Sunday, November 27, 2011
West Memphis Three Open line and West Memphis 3 comment
Posted by Max Brantley on Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 3:53 PM
We'll declare this the Sunday open line. But a final note:
* WEST MEMPHIS THREE AND THE ARKANSAS CRIME LAB: Did you read the sympathetic treatment of the Arkansas Crime Lab in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (pay wall) this morning? In it, C.S. Murphy (who has relied on this office for help on other previous topics) got employees' first extensive comments on the West Memphis Three case since the release of the three men convicted in the slayings. I found little new there except for self-pity on the part of lab employees. The WM3 weren't convicted on forensic evidence to begin with, but primarily on a contested confession and Satan hysteria. Indeed, the very lack of forensic evidence was critical to their ultimate release. I thought it interesting that the newspaper and the lab would declare the case "closed" and thus open to full record inspection and discussion. (Noted: the inspection of Crime Lab records produced nothing new that argued for the guilt of the three. If wounds weren't caused by animals, but by human bites or knife wounds — to name one point of forensic contention — no one has yet believably linked those wounds to the men convicted.) Still, it was an indication, if totally unsurprising, that the apparatus of the state has no intention of going to look for other suspects now that the Three are free.
Never mind me. Mara Leveritt, author of "Devil's Knot," the definitive book on the case, is far more familiar with details and with the conflicting accounts from the Crime Lab have given in the past. She's filed an analysis of the morning's story from her deep knowledge. Give her the floor on the jump for an answer to the one-sided D-G report:
By Mara Leveritt
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has never taken a serious look at the cesspool of issues that have come to be known as the case of the West Memphis Three. Today’s paper offers another example.
While focusing on the difficulties that officials at the Arkansas Crime Laboratory have suffered since the 1993 murders of three West Memphis boys, a front-page article skips over the hard questions about the lab’s role in trials that put three teenagers in prison for almost 18 years.
In August, when Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington announced his decision to enter the deal that set Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr., free, Ellington said he did so because it would be “practically impossible to put on a proper case” against the men if, as expected, they were granted a new trial. Ellington explained that, “Since the original convictions, two of the victims’ families have joined forces with the defense, publicly proclaiming the innocence of the defendants. The mother of a witness who testified about Echols’s confession has publicly questioned her daughter’s truthfulness, and the State Crime Lab employee who collected fiber evidence at the Echols and Baldwin homes after their arrests has died.”
But the fibers did not die. That evidence presumably remains in the lab’s possession. If a new trial were ordered, those fibers would be tested again. If the lab’s findings were sound enough in 1993 to warrant sentencing Echols to death and Baldwin to life in prison, that evidence would be sound enough to do the same now, whether or not the original technician was alive to testify about the results. The state simply had no confidence in the only piece of physical evidence it produced against the defendants in these horrific, hands-on murders.
The article quoted the lab’s Dr. Frank Peretti bemoaning how he’d been “attacked” by “groupies” who believe that the West Memphis Three are innocent. Maybe Peretti counts me as one of his attackers. I did write in Devil’s Knot about how he testified under oath at Misskelley’s trial that he could not estimate the time of the boys’ deaths. That allowed for Misskelley to be convicted solely on the basis of a confession he’d made to police, in which he said he’d participated in the killings at various times on May 5—the latest time being just after dark.
But then, at the subsequent trial of Baldwin and Echols, Peretti testified that the children were most likely not murdered on May 5 at all, but on the following day, “between 1 a.m. and, you know, five or seven in the morning.” Some courts would have considered that statement perjury, or at least reason enough to grant Misskelley a new trial. But Judge David Burnett, who officiated at both trials overlooked it, and so did the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Although the state won convictions for all three teenagers, even the prosecuting attorney was incensed by Peretti’s conflicting testimony. “I will say this,” John Fogleman told me later, “if you rely on Dr. Peretti for a time of death opinion, it’s a mistake. Dr. Peretti is another book.”
Peretti also complained in the article about having to keep quiet about the case while supporters of the men in prison spoke out. Yet, I remember a few years ago, when criminal justice club at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock invited Peretti to speak about the West Memphis case for a noontime fundraiser, and Peretti accepted. I went to hear him, but shortly after Peretti arrived, the club’s faculty sponsor approached me to whisper that he would not present his talk if I remained in the audience. During the tense moments that followed, Peretti expanded his demand, announcing that he would not speak about the case if any law students were present either. Ultimately, Peretti opted to change his topic.
