by John Stone
It was May 5th, 1993 when three 8 year old boys, Christopher Byers, Steven Branch, and Michael Moore, disappeared after school and had seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth in West Memphis, Arkansas. An enormous search and rescue party was immediately put underway to find the three boys. The next day, at approximately 1:45 in the afternoon, one of the booys' bodies what pulled out of a nearby creek. The other two boys' bodys were found in the immediate vicinity. They had been hog tied, ankle to write and mutilated, however Christopher Byer seemed to take the brunt of the horror; beaten, bitten, and castrated. Only a true monster would inflict such horrific damage on children.
The police looked for peole involved in the occult and singled out three teenagers. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jason Misskkeley simple because they were informed they were into the occult, wore blak clothing, and did not conform to the status quo. Had these three lived in Los Angeles and/or the surrounding area, they would have drawn little to no attention.
As the founder and frontman of Mortal Pain, whose existence has extended back to 1996, as well as an unorthodox Christian, the fact that these three teenagers at the time were singled out merely because they did not fit in to the fundamentalist Christian standards of West Memphis, Arkansas is not only appalling, it's absolutely frightening. Living in a country founded on the principles of freedom of speech, expression, and religion, all three of which Damien Echols himself holds dearly by being a Wiccan in 1993 and a Buddhist at the present time, should have held law enforcement and the court of public opinion from judging these misguided youths. Unfortunately, that was and still is not the case.
Make no mistake, Echols' arrogant behavior in court couple with Misskelley's unlawful and co-erced confession did indeed seem to place the guilt on all three's heads. But the elimination of motive, alibi's for the time of the murders, and the fact that there is indeed one man who not only had motive, however psychotic it may be, and no alibi, would exonarate Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley immediately. Add to that the recent DNA findings that prove the three were not the murderers and one would come to the conclusion that these young men should now be cleared and released. Alas, this is not so.
We now know that what were initially believed to be stab wounds have turned out to be the result of wild animals gnawing and chewing on the cadavers of these three poor, young souls while their bodies were exposed to the elements. Two died from strangulation and one was beaten over the head due to blunt force trauma. The latter of which being Christopher Byers, an obvious rage killing, young Christopher who was beaten, molested, and had his genitals gnawed, meaning that someone close to the child and who knew him was the actual murderer. It's been more than apparent in the two documentaries on the case, Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2, that the killer of all three children was most likely, if not outright obviously, Byers' stepfather. The bite marks on young Christopher's body could not be linked to any one person. Not Echols, Baldwin, nor Misskelley. Yet immediately after the killings, Byers' stepfather had his dentures changed as to not resemble his previous set. Mark Byers behavior in the courtroom and outside was so erratic, he claimed he suffered from viloent blackouts, admitted to physically abusing Christopher, sought attention from the documentary film crews, and suffered from a braintumor that was so massive it showed on his forehead.All circumstantial evidence, but when piled up, it causes him to become suspect number one.
Damien Echols spends his time on death row practicing his new-found faith; Jason Baldwin spends his time continuing the artwork he has a God given talent for; Jesse Misskelley, though his low I.Q., still to this day works with supporters to try and have the West Memphis Three freed. To know a miscarriage of justice is still being implemented, is frightened for every American citizen that does not fit in to mainstream society. God forbid one would wear a Metallica t shirt, dye their hair black, sport tattooes, and practice a faith other than Christianity. As a Christian myself I believe in free will; one has the right to choose to live their life the way they want, so long as they hurt no one. In this case, these three young men did not hurt or kill the three young, 8 year old children. Where is the justice and compassion in a so called Christian community?
The fact that the courts, from county all the way to the Supreme Court refuse to overturn the West Memphis Three's convictions while the actual murderer of Christopher Byers, Steven Branch, and Michael Moore is a free man should disgust any law-abiding, freedom loving citizen of this nation. The perverse nature of the triple homicide calls for true justice and yet three innocent men languish in prison for crimes they did not commit. The fact that Echols is on death row, Baldwin received life in prison, and Misskelley obtained a term of 40 years is something that speaks volumes of the ignorant legal system in the southern United States. Three youths who stood out in the Bible Belt of America; it was only a matter of time before this harmless trio was accused of something as heinous of the crimes they are now incarcerated for. However, due to the ritualistic nature of the crime it was only a matter of time before these three were single out as the murderers, regardless of their innocence.
Help Damien, Jason, and Jesse in any way you can by visiting www.wm3.org and learning more. Damien's time is running out.