No new trial in West Memphis killings, judge rules

By th

JONESBORO — A judge has denied a request for a new trial for three men convicted of killing three boys in West Memphis 15 years ago.

Circuit Court Judge David Burnett issued an order Wednesday denying the request. Lawyers for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley had requested a new trial, arguing that new DNA evidence clears their clients.

Both Baldwin and Misskelley claim their lawyers failed to adequately represent them during their separate trials. Their lawyers also say DNA evidence provided by Echols' defense team shows the men did not kill Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.

"The court finds that (Echols's) DNA-testing results are inconclusive because they do not raise a reasonable probability that he did not commit the offenses; that is, they are inconclusive as to his claim of actual innocence" Burnett wrote in the order.

In his appeal, Echols argued that newly analyzed DNA found no trace of him, Misskelley or Baldwin at the crime scene. But Burnett said he agreed with prosecutors' arguments that the absence of DNA didn't equal innocence.

"Proof of actual innocence requires more than his exclusion as the source of a handful of biological material that is not dispositive of the identity of a killer," Burnett wrote.

Burnett also said that even if he agreed that the new DNA evidence should be heard in court, he would deny Echols' request for a trial because there was "not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted."

U.S. District Court Judge William R. Wilson Jr. ruled in November that claims about the DNA evidence first needed to be heard in state courts. The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld their convictions.