There is much to criticize in the state’s handling of this case, and Peretti’s conduct ranks high on the list. While the West Memphis police were struggling with their investigation, Peretti did not help them by providing information from the autopsies because, according to today’s article, he thought someone was leaking information to the media. But that was not his call to make. The crime lab’s stated mission is “to provide the highest quality scientific services and resources to the criminal justice community…,” not to withhold those services on a personal whim.
Today’s article quoted a letter in which the West Memphis police chief complained about the lack of information his department had received from the lab. What it did not quote was the line from that letter, dated three weeks after the murders, in which the police chief begged: “We need information from the crime lab desperately.”
Speaking of...
-
Supreme Court grants hearing for Death Row's Timothy Howard
April 26, 2012The Arkansas Supreme Court has ordered a further hearing on the DNA claim of a Death Row inmate, Timothy Howard, that state suppression of critical problems with DNA evidence prejudiced his fair trial. /more/
-
Ellington on the WM3
March 26, 2012Scott Ellington, the prosecuting attorney in the West Memphis Three hearing last year, told a Memphis TV station that he asked the defense to come up with a guilty plea offer that would allow Damien Echols, Jessie Miskelley and Jason Baldwin to go free. /more/
-
Jason Baldwin's new life in the west
March 21, 2012Great little story in Seattle Weekly today about Jason Baldwin's efforts to rebuild his life in Seattle since he, Jessie Misskelley and Damien Echols were released from prison last summer. /more/
-
West Memphis Three reward fund increased to $200,000
March 14, 2012An anonymous donor has added $100,000 to make a $200,000 reward fund for information leading to the killers of three West Memphis boys in 1993. /more/
-
Jason Baldwin, Hollywood producer
March 5, 2012Jason Baldwin and his girlfriend, Holly Ballard, are executive producers for "Devil's Knot," the movie about the West Memphis Three case to star Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon. /more/
-
West Memphis 3: How to extract a tainted confession
February 26, 2012Here's an interesting analysis from the New York Law School project on law and journalism about Jessie Misskelley's confession in the West Memphis 3 case. /more/
- More »
Comments (38)
Showing 1-38 of 38
Unrelated to the WM3 case...
Rumor has it that Houston Nutt will soon (this week) be named the head coach at the U of Memphis (my alma mater). If true, let me be the first to extend a lukewarm, 6-and-6, bottom-feeder bowl salute and welcome to Mr. Nutt. Of course, if you're the U of M, even a 6-and-6 season followed by a visit to the Geritol-Andy Williams' Most Wonderful Time of the Year Bowl sounds like a winner.
like
dislike
Does Houston Dale truly care where he ends up so long as the buyout contract is a king's ransom?
“What [today’s newspaper article] did not quote was the line from that letter, dated three weeks after the murders, in which the police chief begged: “We need information from the crime lab desperately.” ~ Mara Leveritt
Actually, C. S. Murphy’s article included these lines:
“In a three page letter to Channell three weeks after the bodies were sent to the Crime Lab, the West Memphis police inspector said his department ‘desperately’ needed information from the lab.”
Murphy also quoted this sentence from the letter:
“We realize you have other cases coming in and must go to court on other matters, however, this case has received National recognition and without the Crime Labs information our hands are tied. “We feel as though we are walking blind folded through this case at this moment.”
I greatly admire Mara Leveritt: Just think she missed the above while reading the article.
.
FUNDAMENTALIST FACT: 4 out of 5 Southern Baptist divorcees think gays are undermining the sanctity of marriage – and so do all their many ex-husbands!
--Betty Bowers
Frank Peretti has proven time and time again why is not and never will be board certified.
mr. green, MSU must have lots of moola for they will have to pay Ole Miss about 3 million and if Nutt takes his assistants there will be another 5 million on top of this. At least that's what I read. I was hoping he would get a waiver on the buy out and wind up at Arkansas State where they've love the Nutt boys.
Does anyone know if this is a valid report or not?
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/11/con…
Lew Rockwell is on their blog roll Cato
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Rockwell
Read the first comment on that link you posted Cato. That bill isn't quite the threat to ordinary citizens that the story makes it out to be.
As far as the Democrat-Gazette's article, I'm still stunned by Peretti's statement that the West Memphis Three are "being worshipped as child killers". I'm pretty sure that no one who was/is a supporter of the West Memphis Three is doing so because they believe the three are child killers.
Plus, check out the next post on that site!!
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/11/mil…
Cato, do I need to buy stock in tinfoil hat companies? You do have a filter for this stuff, right?
