West Memphis Three

[Inky_Wretch]

Expected to be released today.

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

 

[HC]

What a mess. I'm glad they're getting out finally.

 

[Pancamo]

A plea deal to get out? Either they did it or didn't do it. If the DNA exonerates the three why are they being forced to plead guilty?

 

[Beaker]

What a mess. I'm glad they're getting out finally.

Indeed.

 

[HC]

A plea deal to get out? Either they did it or didn't do it. If the DNA exonerates the three why are they being forced to plead guilty?

"A tentative deal would include a legal maneuver allowing the men to maintain their innocence claim while admitting that prosecutors likely have enough evidence to win a conviction, the person familiar with the case said."

http://wm3org.typepad.com/blog/2011/08/apnewsbreak-deal-could-allow-3-men-to-maintain-innocence-claim-in-ark-boys-1993-deaths.html

 

[qtlaw]

Something just does not smell right because if the DNA exonerates them why plead? One of the defendants' attorneys, Riordan, is an excellent attorney from around here so I'm inclined to not second guess him though. From what I read, the problem is that its not clear cut, probably just enough for a new trial right now, but not exoneration because the key evidence is the confession of someone who was a boderline mentally retarded kid (the writer's choice, not mine) and the DNA places a 4th person but does not appear to exclude the three. Weird.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

A plea deal to get out? Either they did it or didn't do it. If the DNA exonerates the three why are they being forced to plead guilty?

Technically it's an Alford Plea ... allowed to argue you are not guilty, while conceding the prosecutor has enough evidence to convict you.

The whole ordeal is a mess ... I don't know how hard a look they took at the one kids' step dad (Hobbs and his friend) but one story I read said they were never considered suspects.
If they were looked at and cleared ...well that's one thing. The fact his DNA and his friends' was at the scene ...

I suspect these animals are probably guilty of the crimes of which they were convicted.
At any rate, it's a ****ing shame for the families of the dead - because of the ****ed up way things were handled - they get 20 years for three grisly murders.

Or the real killers were never brought to justice.

 

[qtlaw]

Think about the fact that the Norway "terrorist" is going to get approx. 27 years max vs. how there is outrage here that the boys, perhaps guilty, have only served 20. Perhaps we need to rethink our sentencing here.

 

[printdust]

They plead guilty in the first place, and were convicted. How the hell do they change their plea?

How the hell did the chief satanist Echols go into detail on the cutting on the kids when that info had not been released by the cops?

Maybe they can join up with Casey Anthony tonight for a satanic orgy. Except the dumbass Miskelley won't know what to do.

I remember a story about Echols' girlfriend's mom living in a trailer that when the reporter got there, noticed it had scattered cat feces. Yeah, these guys are clean and normal.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Orville, a hair with DNA matching the stepfather was found inside one of the knots on the rope binding one of the kids. Also, he pulled all of his own teeth after the cops started sniffing around about trying to match bite marks on one victim.

 

[printdust]

A plea deal to get out? Either they did it or didn't do it. If the DNA exonerates the three why are they being forced to plead guilty?

Technically it's an Alford Plea ... allowed to argue you are not guilty, while conceding the prosecutor has enough evidence to convict you.

The whole ordeal is a mess ... I don't know how hard a look they took at the one kids' step dad (Hobbs and his friend) but one story I read said they were never considered suspects.
If they were looked at and cleared ...well that's one thing. The fact his DNA and his friends' was at the scene ...

I suspect these animals are probably guilty of the crimes of which they were convicted.
At any rate, it's a ****ing shame for the families of the dead - because of the ****ed up way things were handled - they get 20 years for three grisly murders.

Or the real killers were never brought to justice.

And despite the original pleas, the West Memphis criminal investigation division is one of the biggest bumble**** organizations in the history of law enforcement. They swept **** under the table, told the local press **** that was half-cocked, sometimes ****ing up their own investigations through them....just a bigass mess.

 

[Small Town Guy]

A plea deal to get out? Either they did it or didn't do it. If the DNA exonerates the three why are they being forced to plead guilty?

Technically it's an Alford Plea ... allowed to argue you are not guilty, while conceding the prosecutor has enough evidence to convict you.

The whole ordeal is a mess ... I don't know how hard a look they took at the one kids' step dad (Hobbs and his friend) but one story I read said they were never considered suspects.
If they were looked at and cleared ...well that's one thing. The fact his DNA and his friends' was at the scene ...

I suspect these animals are probably guilty of the crimes of which they were convicted.
At any rate, it's a ****ing shame for the families of the dead - because of the ****ed up way things were handled - they get 20 years for three grisly murders.

Or the real killers were never brought to justice.

Are they still animals if they're innocent?

I'm guessing someone like, oh, Cameron Todd Willingham would have taken a deal like this and been okay with people wondering, "Come on, if you're totally innocent why would you take this deal?"

And scattered cat feces, as far as I know, doesn't equal murderer. Just as, in Willingham's case, the fact you wear a Led Zeppelin T-shirt doesn't make you a killer.

Also, printdust, they pled not guilty.

 

[qtlaw]

Looking at the old photos, they were far from innocent.

 

[printdust]

Wait, Echols plead not guilty. Miskelley took a deal and I thought the other one did too.

 

[printdust]

Two men, except at gunpoint, cannot hold three kids on bicycles at bay.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Orville, a hair with DNA matching the stepfather was found inside one of the knots on the rope binding one of the kids. Also, he pulled all of his own teeth after the cops started sniffing around about trying to match bite marks on one victim.

Where did you read that; about pulling all his own teeth?
Could you post a link or send it to me?

 

[Small Town Guy]

Wait, Echols plead not guilty. Miskelley took a deal and I thought the other one did too.

Yeah, Miskelley confessed but the other two didn't and were tried together. But even forgetting Miskelley's mental state, there have been other cases where confessions weren't even true, most infamously the Central Park jogger case.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Looking at the old photos, they were far from innocent.

Huh?

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

A plea deal to get out? Either they did it or didn't do it. If the DNA exonerates the three why are they being forced to plead guilty?

Technically it's an Alford Plea ... allowed to argue you are not guilty, while conceding the prosecutor has enough evidence to convict you.

The whole ordeal is a mess ... I don't know how hard a look they took at the one kids' step dad (Hobbs and his friend) but one story I read said they were never considered suspects.
If they were looked at and cleared ...well that's one thing. The fact his DNA and his friends' was at the scene ...

I suspect these animals are probably guilty of the crimes of which they were convicted.
At any rate, it's a ****ing shame for the families of the dead - because of the ****ed up way things were handled - they get 20 years for three grisly murders.

Or the real killers were never brought to justice.

Are they still animals if they're innocent?

I'm guessing someone like, oh, Cameron Todd Willingham would have taken a deal like this and been okay with people wondering, "Come on, if you're totally innocent why would you take this deal?"

And scattered cat feces, as far as I know, doesn't equal murderer. Just as, in Willingham's case, the fact you wear a Led Zeppelin T-shirt doesn't make you a killer.

Also, printdust, they pled not guilty.

As I said, I suspect they are not innocent.

If these ****sticks maintain their innocence fine. But DNA evidence casts some doubt here.
I think the right thing to do would be to reopen the investigation - and defer to a higher investigating arm; state police or FBI, if possible.
Start over and let the chips fall where they may. Either find the rest of the killers or the real killers.

 

[qtlaw]

Looking at the old photos, they were far from innocent.

Huh?

Sorry just a bad attempt at sterotyping because those guys seriously look like they were guilty of something if not murder.