JESSIE:And I left and stuff, and walked home. RIDGE: Hes been watching them. [25], Though he was informed of his Miranda rights, Misskelley later claimed he did not fully understand them. [9] Leveritt further noted that some of the physical evidence was stored in paper sacks obtained from a supermarket (with the supermarket's name printed on the bags) rather than in containers of known and controlled origin. GITCHELL: Okay, and it has these same three boys in it? RIDGE:Where did you throw up at? (There wasno evidence that Christopher Byers had been strangled with a stick or anything else. RIDGE: Alright, and you know where the little Creek is that goes out to the express way, and it doesnt have a lot of water in it, but its got some water in it, and its flowing through the, which side of that creek were you on, were you on the Memphis side of the creek or the Blue Beacon side of the creek? Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? RIDGE: It was like earlier in the day, but you dont know exactly what time, okay, cause weve got Ive gotten some real confusion with the times that youre telling me, but now,this 9 oclock in the evening call that you got, explain that to me. Wouldnt any reasonable questioner ask about the contradiction? JESSIE: I dont know where they laid their bikes down at, cause I was behind Damien and nem, way way behind them, (But he just said he was up on the bank, not that close. Jason Baldwin, along with Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. are known as The West Memphis Three, who are three men convicted in 1994 of the murders of three 8 year old boys, in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. RIDGE:You are not, so weve treated you well? RIDGE:Was it a knife that you fold up, or was it like a hunting knife? Stidham testified under oath that during the trial, Judge David Burnett erred by making an improper communication with the jury during its deliberations. After the initial investigation, the police failed to control disclosure of information and speculation about the crime scene.[38]. Despite a shoulder-to-shoulder search of Robin Hood Hills by a human chain, searchers found no sign of the missing boys. Byers agreed to and passed a polygraph test about the murders during the filming of Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, but the documentary indicated that Byers was under the influence of several psychoactive prescription medications that could have affected the test results. He was eight years old, 4ft. 2 tall, weighed 55lbs, and had brown hair. According to HBO's documentaries Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), no blood was found at the crime scene, indicating that the location where the bodies were found was not necessarily the location where the murders actually happened. RIDGE:About the size of a baseball bat, maybe just a little bit bigger round? . [47] John Mark Byers had his teeth removed in 1997, after the first trial but before an imprint could be made. This is very, very important, now just tell us the truth. Jessie, in front of me I have a rights form, and it has your signature at the bottom of it, is that your signature? [67] In late 2007, John Mark Byerswho was previously vehement in his belief that Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin were guiltyalso announced that he now believes that they are innocent. [21], California police sent blood and urine samples from Morgan and Holland to the WMPD, but there is no indication WMPD investigated Morgan or Holland as suspects following their arrest in California. RIDGE: Okay, did any of the other two boys, were you there when they were actually killed? To assist in the appeals process, Echols' appellate legal team retained a Berkeley, California-based forensic psychiatrist, Dr. George Woods, to make their case. [3], Misskelley was tried separately, and Echols and Baldwin were tried together in 1994. Even if they were notinthe park at 9 a.m. it would not take three hours to walk from their homesorLakeshore, which is where, JESSIE: No . 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - Roofing with Ricky Deese and Josh Darby. they they skipped school, (The children did not skip school; they were all accounted for that day in class). Note:This is a transcription of the taped confession of Jessie Misskelley, Jr. regarding the murder of Chris Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore. Police initially suspected the boys had been raped;[10] however, later expert testimony disputed this finding. [9] Echols and Baldwin were close friends, and bonded over their similar tastes in music and fiction, and over their shared distaste for the prevailing cultural climate of West Memphis, situated in the Bible Belt. [9], On June 3, the police interrogated Jessie Misskelley, Jr. Mara Leveritt, an investigative journalist and the author of Devil's Knot, argues that Echols' information may have come from police leaks, such as Detective Gitchell's comments to Mark Byers, that circulated amongst the local public. JESSIE:No, he didnt borrow mine. (Gitchell plainly sounds like he knows hes talking to someone with a childs mind). They both claimed to have had information on the case linking Terry Hobbs to the murders, but were ignored by police initially. JESSIE: