Random things about this case...

[Sonata]

Here's a poem Damien actually wrote:


FIRST LOVE

In those days you were something
felt but not seen
as you handed me love letters
written in dead languages.

The chain link fence behind me
made cold diamonds on my back
and your head was on my shoulder
with only one breath between us.

Your hair against my face
smelled like woodsmoke and chocolate,
your lust was raw and new,
as jagged and dangerous as rocks beneath the waves.

Now I’m trapped here like a ghost
haunting places that no longer exist,
feeding on frost and hummingbirds
during long November nights.

Blimey, that's not bad! I have to say I'm impressed.

 

[claudicici]

Here's one Jason wrote


The Great Governor Beebe



Deliberately indifferent

to pleas of help from innocents

he instead turns towards

"the mad chase

of evanescent profits"

claiming to know

not the citizens

labeling their "true destiny"

and noble will "to minister

to ourselves and our fellow men"

as merely annoyances

to be shrugged off as flies

to flutter and bug elsewhere

his ears are effectively

closed off to any of our cries

the people Hope

for a leader

who has grasped "ancient truths"

that Freedom cannot be

"an ebbing tide"

allowing innocents to sink

we effectively kill

that which we

once held so dear in ourselves

leaving behind ugly scars

the abominable monster of them all

guilt.



-Jason Baldwin, 3/08

 

[my2sense]

My (much younger) brother gave me the book "Damien the Leper" to read several years ago. It had nothing to do with the WM3 -- neither of us had heard of them.

When I first heard of the WM3 (about 3 or 4 years ago) I assumed Damien's name was his given name. I guess my point is, Father (now Saint) Damien really isn't that obscure.

 

[Cappuccino]

Speaking as someone who was raised Catholic, St. Damien isn't obscure at all. The largely Protestant population of the Bible Belt might associate the name solely with a horror film, but a Catholic wouldn't necessarily draw the same conclusion.

And we've just seen a Black Sabbath lyric posted with the misrepresentation that its "one of Damien Echols' poems." Maybe the WMPD should have arrested Ozzy Osbourne instead. :innocent:

 

[Compassionate Reader]

mmmmhhhh.....as Lunatic previously mentioned the "frightening" poem is actually Ozzy Osbourne lyrics :crazy:

I thought it might be lyrics, but, being an old fogie, I was not familiar with the artist. My son often wrote lyrics down for some reason. Once I realized that they were lyrics, I stopped worrying! Of course, I shouldn't have worried, even if the words were his, because writing something down is a cathartic experience which releases the desire so that the actions don't have to be taken. At least, that's what I was taught in psychology.

 

[Cappuccino]

My son often wrote lyrics down for some reason.

I used to do it too. I think a lot of teenagers do that when they're trying to learn the lyrics of a song they like off by heart. Although I suppose it can be a catharsis too - like a literary version of Todd Moore and John Mark Byers shooting pumpkins.

 

[Cappuccino]

Btw, this is a complete non sequitur....

Damien admitted that he studied and looked into the satanic side of the occult, and stated he was very familiar with it. There are more than 10,000 Roman Catholic saints and beatified people......... and Damien Echols chose a name, Damien, but from the horror movie, The Omen.

So Damien had read up on Satanism, yes ok, so far so good. Then...he changed his name to a character from a horror film that has nothing to do with actual Satanism. Huh?

The fictional version of Satanism as inverted Christianity which is presented in films like The Omen doesn't exist outside of script writers imaginations. If Echols had really read up on Satanism he would know that, and if he took Satanism seriously as a religion, the name Damien wouldn't mean anything to him. The name would have a meaning to a Catholic, or to a rebellious teenage dabbler who had never read up on the subject of Satanism and merely bought into the horror film version.

 

[claudicici]

I don't think it matters one bit why Damien chose his name.IMO it very well be that he chose the name because of the movie for the very same reason we are talking about it now.It confuses people,it does make everyone think of the movie and as Cappucino stated its version of satanism that only exists in movies .If I was a guy I would love to be named Damien for that reason.