Besides, the House (currently controlled by the teabaggers) can vote on all the crazy stuff they want. As far as Mr. Graham of the nut state of South Carolina (which also gave us Joe "you lie" Wilson), he can spout BS all he wants.
Spare us. No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to post this.
One last post to address the DOG, Arkansas LEO's and the related agencies, and Nutt.
The DOG won't print anything that doesn't further the agenda of one Mr. Hussman and the R's.
Arkansas law agencies are lacking in professionalism in a lot of ways that leave the average citizen at a disadvantage.
And one would hope that future college administrators would see through the charade that Houston Da Nutt has been using to scam their brethern and not bite the same bait.
Good night all, and I'll hang up and listen!!
It's a good thing you skipped last Tuesday's GOP debate because it means 1) you have a life and 2) you get to read Time magazine's delicious coverage.
http://swampland.time.com/2011/11/23/what-…
wannabe, by the same token no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to read it. *grin* The board needs livening up. Thus far, the best thing posted tonight is the Betty Bowers quote and we all know the role of Betty Bowers. Right? No way I can top Betty.
the outlier, thanks for the info. This put it strong to me about the author:"... Rockwell had gone to work at Hillsdale College." I've had experiences with Hillsdale people, especially a seminar in Valley Forge years ago. I was one of the few who took issue with the visiting professors who came to spew their stuff, things like left wing dictators are bad, bad and right wing dictators are good, good. I won't ever forget the lecture about Pinochet's Argentina was O.k, and I pointed out Argentina was the country where the escaping Nazis after WW II tried to get to. The speaker's face got very red as she stammered for quite a while.
I didn't think the article about the crime lab and the WM3 case said much, but evidently C.S. Murphy thinks that everything she writes is wonderful and she can't take criticism even from Max. Waa waa.
“The board needs livening up.”
Cato, I agree. So here’s a post from a Hog message board following Friday’s LSU game. Oh, to be 20 again and in a Baton Rouge bar. (Not!):
Went outside to smoke drunk as hell. Sat at a table alone. Texas fan to my left. Some 6'6" oger sits in front of me. They look at each other and chuckle. One says to the other "That Arkansas got their ass whipped today." I say to Texas fan, "What's your record?" He responds, "You got me there." I look to the oger and say "Where did you go to school?" He replies, "Somewhere in Washington." I ask, "Which community college?" He stands up and throws his seat back going ape shit. I start laughing and tell him I jerking him aroung because I got expelled from college. Smaller friend comes over trying to step and asks me what I said. I explain the situation in an apologetic tone because I am out numbered 2 to 1 when his other buddy steps up. He calls me a four eyed bitch and throws my double fisted Jack and cokes off the table. Then looks at me and says my favorite line ever "What?!?" I take off my eyeglasses. I grabbed his neck with the left and threw his ass into the propane deck heater and jacked him with a right cross.
It was the perfect situation for me. 6 bouncers stepped in and carried all of us out of separate exits. I see these 3 big sumbitches outside and go into a dumb ass psycho rant about how I am 5'10" 160 lbs. and they need to fight someone their own size. They all shake my hand for standing up to them. Then the Oger pulls out my Magic Glasses "insert tear" and stomps on them. WTF?
On the cab ride home I reached into my pocket to give the dude some extra cash and forgot I had a blade on me. Thank God I didn't go loco and shank those fools. Doing push ups now to get in shape for the Capital One Bowl fight.
"Does anyone know if this is a valid report or not?"
Given that it is coming from mostly the same crowd that gave us the Patriot Act, it wouldn't surprise me. If it was passed and signed into law, I'd give it thirty seconds before some low level drug dealer got picked up by a Seal team.
What I want to know is how the commenters' comments would have differed if you had linked directly to the ACLU's blog post about the act instead of WaPo's cut and paste.
I don't think some people here made it past the text in your link.
I'm the last person to defend the WaPo, but I don't think the blog Cato linked has anything to do with them.
Stealing baby Jesus, cousin sex, speed traps, and more....
Smith's Alternative Arkansas History on this date:
27-Nov 1877 Birthdate of Katherine Susan Anthony (photo) at Roseville in Logan County. Feminist, suffragette, socialist, peace and labor activist, graduate of the University of Chicago, faculty member at Wellesley College; Biographer of Margaret Fuller, Catherine the Great, Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, Susan B. Anthony, Dolly Madison, and Mercy Otis Warren. Longtime companion of Elisabeth Irwin.
27-Nov 1897 Activist Arkansas Supreme Court legislates from the bench and holds that an 1875 Act prohibiting marriage between first cousins “by implication” also prohibited and criminalized sexual intercourse between first cousins.
27-Nov 1898 Galloway College at Searcy destroyed by early morning fire; all 150 young women boarding there survived unharmed.
27-Nov 1907 Birthdate of Joe Bishop at Monticello. Jazz composer and arranger who co-wrote "Woodchopper's Ball" with Woody Herman.
27-Nov 1922 Arkansas Supreme Court rejected callous argument of Southern Anthracite Coal Mining Company that Martin Rice assumed risk for his own safety when the roof fell and fatally injured him in Mine No.2, Pope County.
27-Nov 1936 Greenland city officials resumed the 35 mph speed trap on Highway 71, halted during the summer when Governor Bailey refused to submit to arrest and had Mayor Rouse removed from office. Some believe it is still in operation.
27-Nov 1950 Arkansas Supreme Court overturns injunction against picketing by Communications Workers of America that had been granted by Judge Frank Dodge to Southwestern Bell without notice, testimony, or evidence. "That members of labor unions may engage in peaceful picketing is elementary....Aside from the economic consequences to these petitioners of being wrongfully restrained from engaging in peaceful picketing, ...deprivation of their constitutional right of free speech cannot be compensated for in dollars and cents.
27-Nov 1962 AFL-CIO convention in Little Rock reelected President George Ellison, Vice President Paul McClure, and Secretary-Treasurer J Bill Becker.
27-Nov 2005 Virginia Voiers, 70, arrested by Eureka Springs police for stealing Baby Jesus from the city's Basin Park Nativity scene. No one arrested for purchase and erection of Christian religious icons with public funds.
--compiled by Stephen Smith, PhD
Durango--I know you go to Broadway series shows here in LR. So will you be at FOTR this week? I'll be there Wednesday night and will be looking for the 93 year old man in the audience!
"I'm the last person to defend the WaPo, but I don't think the blog Cato linked has anything to do with them."
Correct. Apparently I didn't even make it through the url.
What's your take on this outlier: http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security…
Lew Rockwell appears no where on the page, but I think the ACLU is supported by the Koch brothers.
I did not know this...
When you drink vodka over ice, it can give you kidney failure.
When you drink rum over ice, it can give you liver failure.
When you drink whiskey over ice, it can give you heart
problems.
When you drink gin over ice, it can give you brain problems.
Apparently, ice is really bad for you.
Warn all your friends.
Gyl, That's truly funny (the Koch/ACLU partnership). However, defense of the Constitution IS a conservative value.
After reading Cato's posting, I browsed around the subject. One could easily become uneasy about the creeping totalitarianism. A few creepy snips below:
The federal government has facilitated the growth of a network of fusion centers since 9/11 to expand information collection and sharing practices among law enforcement agencies, the private sector and the intelligence community. There are currently 70 fusion centers in the United States. (Arkansas' is at the State Police Hq.)
Problem areas:
Ambiguous Lines of Authority
Private Sector Participation
Military Participation
Excessive Secrecy
http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty…
From another source:
"This follows a long line of fusion center and DHS reports labeling broad swaths of the public as a threat to national security. The North Texas Fusion System labeled Muslim lobbyists as a potential threat; a DHS analyst in Wisconsin thought both pro- and anti-abortion activists were worrisome; a Pennsylvania homeland security contractor watched environmental activists, Tea Party groups, and a Second Amendment rally; the Maryland State Police put anti-death penalty and anti-war activists in a federal terrorism database; a fusion center in Missouri thought that all third-party voters and Ron Paul supporters were a threat; and the Department of Homeland Security described half of the American political spectrum as “right wing extremists.”"
"Achtung!"
Good read, Norma.
On another note, who the hell is Thomas Pope? I was just surfing and found that he has made many posts on here...and seem to remember that he also write letters to the DG. He tries to sound so reasonable, until one realizes that he is bat-shit crazy.
NVR, my little red rose, I will be at FOTR, but the saint has already sacked out, so I don’t know which night. Usually, though, our tickets are for the final performance which I think is Thursday night for this show. But if it turns out I’m there Wednesday, I know my NVRdar will go off and I’ll spot ya. And if that happens, I’ll throw my walker to the floor and rush to your side. You might be amazed how swift some of us ole 93-year-old vitamin-takin' fellers can be, so look out, young lady!
Kizzy, Pope has had so many names on this blog....I've forgotten them all, but every time he turns up it only takes a few seconds to know it's him once again. I believe he's been taking a rest from us....thank, Allah. Since old chasv was booted, Pope has been the number 1 batshit crazy troll. I'm proud of me for not remember his names......my beautiful mine, ya know.
