Burnett of Osceola.

"We have approximately 7,700 individual pieces of paper and-or photographs inside this file, and then there are also many exhibits we introduced in court," Gitchell said.

The size of the case file is "very unusual, very large, very time-consuming," Gitchell said.

Three teen-agers, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr., were convicted in the deaths of the children. Misskelley was convicted of first-degree murder. The other teens were convicted of capital murder. Echols was sentenced to die, Baldwin to life without parole and Misskelley to life plus 40 years.

The bodies of Steven Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers were found in May 1993 in a water-filled ditch not far from where they lived.

The files were opened in response to a request by the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper under Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act.

That law allows police to keep closed files on any case still under investigation, but requires disclosure once the case is concluded.

About eight reporters showed up at the police station Monday to review the files, contained in 13 boxes.