'West Memphis Three' travel to film screening
NEW YORK - October 10, 2011
The men, known as the West Memphis Three, traded stories about
obtaining a learner's permit to drive, getting used to cellphones
and the Internet and even learning how to use a fork again as they
adjusted to life on the outside after being in prison since they
were teenagers.
Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley needed a
judge's approval to attend a screening of the film "Paradise Lost
3: Purgatory" at HBO and at the New York Film Festival. It's the
third HBO film about the case, after the first two ignited a
movement to free the men, who have proclaimed their innocence.
"I'm just living life, trying to enjoy it and pick up the
pieces," said Baldwin, who has moved to Seattle and is working on
a construction crew. He held up a copy of his learner's permit for
an audience at HBO, although he said he hasn't gotten behind the
wheel yet.
Echols, the only one of the three who had been on death row, is
living in New York after taking a trip to Disney Land. Misskelley
is back in West Memphis, Ark.
"In a lot of ways it feels like every day is a week since we
have gotten out," said Echols, who said he kept stumbling in the
days after his release because he wasn't used to walking without
shackles.
The men were freed in August after their convictions for the
1993 murders of 8-year-olds Michael Moore, Steve Branch and
Christopher Byers were set aside. They pleaded guilty to lesser
charges to be released immediately instead of going through a
lengthy trial, even though there was a strong chance new DNA
evidence would have established their innocence.
"We should be fully exonerated," Baldwin said. "The governor
should grant us a pardon based on the knowledge of our innocence."
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has said he doesn't plan to issue
pardons unless evidence is established showing someone else was to
blame. The HBO film discusses possible DNA evidence that could
implicate a stepfather of one of the victims but stops short of
calling him a suspect. Baldwin says he's reluctant to point fingers
at anyone else given what happened to him. Still, prosecutors
maintain they convicted the right men.
But Echols said he thought authorities knew who killed the boys
and "they don't care. ... What they were doing was doing anything
they can to win the next election. That was their first priority."
He said he tries not to think about who committed the crime.
"If you had to think of someone being responsible for 18 years
of your life," he said, "it would drive you insane."
A judge in northeast Arkansas had to permit the three men to
appear together. Misskelley was initially barred from associating
with felons except for his immediate family. Echols and Baldwin
were prohibited from associating with felons except for each other.
The complex deal to release them concluded the movie. Baldwin
clearly found the idea of having to plead guilty and having his
sentence reduced to time served distasteful; he wanted his
innocence established. But he has said he did it for Echols, not
wanting to take the chance that the verdict was not overturned and
Echols faced execution.
Filmmaker Joe Berlinger said it's "not the happy ending we
hoped it would be."
"We're happy that the men are out of prison," he said, "but
it is a bittersweet ending."
The film is set to air on HBO in January.
Celebrities such as musicians Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam, and
Natalie Maines, of the Dixie Chicks, had campaigned for the release
of the West Memphis Three, but Monday's screenings still had to
seem like culture shock to them. They talked in an auditorium at
HBO's headquarters while network employees applauded them and were
served a catered lunch after the event.
As teenagers, the boys were said to be involved in a satanic
cult, and part of the case against them in public opinion was
Echols' penchant to dress in black clothes. He wore a black shirt,
black pants and dark sunglasses to Monday's news conference.
Still, he said, it was difficult to talk about the case.
Misskelley, appearing agitated, left the news conference only a few
minutes after it started.
"This case has already eaten up 20 years of our lives," Echols
said. "It is not easy to keep reliving it. It's a continuing
violation, in a way. At the same time, I don't want the case to be
forgotten."