Durango, you can confirm which night when you know. If it is on Wednesday, I'll give you the secret code. Then I will wear my secret decoder ring that will start flashing if you are nearby. I will find you long before your NVRdar kicks in!
Nanc, has the nephew gone duck or deer hunting? If so, how’d he do? My son got an 8-point Saturday.
Thanks, DBI, but he still posts on the news articles, etc, using his Thomas Pope ID. Is he for real? Whatever happened to all the nuts like Catfish, chasv, etc.? They must have gone to facebook, where they can post their bullshit and gets hundreds of likes and comments. Or in the case of some nut in Georgia, a visit from the feds for saying he was in favor of killing the POTUS. Sometimes, I look around and think I am the only sane person left standing, but then I read your posts on this blog and realize that I am among friends here.
Thanks!
My comments are going into the "black hole".
Durango, After a great opening day in Brookings the ducks have 'flown the coop". Nephew came home a day early from weekend hunt.
The same down near Humnoke the first day, Nanc. Oh well. Duck hunting is like farming: Too wet; not enough rain; too warm; too much ice; not enough milo; birds late leaving the north; came through too early; switched flyways; whatever.
You forgot the Unitarians, Yossarian. During the run-up to Iraq War II, the FBI infiltrated their anti-war group somewhere in Central California. Details escape me now, but I remember seeing their pictures on the tv. It was a bunch of old gray heads---scary!
If this is true, we have lost the battle of the bulge. This is a self reported survey, therefore, I suspect the truth is even worse.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/25/2…
Yet another reason to eat fresh (and local where possible)
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/11/22/ca…
When it comes to credibility, I'll take C.S. Murphy and the Dem-Gaz over Leveritt any and every day of the week. Leveritt long ago lost her perspective on the WM3 debacle.
Police, police... They only show that work hard but in real they just eats hot dogs. Lots of stories like this have almost everybody. essay encyclopedia
Many people believe the WM3 were guilty as charged. They were found guilty by a unanimous jury the first time. They plead guilty instead of waiting for a trial the second time.
All of this is from court records or articles.
Misskelley confessed three separate times, once with his lawyer present. Misskelley also told two other people about the crime before he was arrested. Baldwin told someone else he committed the crimes. Echols was seen in muddy clothes near the crime scene. He bragged about the murder to two other teenagers, stating he killed the three boys. Echols is reported to have either told or bragged about the crime to four people before he was arrested. Echols also had a history of psychiatric treatment. His reported actions included brutally killing a dog, starting fires at his school, threatening to kill his teachers and parents and stating he liked to drink blood. He talked about getting his girlfriend pregnant, then using the baby as a human sacrifice. He claimed to be possessed by a spirit and to converse with demons. (from exhibit 500 court documents)
As usual, Mara-wanna has absolutely no idea what she is talking about.
To begin today's hearing, defense once again asked Burnett to recuse himself, stating that it was a violation of Amendment 80 for him to continue, and that he held a bias. Burnett denied the request and stated that he wasn't violating Amendment 80. Now excuse my ignorance, but I am unsure as to what exactly Amendment 80 is or states. Someone with more brains than me can explain, because I surely cannot.
The first defense witness was Dr. Spitz. He was asked what the process is for becoming a board certified Forensic Pathologist, to which he stated that one must pass many board exams, plus a residency and have a certain specialty. He further stated that no one can do this without an anatomic or clinical residency of at least five years. I believe it was said that Peretti was listed as having a certification in forensic pathology, but he wasn't certified.
After this, Defense then presented a number of photos of the boys and the injuries they sustained. There were several photos introduced. Most of the testimony was graphic. Since this is so, I will not go into specific detail, but will instead try to give an abbreviated version. Per Spitz, all of the wounds were attributed to animal predation. He said it was the work of a large animal, most likely a dog. He even said that some injuries were consistent with having been made by minnows such as injuries to the lips, eyelids, and ears of the boys. When asked if injuries found on the ears could be attributed to having been forced to perform oral sex, Spitz disagreed with this as he said injuries would have had to have been found on both ears, not just one. OTHER INJURIES, SUCH AS INDENTATIONS ON THE SKULLS AND EXTENTION FRACTURES WERE CAUSED BY AN ANIMAL SHAKING A VICTIM IN IT'S MOUTH CAUSING THEM TO STRIKE NEARBY OBJECTS, TREES, ROCKS, THE DITCH ITSELF.
Spitz is a babbling idiot - which he made crystal clear during the Phil Spector case.
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