They hadnt they hadnt said nothing around me, when I was over to my friends house, they didnt say nothing. The audio file ishere(right click and Save As or Right click and Open in New Tab to play). "[90], The appellate legal team argued that Echols did not waive his assertion that he was not mentally competent before his 1994 trial because he was not competent to waive it. RIDGE:Did you actually kill any of these boys? [56] That ruling was appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case on September 30, 2010. They were convicted under what can best be described as questionable . "You shouldn't be mad about it, you could do it too," said Boggan. Mr. Echols and his wife, Lorri Davis, in Arkansas . Hutcheson was never charged with theft. All rights reserved. He just said no and again we ask a question designed to ignore the last answer and give another, completely different response), JESSIE:Jason was screwing him while Damien stuck his in his mouth and then they both were. RIDGE:Are you scared of Damien now? Dont like the answer? He testified that his own failure to put this incident on the court record and his failure to meet the minimum requirements in state law to represent a defendant in a capital murder case was evidence of ineffective assistance of counsel and that Misskelley's conviction should therefore be vacated. JESSIE: They were sitting so far away, they were in the water, I would say about five to ten seconds, then come up and then the other one would go down. Someone makes a brief coughing sound plainly as if to say youre wrong listen closely. Jessie Misskelley Jessie Misskelley returned home to West Memphis after his release, the only one out of the WM3 who decided to stay in the area. RIDGE:They had already gotten them off. (Again ignores Jessies statement that he left and guides him into saying more happened). JESSIE: I would say it was about that big around, I would say about that long. A little gun? During their conversation, Hutcheson reported that Echols made no incriminating statements. "[93] Advanced DNA and other scientific evidence combined with additional evidence from several different witnesses and experts released in October 2007 had cast strong doubts on the original convictions. Dilation of the anus is a normal post-mortem condition. JESSIE: He didnt know nothin about that. Jason Baldwin, 16, Jessie Misskelley, 17, and Damien Echols, 18, were ultimately convicted in 1994. The prosecution called Dale W. Griffis, a graduate of the unaccredited Columbia Pacific University, as an expert in the occult to testify the murders were a Satanic ritual. 30 minutes or an hour? Misskelley was first questioned on June 3, 1993, a day after Hutcheson's purported confession. [48], After an expert examined autopsy photos and noted what he thought might be the imprint of a belt buckle on Byers' corpse, the elder Byers revealed to the police that he had spanked his stepson shortly before the boy disappeared. RIDGE:okay, uh does Damien have a knife? RIDGE: They were on theMemphisside. During interrogation, West Memphis police suggested to Byers that he might have left the knife out accidentally, and Byers agreed with this. Only logical answer is that Jessie had no idea where the bikes were put down), JESSIE: When they hollered, when they seen them boys. They did college in jail. Baldwin, who is also involved with movies about the life of the West Memphis 3, plans to attend law school. JESSIE: Damien had kinda of a big old stick when he hit that first one, after he hit him with his fist and knocked him down and got him a big old stick and hit him. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. GITCHELL: But, you saw them cutting on the boys, JESSIE: I saw them cutting on them, and then. RIDGE:Was anything on his shirt? RIDGE:You were there by yourself? RIDGE: Okay. In 2000, The album Free the West Memphis 3 was released by KOCH Records. RIDGE: Do you know what his penis is? When the bodies proved to have been discovered near where Aaron indicated, Bray asked Aaron for further details, and Aaron claimed that he had witnessed the murders committed by Satanists who spoke Spanish. He said that the victims had died from a combination of blunt force trauma and drowning, in a crime which he believed was driven by personal cause. The knife was a folding hunting knife manufactured by Kershaw. A police officer leaked portions of Aaron's statements to the press contributing to the growing belief that the murders were part of a Satanic rite. JESSIE:Just thought, what happened to them real bad, just thought. GITCHELL: So, what else left is there, after that? He appeared in district court Monday. JESSIE: Um-mm, they were going to catch, they were going somewhere and like I said, Damien and nem left before I did, I told them that I would meet them there and stuff, and I had to get ready it was early in the morning and so, they went ahead and met me, they went on up there and then I come up later on behind them. JESSIE: Close like army type, not quite, RIDGE:Okay, they are black, is that right, they lace up? RIDGE:No kind of design or anything? [26][43] In June 1996, Misskelley's lawyer, Dan Stidham, was preparing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. RIDGE:What kind of shirt were you wearing? The