Sunday, September 4, 2011
West Memphis Three Life after prison for West Memphis Three
Posted By Max Brantley on Sun, Sep 4, 2011 at 7:00 AM
- NEEDS WORK: Jessie Misskelley at home.
Mara Leveritt shares a note she received from a New Jersey lawyer about the post-prison needs of Jessie Misskelley. In short, he needs work. His note:
As have a few other supporters, I sent $15 over to Jessie via PayPal and ended up messaging back and forth with his fiance Susie, who is trying to help Jessie get on his feet. We eventually ended up speaking and I talked to Jessie yesterday. Even with Susie's help, apparently getting a PayPal account set up (requires having a bank account in order to receive the "debit card" and accept donations) is over his head.
I suppose it's no surprise, but when I asked Jessie how I could help, he responded with "if you know anyone with a job offer in the Memphis area, let me know!" Susie also indicates that they're $300 short on getting the electric turned on. The State of Arkansas not only robbed him of 18 years, it then gave them essentially nothing - no compensation (obviously), no job training, no help in getting established. I mean, BS plea bargains aside - even if they legally consider him "guilty" and "released after time served"... no nothing? Gee, why do we have such a high recidivism rate in this country?
I'm sending them $50 toward what they need, but that's obviously "giving a fish" as opposed to Jessie "learning to fish" (e.g., getting GED and a job).
I've emailed / spoken to other supporters in the area, and thought maybe you could give Jessie's situation a plug on your website. Is there any reader in the Memphis area who could offer Jessie a job? Of the 3, he's obviously the one of most concern as far as "being okay"in the long run....
It seems that to many in the public the WM3 is "over" - as one said "the movie ends with their release." Maybe so, but their lives obviously don't, and Damien, Jason and (especially) Jessie still need our support.
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