Watched "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations" again last week. If you haven't seen Paradise Lost, the original HBO documentary, or the follow up sequel, watch them. It's the ongoing story of the West Memphis Three. The basic story is that 3 young boys were horribly tortured, mutilated and murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The only suspects for the murders were 3 teenage boys (Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin) who were the local "black sheep" of the town. They wore black, listened to Metallica, and had an interest in witchcraft. The documentary explores the prejudice and ineptitude of the police investigation, and the seemingly tragic path of these young men as two are sentenced to lives in prison and one to death. One of the murdered boys' fathers, Mark Byers is also shown as an unbelievably suspicious lunatic and is allowed to roam free, while the 3 boys, now men, have been in prison for 12 years.

Damien Echols has just released an autobiography "Almost Home", and the attempts at appeals continue on. This story has been going on for over a decade, but it is important for us as a people, if we feel the WM3 have been unfairly accused and sentenced, to keep their story alive. See the films and make up your own mind, and if you feel they are innocent...
don't forget the West Memphis Three.

Damien Echols interview

Paradise Lost I will be released on DVD on October 25th.

"Teenage girls
with no life experiences
and boys who
call themselves punk
are on my radio
singing about
how much pain they've endured
and how hard
their lives are"

Poem 92
by Damien Echols