court sentenced him to life plus 40 years in prison. GITCHELL: Where did the boys put their bikes? There was additional new evidence discovered in 2007 that I cannot now recall. GITCHELL: How many pictures did you see, altogether? RIDGE: He didnt tell you that he hid it somewhere? Jessie Misskelley Jr. (born July 10, 1975) is one of the three members of what has been called the West Memphis 3 (Misskelley, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin). He is not dating anyone. So they were there for a lot longer. JESSIE: They asked me how come I left so early and stuff, and I told them that I couldnt stay there watching it no more, so I had to do something to get out of there. He stated in his report for Echols's legal team that there was no evidence the murders were linked to satanic rituals and that post-mortem animal predation could explain the alleged knife injuries. JESSIE: And then Damien, I heard Damien in the background saying we done it, we done it, what we gonna do now what about if somebody saw us. RIDGE: okay, now when its going on, when this is taking place, you under you saw somebody with a knife, who had a knife? Circuit Court Judge David Laser was selected to replace David Burnett and preside in the evidentiary hearings mandated by the successful appeal. And what kind of a shirt, you know everybody wears a special shirt with different things, (Begging for an answer having to do with death), JESSIE: He was wearing a mega death shirt. RIDGE: All three of them would generally be together? 0:49 Jessie Misskelley Jr., one of the "West Memphis Three" convicted of killing three boys in the 1990's, faces a court appearance Monday after a weekend arrest for driving without a license,. And Susie Brewer Boggan says she is now out of Jessie Misskelley's life. [57], In early December 2010, David Burnett was elected to the Arkansas State Senate. . He said they called me). Jessie Misskelley was born on July 10, 1975. RIDGE: Yeah, you dont know what time it is? GITCHELL:Were your clothes wet still? Stevie Branch's mother, the ex-wife of Terry Hobbs, and Mark Byers have publicly stated the WM3 were wrongly convicted. Stidham overheard Judge Burnett discuss taking a lunch break with the jury foreman and heard the foreman reply that the jury was almost finished. Only two segments, totaling 46 minutes, were recorded. [44], In 2007, Echols petitioned for a retrial, based on a statute permitting post-conviction testing of DNA evidence due to technological advances made since 1994 which might provide exoneration for the wrongfully convicted. Hutcheson was unable to recall the Wiccan meeting location and did not name any other participants in the purported meeting. RIDGES:Cutting him in the face. They had been stripped naked and were hogtied with their own shoelaces, their right ankles tied to their right wrists behind their backs, the same with their left arms and legs. There was nothing of the kind on Chris neck. Two other defendants await trial in Arkansas. Not long after three teens were arrested, including Damien Echols, 18, Jason Baldwin, 16, and Jessie Misskelley, 17. JESSIE: We were just sitting there, throwing stuff at each other. RIDGE:Were they in the houses or were they in the trees when they took those pictures? JESSIE: Uh, I dont know what he done with it, cause after I left then they, I dont know what they done with, after I left I dont know what they done with it. The man was bleeding and had brushed against the restroom walls. (Jessie now states that he leaves again second time . GITCHELL: Is that when you first saw the pictures of the boys? their arms and stuff, and hold them down like, where they couldnt raise up and the other one stick his legs up. The Alford plea is a legal mechanism that allows defendants to plead guilty while still asserting their actual innocence, in cases where defendants concede that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. [33] His conviction was appealed, but the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. JESSIE:I didnt have no blood on me, I didnt get close to them. RIDGE: Alright, where were they at? Echols, who had been tried as an adult, was sentenced to death. GITCHELL: Now, did you say that the boys skipped school that day. Jessie Misskelley said in a short interview a few months ago that he is happy staying out of the limelight, as he lives and works in West Memphis. RIDGE:Damien and Jason having sex? This is consistent with the language ofArk. Officials failed to drain the creek in a timely manner and secure possible evidence in the water (the creek was sandbagged after the bodies were pulled from the water). JESSIE: Right, we walked and then uh, JESSIE: We went up to Robin Hood. The knife was not received at the West Memphis Police Department until January 8, 1994. He moved to New York with his wife Lorri Davis. [9] Misskelley's former attorney Dan Stidham cites multiple substantial police errors at the crime scene, characterizing it as "literally trampled, especially the creek bed." RIDGE: When youve been by yourself, and Im sure in the last three weeks youve been by yourself with them sometime. GITCHELL: What did the stick look like, I mean was it like a a big log like that or is it a stick? RIDGE:The boots that Damien had on, are they army type