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Name: West Memphis
Age: 84
Occupation: city in Arkansas
Last Seen: in the suburbs of Memphis, TN
Bee-otched For: getting the wrong men
Age: 84
Occupation: city in Arkansas
Last Seen: in the suburbs of Memphis, TN
Bee-otched For: getting the wrong men
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For 18 long, depressing years, three innocent young men have been forced to waste their lives in a prison cell. Why?
Simple: they wore black and were "goth" before "goth" was cool.
In 1993, three eight-year-old boys - Stevie Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore - were reported missing. Eventually, the three were found together in a muddy creek bed, dead, naked and hogtied with shoelaces. Byers died of blood loss while Branch and Moore drowned. One of the victims was even castrated.
The police had little time to round up any suspects, so they found three boys who dressed in black and were known for causing trouble: Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin. The prosecution believed that the men - all 17 and 18 at the time - were Satanists and performed their deaths as a ritual. In the end, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin was sentenced to life while Misskelley was given a life sentence with 20-year sentences.
Many felt that the trio - dubbed the West Memphis 3 - were not given a fair trial only because they were three different kids in an overly-Jesus freak town. Over the years, the WM3 - who had virtually no money to defend themselves - were given lots of support from the entertainment world, namely from bands such as Pearl Jam, The Dixie Chicks and Disturbed (who recorded the song "3" as a download from their website with all proceeds going to their defense fund).
An HBO documentary, Paradise Lost was made about the tragedies, and spawned a sequel. However, the filmmakers suggested that DNA should be looked at. One of the boys' stepfathers, Randy Hobbs' DNA matched that of a piece of hair found on the shoelaces of one of the victims. It was enough evidence to send the WM3 home after 18 years in jail for a crime neither of them committed.
But, it will be a rocky road for the Three, especially for Misskelley, who is mentally handicapped. They are now in their late 30's, never had a job and possibly never had a relationship during their years in jail. Plus, it's a different world out there today vs. 1992 when Nirvana was the big band and the internet was still a few years away.
The thing is, the Three were judged by what they wore, plain and simple. It's like thinking that all people who wear burkas are terrorists and that all blacks who wear do-rags are in gangs. If I were the state of Arkansas, I would give the Three a ton of money to live on and possibly some job training.
You cannot judge a book by its cover.
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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!For 18 long, depressing years, three innocent young men have been forced to waste their lives in a prison cell. Why?
Simple: they wore black and were "goth" before "goth" was cool.
In 1993, three eight-year-old boys - Stevie Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore - were reported missing. Eventually, the three were found together in a muddy creek bed, dead, naked and hogtied with shoelaces. Byers died of blood loss while Branch and Moore drowned. One of the victims was even castrated.
The police had little time to round up any suspects, so they found three boys who dressed in black and were known for causing trouble: Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin. The prosecution believed that the men - all 17 and 18 at the time - were Satanists and performed their deaths as a ritual. In the end, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin was sentenced to life while Misskelley was given a life sentence with 20-year sentences.
Many felt that the trio - dubbed the West Memphis 3 - were not given a fair trial only because they were three different kids in an overly-Jesus freak town. Over the years, the WM3 - who had virtually no money to defend themselves - were given lots of support from the entertainment world, namely from bands such as Pearl Jam, The Dixie Chicks and Disturbed (who recorded the song "3" as a download from their website with all proceeds going to their defense fund).
An HBO documentary, Paradise Lost was made about the tragedies, and spawned a sequel. However, the filmmakers suggested that DNA should be looked at. One of the boys' stepfathers, Randy Hobbs' DNA matched that of a piece of hair found on the shoelaces of one of the victims. It was enough evidence to send the WM3 home after 18 years in jail for a crime neither of them committed.
But, it will be a rocky road for the Three, especially for Misskelley, who is mentally handicapped. They are now in their late 30's, never had a job and possibly never had a relationship during their years in jail. Plus, it's a different world out there today vs. 1992 when Nirvana was the big band and the internet was still a few years away.
The thing is, the Three were judged by what they wore, plain and simple. It's like thinking that all people who wear burkas are terrorists and that all blacks who wear do-rags are in gangs. If I were the state of Arkansas, I would give the Three a ton of money to live on and possibly some job training.
You cannot judge a book by its cover.
---
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