 

[Junebug99]

I was a sulky dark teenager, I always wrote lyrics down, I was such a dork. I used to be on the fence now I'm convinced they are innocent. I hope one day justice is served.

 

[Nefriahaia]

I can't wait til the 48 hours Mystery show on CBS! Starts at 10:00 EST. Interviews with the guys.

 

[Pensfan]

Btw, this is a complete non sequitur....



So Damien had read up on Satanism, yes ok, so far so good. Then...he changed his name to a character from a horror film that has nothing to do with actual Satanism. Huh?

The fictional version of Satanism as inverted Christianity which is presented in films like The Omen doesn't exist outside of script writers imaginations. If Echols had really read up on Satanism he would know that, and if he took Satanism seriously as a religion, the name Damien wouldn't mean anything to him. The name would have a meaning to a Catholic, or to a rebellious teenage dabbler who had never read up on the subject of Satanism and merely bought into the horror film version.

In answer to you "huh?": Damien in The Omen was the antiChrist/Satan incarnate.

Read more about schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is brain damage. Damien Echols has BRAIN DAMAGE. He boasted that he was a prolific reader who was knowledgable about so much, but when one checks his Amazon wish list, he reads elementary school vampire novels, Crop Circle paperbacks, and Loch Ness Monster stories. His concept of Satanism was at this same comprehension level.

Damien Echols suffered with schizophrenia and had multiple psychotic episodes since the age of NINE, but was never treated with antipsychotic meds (from Dr. George Woods affidavit on Callahan's site). Having untreated psychotic episodes has been compared by neurologists to having mini strokes (cerebral vascular accidents). Each untreated psychotic episode does more damage to the schizophrenic's brain.

Individuals that develop schizophrenia at a young age, like Damien Echols was exhibiting at NINE, have massive loss of brain tissue. Schizophrenics have damage to their frontal cortex. Because the frontal cortex is also the part of the brain that prevents one from doing things that are rash, a result of this damage is that people with schizophrenia behave in bizarre ways.

If schizophrenia begins in the early teen years, up to 25 percent of their brain tissue can be lost over a period of about five years. That is very severe — comparable to Alzheimer’s in the degree of damage.
http://www.bri.ucla.edu/bri_weekly/news_080623.asp

 

[Compassionate Reader]

Yeah, Damien sounds like someone who has lost 25% of his brain. He writes like that, too.:floorlaugh:

Here's a link to see the new version of 48 Hours that just aired earlier tonight:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/48_hours/video/

 

[Cappuccino]

In answer to you "huh?": Damien in The Omen was the antiChrist/Satan incarnate.

Yes, of course I know that. But you do know that The Omen was a fictional movie, not a documentary about Satanism, yes?

Nobody that actually done what you said Damien did - "studied and looked into the satanic side of the occult, and stated he was very familiar with it" would ever change their name to Damien for that reason?

That's absolute nonsense. Either Damien was well read on the subject of Satanism and the Occult, or he was an idiot who had watched a few horror films and knew nothing about Satanism.

<modsnip>

 

[~n/t~]

I can't wait til the 48 hours Mystery show on CBS! Starts at 10:00 EST. Interviews with the guys.

Watched 20 minutes and watching Echols gave me chills down my spine. He keeps touching his face with his finger when telling his story. His eyes are void of any emotion. There's absolutely no soul in this man.

What was even creepier was Jason Baldwin. Echols puppet, imo. I felt like I was watching one of Manson's followers. Totally brain washed.

<shudder>

 

[Compassionate Reader]

Watched 20 minutes and watching Echols gave me chills down my spine. He keeps touching his face with his finger when telling his story. His eyes are void of any emotion. There's absolutely no soul in this man.