boots too, or what kind of boots were they? JESSIE: A friend of mine, he borrowed them. JESSIE: Different shirts, different Metaalica shirts have different pictures. You received a phone call is that correct? RIDGE: Alright, have they got their clothes on when you saw them tied? [30] Critics have also stated that Misskelley's various "confessions" were in many respects inconsistent with each other, as well as with the particulars of the crime scene and murder victims, including (for example) an "admission" that Misskelley watched Damien rape one of the boys. GITCHELL: Now, where you in a car? They wouldn't be able to pull the same tricks. Actor Johnny Depp, a longtime supporter of the West Memphis Three and personal friend of Damien Echols, was on hand to support the film in its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012. (The knife that was eventually introduced into evidence as the possible murder weapon did not match this descriptionit was a hunting-type knife). Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison. JESSIE: Behind it, right back there behind it. He has claimed both that the seizure medication he was taking caused periodontal disease, and that he planned the removal because of other kinds of dental problems which had troubled him for years. [4], In July 2007, new forensic evidence was presented. RIDGE:Are you willing to go down there with us and us having a camcorder and show us where these things took place? He then realized, he has said, that his refusal would have meant that Echols stayed on death row. [23], In July 2008, it was revealed that Kent Arnold, the jury foreman on the Echols-Baldwin trial, had discussed the case with an attorney prior to the beginning of deliberations. Damien Wayne Echols (born Michael Wayne Hutchison,[85] December 11, 1974) was on death row, locked-down 23 hours per day at the Varner Unit Supermax. JESSIE:Two or three days after it happened, and I left. An open letter from Lorri Davis, wife of Damien Echols . JESSIE: That one, he runs out, going out the out the park and I chased him and grabbed him and brought him back. RIDGE:Okay, what were you wearing that day? GITCHELL: You didnt see a briefcase? [82], On August 19, 2011, Misskelley, along with Baldwin and Echols, entered an Alford plea. Branch was eight years old, 4ft. 2 tall, weighed 65lbs, and had blond hair. . The judge then sentenced the three men to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years. RIDGE:What kind of shoes were you wearing? He is a member of famous Producer with the age 47 years old group. Since his release, he has published a non-fiction book about both his childhood and incarceration, He and Lorri Davis, a NYC landscape architect who initiated a correspondence with Echols in 1999 and ultimately became his wife, co-authored, Echols provided the voice of Darryl, a fish man (i.e., a fish situated on a robot body), in episode 3 of the animated, This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 02:32. Present in the interview will be Inspector Gary Gitchell and Jessie Misskelley. JESSIE: I couldnt stand it to see what they were doing to them. In May 2013, for the 20th anniversary of the slayings, Weaver Elementary School principal Sheila Grissom raised funds to refurbish the memorial. Jessie Misskelley is reluctant to talk, but his father ushis son is working and doing fine in West Memphis. JESSIE: We usually you know, kill an animals, you know, so you have to know how to handle the meat and stuff, after we kill it to see if he knows, if he cant handle it, then he dont get in. Stidham, who was later elected to a municipal judgeship, has written a detailed critique[citation needed] of what he asserts are major police errors and misconceptions during their investigation. JESSIE: My dad woke me up this morning. JESSIE: Thats where I seen them going down at, and he was on his back. [62], Many of the men's supporters, and opponents who still believe them guilty, were unhappy with the unusual plea deal. RIDGE: Okay, they killed the boys, you decided to go, you went home, how long after you got home before you received the phone call? "However, they're trying to kill Damien. In 2013, written statements from two men, Billy Wayne Stewart and Bennie Guy, were introduced in the court. GITCHELL: Did they call them by name? "[51] Pamela Hobbs' May 5, 2009 declaration in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division indicates that "one hair was consistent with the hair of [Terry's] friend, David Jacoby" (Point 16), and:[52]. JESSIE: If he cant eat it, then he dont get in. A subsequent search of the ditch revealed the bodies of three boys. [14], Steve Edward Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore were all second graders at Weaver Elementary School. RIDGE: So, what do you think ought to be done to them for killing these boys? JESSIE: I was there until they tied them up and then thats when I left, after they tied them up, I left. GITCHELL: Where was the little boy actually at? Anal dialation CAN happen after sodomoy; however, it is unlikely that two boys were raped and BOTH of them only showed dialation and NO tearing, especially in light of the violent rape with fighting and struggling that Jessie alleges. 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