JONESBORO — A circuit judge has ordered an evidentiary hearing for three men convicted of the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis 8-yearolds to be held between Oct. 1 and Dec. 15.
Judge David Laser of Jonesboro asked Thursday in a court order that prosecutors and attorneys for Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin schedule a three week block sometime during that period.
The three were convicted in 1994 of killing Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore and leaving their bound bodies in a water-filled ditch near Interstate 40 in West Memphis. Echols was sentenced to be executed. Misskelley and Baldwin received life sentences in prison.
The three have asked for new trials, saying new DNA evidence exonerates them.
Laser, who was elected last year, is the new judge in the case. He will decide whether new DNA evidence creates a compelling reason to question the men’s convictions.
Laser could grant a new trial for the three after the hearing.
Craighead County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mike Walden said the hearing will likely be held in early December because of scheduling conflicts with defendants’ attorneys.
Laser, in his court order, asked that the hearing be held “continuous” for up to three weeks. Earlier hearings to determine whether the three men received adequate legal counsel were held intermittently over a long period. Echols’ hearings were scheduled during two- and three-day blocks over a two-year period in 1999 and 2000.
Laser also ordered that all DNA evidence and forensic testing requested by the court be done within 90 days of Thursday’s court order.
Some of the tests include DNA testing on the victims’ clothing and shoes, DNA testing on hairs found at the site where the three bodies were discovered, testing on sheets used to transport the bodies to the state Crime Laboratory, and undigested food like substances found in one of the victims during autopsy.
He also asked attorneys to submit briefs about any jury misconduct allegations by May 1.
Defense attorneys contend that a juror in the 1994 capital-murder trial of Echols and Baldwin made improper statements to other jurors about a confession Misskelley gave police when he was arrested in 1993. Misskelley later recanted, saying the confession was coerced by police.
Arkansas, Pages 20 on 03/19/2011