What was even creepier was Jason Baldwin. Echols puppet, imo. I felt like I was watching one of Manson's followers. Totally brain washed.

<shudder>

If you're talking about the older interviews with Damien (while he was still falsely imprisoned), he has dental problems. They are being corrected, but he's still in considerable pain from them. Have you ever had a severe toothache? The only remedy provided to Death Row inmates by the State of Arkansas for dental problems is extraction. (They don't intend to spend money for fillings or crowns, etc. on someone that they plan to kill.) Don't judge him based on his pain unless you have experienced similar pain for about 15 years.

Sorry, I don't see dead or soulless eyes. Remember that the Death Row interviews were done through glass. The reflection from the glass could be responsible for the look that you see but I don't. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I don't see a soulless person at all. I see a very eloquent, strong young man who is just beginning to live the life that he should have been living for the last 18 plus years. You do realize that your statement about his lack of soul is a veritable quote, don't you?

As to Jason, he's a shy young man who is simply not used to the media attention. Again, I don't see a puppet at all. He's articulate and soft-spoken. I think he'll do fine in life.

 

[krimekat]

I was a sulky dark teenager, I always wrote lyrics down, I was such a dork. I used to be on the fence now I'm convinced they are innocent. I hope one day justice is served.

Same here . . . Metallica, Black Sabbath (Ozzy), Soundgarden. I, too, hope the truth is exposed. I cannot believe these "boys" lost so much time.

 

[claudicici]

forgot to quote n/t's post but this is in response to it




wow just wow,I'm just stunned how you can feel that or see that.
It's absolutely astonishing to me how people can see the same thing and feel so different about it.And we all think we are right.
Of course I'm completely upset and disgusted by your response but I have to sit back and just wonder why ???? I don't understand.
These two are incredible human beings to me.Especially Jason,that's a true hero right there.
I see the best in human nature in those two.Kindness,morals,intelligence,I could go on and on.....

 

[krimekat]

Watched 20 minutes and watching Echols gave me chills down my spine. He keeps touching his face with his finger when telling his story. His eyes are void of any emotion. There's absolutely no soul in this man.

What was even creepier was Jason Baldwin. Echols puppet, imo. I felt like I was watching one of Manson's followers. Totally brain washed.

<shudder>

I am watching the video (Part 3). I don't get this impression at all. I see two "boys" who grew up in prison. IMHO this misuse of justice is crazy. I cannot believe they were convicted without any evidence. Only in Arkansas . . .

 

[krimekat]

forgot to quote n/t's post but this is in response to it




wow just wow,I'm just stunned how you can feel that or see that.
It's absolutely astonishing to me how people can see the same thing and feel so different about it.And we all think we are right.
Of course I'm completely upset and disgusted by your response but I have to sit back and just wonder why ???? I don't understand.
These two are incredible human beings to me.Especially Jason,that's a true hero right there.
I see the best in human nature in those two.Kindness,morals,intelligence,I could go on and on.....

Me, too!! Loved how he said he could not testify against Damien because THAT would be murder. Note that Damien & Jason were friends, but they were not friends with Jessie. And reading Jessie's "confession" is just sad. Makes me really disappointed in LE & how they coerced Jessie.

Wow -- Hobbs' hair in the ligatures? And his teeth disappeared after the crime? And no neighborhood canvasing by LE? And the neighbor's comments about Terry calling to the boys before they were missing? Injustice to say the least . . .

Did Damien change his name or did his parents give it to him? I have a few friends who named their boys Damien & not because of The Omen.

 

[Nefriahaia]

Watched 20 minutes and watching Echols gave me chills down my spine. He keeps touching his face with his finger when telling his story. His eyes are void of any emotion. There's absolutely no soul in this man.

What was even creepier was Jason Baldwin. Echols puppet, imo. I felt like I was watching one of Manson's followers. Totally brain washed.

<shudder>

I couldn't disagree more. I thank GOD they are free.