West Memphis 3 to be Released?

[Bayou Tribe]

“The court will take up certain matters pertaining to the cases of defendants Baldwin, Echols and Misskelley on Friday, August 19, 2011. One session will be conducted out of public presence with all defendants present, and another session will be conducted in open court. The session conducted in chambers will likely begin at 10 a.m., followed by a public session, which will begin about 11 a.m. Space will be limited for the public session, first to the parties, counsel, and court personnel, then to family members of the victims and family members of defendants, with remaining seating to be occupied by media representatives and the public. There will be approximately fifteen (15) minutes between the chamber session and open session for media and public to be seated.”

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/aug/18/plea-deal-release-west-memphis-three/



Word is that Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley left the Arkansas state correctional facility today with all of their personal belongings to travel to Jonesboro for tomorrow's hearing. After seeing all the evidence on the table, it's hard for me to feel anything but happiness and relief for these 3 guys.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

They deserve a nice fat paycheck courtesy of the WMPD. The fact they've served this long is an embarrassment to what we call "the justice system".

[Bayou Tribe]

They deserve a nice fat paycheck courtesy of the WMPD. The fact they've served this long is an embarrassment to what we call "the justice system".

I'm guessing this exact premise is going to be tied into the pleaing for a lesser charge. They'll make it hard/impossible for these guys to come forward with a civil suit after the fact.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

They deserve a nice fat paycheck courtesy of the WMPD. The fact they've served this long is an embarrassment to what we call "the justice system".

I'm guessing this exact premise is going to be tied into the pleaing for a lesser charge. They'll make it hard/impossible for these guys to come forward with a civil suit after the fact.

A lesser charge of what though? They didn't do anything besides being weird teenagers.

Every week you hear these horror stories of some poor bastard spending 20 years in jail for something he didn't do, some them even ending up death row.

[Bayou Tribe]

They deserve a nice fat paycheck courtesy of the WMPD. The fact they've served this long is an embarrassment to what we call "the justice system".

I'm guessing this exact premise is going to be tied into the pleaing for a lesser charge. They'll make it hard/impossible for these guys to come forward with a civil suit after the fact.

A lesser charge of what though? They didn't do anything besides being weird teenagers

Honestly, I don't know what the lesser charge would be. Just what I am reading on different sites. And it's not purely about money, because they will have ample opportunities to make money, it's about holding the parties involved in the false imprisonment responsible for their actions.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

The shitty thing is, the only real way to hold them responsible is a law suit. I'd like to see those keystone "detectives" go to jail for the same amount of time the WM3 did. But I don't think it works that way.

[Bayou Tribe]

Apparently they will sign something acknowledging that the state had/has enough evidence to prosecute them, but they still maintain their innocence. There was a federal judge out of one of the midwestern states on last night saying that the whole process of signing that paperwork is a complete travesty in and of itself and that everyone involved should be embarrassed.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Apparently they will sign something acknowledging that the state had/has enough evidence to prosecute them, but they still maintain their innocence. There was a federal judge out of one of the midwestern states on last night saying that the whole process of signing that paperwork is a complete travesty in and of itself and that everyone involved should be embarrassed.

That's blackmail. Sign this obvious lie, and you can go free. They had no evidence, other than shit they made up. The confession was coerced (Miskelly being mentally challenged makes it even worse), the weapons they found didn't match the murder weapons at all.

Their needs to be some severe form of punishment for railroading 3 innocent kids. the judge, prosecutor, and detectives should all be in jail.

It's more than embarrassing, it's illegal.

[Bayou Tribe]

A little more detail on an "Alford Plea", which was the tool that was used in today's release. I hadn't heard of this particular means until last night, and I agree with your take(s) on this matter. Glad to see these guys finally get their freedom, but the state just took the past 18 years and swept it under the rug.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea