Amy Goodman
@DemocracyNow·3.2M subscribers·19.4K videos
West Memphis 3: Freed Prisoner Makes Film About 18-Year Battle to Prove His Innocence 2 of 2
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February 6, 2012
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18:46Now Playingdemocracynow.org — We turn now to the case of the West Memphis Three — the young men in West Memphis, Arkansas, who were imprisoned for the 1993 slayings of three eight-year-old boys after an investigation largely fueled by unsubstantiated rumors of a Satanic ritual. The new documentary, "West of Memphis," was co-produced by none other than one of the convicted youths at the heart of the story, Damien Echols. Echols and his two co-defendants were released last August after spending nearly two decades in prison, all the while proclaiming their innocence. Recent DNA tests did not link the men to the scene and showed the presence of others who have never been identified. The film alleges Terry Hobbs, stepfather of one of the victims, may have been responsible for the murders. And, the new documentary suggests the three young boys were never mutilated, but preyed on post-mortem by snapping turtles commonly found in the Arkansas-Tennessee border town. Democracy Now! recently spoke with Echols in a rare extended interview at the Sundance Film Festival. "I didn't have any faith in the justice system because I had seen how corrupt it was, all the way to the core, from the inside. And that completely took away any faith I had in the system whatsoever," Echolds said. "What I did have faith in was all the people that came to our aid. You know, the supporters and the investigators and everybody that rallied around us. That's what I had faith in and that's why I believed I would eventually get out." We also spoke to Echols' wife, Lorri Davis, and film director, Amy Berg.
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