The West Memphis Murders
Ellington: Money a factor in West Memphis deal
updated: 04/18/2012 2:22 p.m. Discuss
Prosecutor and congressional hopeful Scott Ellington says costs to the state and potential juror misconduct factored into his decision to agree to the deal that freed the three men convicted in the murders of three 8-year-old Cub Scouts — Steven Branch, Christopher Branch and Michael Moore — in 1993.
: Director helping Echols in seeking pardon
posted: 10/28/2011 7:53 a.m. Discuss
Director Peter Jackson said Friday that he was working with Damien Echols in hopes of getting the man a complete pardon.
Lawyer to teach course on West Memphis case
posted: 10/24/2011 10:08 a.m. Discuss
A lawyer who represented one of the defendants in the West Memphis murders of three Boy Scouts plans to teach a two-week course on the case at the University of Virginia School of Law.
: Order allows men in West Memphis murders to attend film premiere
posted: 10/10/2011 11:19 a.m. Comments 6
Three men released from prison in a plea deal that settled their appeal of 1993 murder convictions will be allowed to attend the New York premiere of a film on their case.
W. Memphis police chief retiring, to focus on talks
posted: 08/27/2011 5:02 a.m. Discuss
West Memphis Police Chief Robert Paudert, whose son and another police officer were fatally shot last year during a traffic stop, will retire Wednesday to focus on training other officers in safety measures.
Crime Lab to look at DNA in ’93 case
posted: 08/26/2011 3:57 a.m.
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Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said the State Crime Laboratory has agreed to analyze DNA collected from a West Memphis crime scene where three 8-year-old boys were found murdered in 1993 to seek a possible match.
For 3 freed and in spotlight, legal tethers loosened
posted: 08/24/2011 5:48 a.m. Comments 7
An hour after being released from prison Friday afternoon, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin scooted into a dark, tinted-windowed SUV that whisked the two men to Memphis for a hotel rooftop gala with their friends and celebrity supporters. Jessie Misskelley, on the other hand, left the courthouse in his dad’s truck for a more casual neighborhood party with family and friends at his father’s home in Crittenden County.
Release of 3 topic of forum
posted: 08/24/2011 4:28 a.m. Discuss
A panel discussion will be held Thursday about the legal battle over Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr., who served more than 17 years in prison after being convicted of murdering three young boys in West Memphis in 1993.
‘IN THE FLOWER GARDEN OF HEAVEN’: 3 freed hearkens back to 3 slain
posted: 08/21/2011 5:31 a.m.
Comment 1
At Weaver Elementary School, a small gazebo stands testament to the memory of three 8-year-old boys who once romped across this empty playground.
3 plead guilty to murders, are set free
posted: 08/20/2011 5:12 a.m.
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Three men convicted in the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis boys walked out of court as free men Friday after pleading guilty to reduced charges under an unusual agreement.
Alford plea by 3 solved difficulty for both sides
posted: 08/20/2011 4:54 a.m.
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Stale evidence. New DNA testing. Allegations of jury misconduct.
Three are free: Mixed reactions, mostly joy
posted: 08/19/2011 2:16 p.m. Comment 1
The West Memphis murders in 1993 riveted a state, if not a nation, from the onset. Over the years, proving the innocence of who supporters called the West Memphis 3 became a cause celebre. And 18 years later, here is what the world is saying about the latest development — that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley will go free.
Echols says justice 'neither pretty nor is it perfect'
posted: 08/19/2011 12:30 p.m. Comments 5
A statement form Damien Echols after he, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. were freed Friday, Aug. 19.
VIDEO: Plea reached in West Memphis murders
updated: 08/19/2011 2:46 p.m.
Comments 16
Three men convicted of the murder of three West Memphis boys have pleaded guilty to lesser charges in a deal with prosecutors that will have them released from prison with time already served.
Prosecutor says 'interests of justice' served in case
posted: 08/19/2011 11:48 a.m.
Comments 2
A statement from Scott Ellington, the prosecutor in the West Memphis case.
