Damien Echols Speaks.. interview with KATV-7

KATV-7 in Little Rock aired a two part interview with Damien Echols on November 17 and 18.

Part one (video and text):
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1108/570813.html
and Part two
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1108/571146.html

KATV documentary about the West Memphis Three
http://cfc.katv.com/external.cfm?p=wm3

A Letter From Lorri Davis - West Memphis Three

Dear Friends & Supporters:
We are finally at the point we've been working toward for many years. The cases of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley are being and heard reviewed in the Arkansas court system.

We wouldn't be here without your help. I know it's taken a long, long time, and we've been asking for your support all along the way, but I'm asking that you see it through. We're so close, and we now know exactly what we need to do. We need to present these cases in the courts as thoroughly and professionally as possible. We have the evidence, we have the expertise and the best lawyers in the country, but we need funds to enable them to put on the best defense possible.

Jason & Jessie are appearing back in court mid November, and Damien's case is being filed in the Arkansas Supreme Court this month.

Please help. We need you now more than ever – it's Damien, Jason and Jessie's most important filing and appearance in the Arkansas courts. If you ever wanted to help, the time is NOW. We are truly in the home stretch. Anything you can donate will be put to the best use for these three innocent men.

Send checks or money orders to:
Damien Echols Defense FundPO Box 1216Little Rock, AR 72203
Or donate through Paypal using Ldavis11@hotmail.com as the recipient.

With many thanks,
Lorri Davis

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Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley will return to the Craighead County Court house in Jonesboro, AR on November 19-21 when theirRule 37 hearings continue in front of Judge Burnett. Several forensic experts testify on their behalf and Dan Stidham will be cross- examined by the state. Supporters are encouraged to attend if they are able, if not-- please help fund these important hearings by contributing to the WM3 Photo Wall at wm3.org.

THANK YOU

Quincy Punx organizing tribute CD to benefit the West Memphis Three

The Quincy Punx are/were a punk rock band from 1990-2007. In the course of their existence they have published over sixty songs. Mike Robertson played in the band for 17 years. Not ever a very political band, more just silly. Making fun of things overly offensive was something for us to laugh about. However, Mike, along with thousands of others, have never been more offended, confused, and just plain angry about a total and complete travesty of American justice such as the case of the West Memphis Three. That is why he has organized a "cover" CD of their songs for benefit of the West Memphis 3 defense fund.

Gathered in this tribute CD are 20+ bands covering, in their own style, various versions of Quincy Punx titles. Based out of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, it is their effort to benefit the defense fund for the West Memphis 3. This release will showcase many bands with their own take on music created by the Quincy Punx, all for the same common cause. Damien, Jason, and Jessie are running out of time and all support is crucial.

http://www.myspace.com/qp4wm3

Here is a tentative list of bands that have confirmed and picked songs already. Other bands have confirmed but have not picked songs so they are not listed here.

Pair of 7's

Invasion Earth

Big Bang Fury

Dillinger 4

Total Fucking Blood

Falcon Crest

Mommy s3z No

Ugly Fat Kids

30 Second Crash

Bound by Hell

P.O.S.

Misery

Off With Their Heads

Building Better Bombs

Ripsnorter

Angel Dust

24 Reasons Why

Virgin Whores

John Ensley

Alcoholic Bomb Squad

Paraplegics

In Defense

Torch the Spires

Trapazoids

American Rust

Patti Rhodes and the Mystery Kids

The 86'd

And perhaps a few more...

Gris Grimley designs "Broken Justice" shirt for the West Memphis Three

Illustrator, author, painter, storyteller, filmmaker and overall Mad Creator Gris Grimley (http://www.myspace.com/madcreator) has designed a very special shirt for the West Memphis Three.

"Broken Justice" was created to raise money for the defense of the West Memphis Three, but symbolizes all injustice that occurs due to race, class and sex. As Martin Luther King Jr. stated, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Get one of these shirts while you can! I ordered mine! http://www.madcreator.com/main.html

Latest News - West Memphis Three - your help needed more than ever now!

Taken from http://www.wm3.org

BURNETT: MOTIONS DENIED

Judge Burnett has denied Damien's, Jessie's, and Jason's Motions for a New Trial. In Echols' Order, the Judge claimed "the Petitioner's DNA testing results are not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted." Judge Burnett also refused to consider the jury issues: "The Court agrees with the State that it cannot entertain the Petitioner's juror bias and misconduct claims under the DNA-testing statute and that the Court's consideration of them in any proceeding is foreclosed by law of the case." According to KATV, the defense team plans to appeal.

Judge: No New Trial for West Memphis Three Wednesday, 10 Sep 2008 By Jill

ZemanAssociated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK (FOX13) --

A circuit court judge Wednesday rejected claims that new DNA evidence proves the innocence of three men convicted of killing three boys 15 years ago, and denied their requests for a new trial.
Circuit Court Judge David Burnett issued a 10-page order Wednesday denying requests for a new trial. Lawyers for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley -- known by supporters as the "West Memphis Three" -- had requested a new trial, arguing that new DNA evidence clears their clients.

