Damien echols daughter

Damien Echols was sentenced to death , Jessie Misskelley Jr. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. Due to the dubious nature of the evidence, the lack of physical evidence connecting the men to the crime, and the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries.

Celebrities and musicians held fundraisers to support efforts to free the men. In July , new forensic evidence was presented. A report jointly issued by the state and the defense team stated, "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants.

Following a decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court regarding newly produced DNA evidence and potential juror misconduct , the West Memphis Three negotiated a plea bargain with prosecutors. Judge David Laser accepted the pleas and sentenced the three to time served. They were released with year suspended sentences , having served 18 years.

The first report to the police was made by Byers's adoptive father, John Mark Byers, around pm. A more thorough police search for the children began around am on May 6, led by the Crittenden County Search and Rescue personnel.

Lorri davis age

Searchers canvassed all of West Memphis but focused primarily on Robin Hood Hills, where the boys were reported last seen. Despite a shoulder-to-shoulder search of Robin Hood Hills by a human chain, searchers found no sign of the missing boys. Around pm, juvenile Parole Officer Steve Jones spotted a boy's black shoe floating in a muddy creek that led to a major drainage canal in Robin Hood Hills.

A subsequent search of the ditch revealed the bodies of three boys. They had been stripped naked and were hogtied with their own shoelaces, their right ankles tied to their right wrists behind their backs, the same with their left arms and legs. Their clothing was found in the creek, some of it twisted around sticks that had been thrust into the muddy ditch bed.