Both Baldwin and Misskelley claim their lawyers failed to adequately represent them during their separate trials. Their lawyers also say DNA evidence provided by Echols' defense team shows the men did not kill Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore.

"The court finds that (Echols's) DNA-testing results are inconclusive because they do not raise a reasonable probability that he did not commit the offenses; that is, they are inconclusive as to his claim of actual innocence," Burnett wrote in the order.

In his appeal, Echols argued that newly analyzed DNA found no trace of him, Misskelley or Baldwin at the crime scene. But Burnett said he agreed with prosecutors' arguments that the absence of DNA didn't equal innocence.

"Proof of actual innocence requires more than his exclusion as the source of a handful of biological material that is not dispositive of the identity of a killer," Burnett wrote.
Burnett also said that even if he agreed that the new DNA evidence should be heard in court, he would deny Echols' request for a trial because there was "not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted."

Police found the three boys' bodies in a drainage ditch a day after their May 5, 1993, disappearance. A month passed before police arrested the three teens. Misskelley told investigators how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape.

A separate jury gave Misskelley a life-plus-40-year sentence for the killings. Baldwin received a life sentence without parole, and Echols was sentenced to death.

U.S. District Court Judge William R. Wilson Jr. ruled in November that claims about the DNA evidence first needed to be heard in state courts. The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld their convictions.

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Obviously, this means we need a renewed effort to raise awareness and funds for their legal defense. Anyone can help, there are so many things you can do to help! I'm working on some new and exciting things, and you are always welcome to work with me... or come up with something yourself.

Here are some things you can do: Donate money to the legal defense fund, the info on how to do this can be found at http://www.wm3.org. They have a new project - the WM3 Photo Wall Project - for a $6 donation to the legal defense fund, your pic will be displayed on the WM3 Photo Wall at WM3.org http://www.wm3.org/live/photowall/ I just sent in a pic of my ugly mug.Other ways you can help:Talk about the cause... to anyone and everyone. Wear a shirt (purchased at www.wm3.org or one of the cool Gris Grimley shirts) or make one of your own. Put a bumpersticker on your car, wear a button, give out buttons (I have cheap buttons made up and take them with me to shows and hand them out, and I always try to get some of the performing band members to wear a button on stage). Repost bulletins and blogs that you see here and from other reliable sources. Support awareness efforts and bands/businesses/people who work hard for the cause.

Throw a fundraising event: this can be anything from a concert to a car wash to a bake sale to.. well... anything! I'm here to offer any help and any suggestions.

I am clear proof that anyone can help... I'm a 50-year-old single parent with fibromyalgia who has been through the wringer personally, I was even homeless during the second WM3 World Awareness Day. I live in the middle of nowhere, in a town so small that Walmart is the social center. I'm not rich, I'm not incredibly smart or talented... I just have a passion for this cause and while personal setbacks have caused me some delays at times, I always come back fighting, stronger than ever. I watched the Paradise Lost films one night and knew I had to do something...started by donating what I could to the defense fund (every little bit helps!), eventually put on my first event... and that led to the first World Awareness Day, and so on...

I've created a twitter feed for my updates at http://www.twitter.com/wm3awareness You can see the latest feeds on this profile...if you use twitter, follow me, and promote it to your friends on twitter.

Thanks so much to everyone for the warm welcome back... let's get to work!

Tammy

Twitter us...

I just set up a twitter profile for the West Memphis Three awareness efforts we will be working on, follow us at
http://twitter.com/wm3awareness

Free the West Memphis Three!

Many people, by now, have heard of the West Memphis Three (http://www.wm3.org/), the case of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelly - three young men who were arrested and convicted of the murder of three little boys in a small town in Arkansas. The three men have been falsely imprisoned since June 1993 (with Damien Echols sitting on Death Row). Despite new developments in the case, including DNA evidence that did not match the men (but matched a relative of one of the victims), and some of the most noted forensic experts in the country stating that the wounds on the victims were caused by animals in the water where they were dumped, and not by ritualistic satanic murder as stated by the prosecution, the state of Arkansas refuses to grant them new trials.

I've been working to raise money and awareness for this case since 2004, including coordinating various WM3 World Awareness Day efforts (I created the first WM3 WAD in 2005 with over 50 events occurring all over the world on one night). I've worked with Eddie Vedder, Alkaline Trio, Michale Graves, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, and many others. After a brief hiatus, in light of the latest bad news that the motions for new trials were denied, I'm back in action, stronger than ever. Obviously, now is more important than ever to raise funds and awareness for the West Memphis Three, and I am in the planning stages of something that I hope to be very exciting.

Watch this blog for news and to find out how you can help with this event. If you wish to find out more about the West Memphis Three go to http://www.wm3.org/ and read about them, donate money, buy shirts and other awareness merchandise, or post a video to the photo wall.

Tammy Adin

wm3worldawareness@gmail.com