Cappuccino
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http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2012/08/21/echols-blasts-baldwin-in-new-book
There's a response from Jason's lawyers at the end of the article, and here's Jason's response..
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=459598564074948&id=145944238773717
We got an advance copy of Damien Echols' new book "Life After Death" (due Sep. 18 from Blue Rider Press) the other day, and probably shouldn't have read the ending first. That's because at the end of the book Echols unceremoniously throws fellow WM3'er Jason Baldwin and Baldwin's defense team under the bus.
Baldwin, you'll remember, briefly made a principled stand against accepting the Alford Plea, in which the three pled guilty to murder while maintaining their innocence, because it wouldn't fully exonerate the WM3. He eventually gave in at the urging of Echols' supporters, who got word to Baldwin that Echols was in ill health on Death Row.
An Aug. 17 story in the New York Times on the one-year anniversary of the mens release said that Baldwin and Echols aren't speaking because of the way Baldwin who said in a press conference just after his release that he agreed to the plea to save Echols life is portrayed in Echols' book.
There's a response from Jason's lawyers at the end of the article, and here's Jason's response..
As most of you already know, this past year began with a tremendously difficult decision for me and those around me. I am not entirely aware of what went on before the Alford plea was brought to me and to my incredibly dedicated and hard-working attorneys, Blake Hendrix and John Philipsborn. So I can only say I originally turned down the deal after Blake explained it in-depth to me the evening after he first learned of it. I maintained from the start that Damien, Jessie and I are innocent, and though I know nothing was certain, I believe we stood a good chance of that fact being proven in court. Being fully informed of all the ramifications of both choices, I decided I did not want to plead guilty with the possibility of complete exoneration so close at hand.
Ultimately, I changed my mind for Damien and Jessie and their families. I gave no real credence to the idea that I wouldnt be supported if I chose to stay in while Damien and Jessie walked free (which was not an option anyway). The truth is, I am fortunate enough that both of my parents are still in good health, and I could have survived another couple of years. But I knew that even when we were exonerated, it was likely that Damiens mother and Jessies fatherperhaps even Damien himselfwouldnt be alive to see it. I couldn't make that decision for them, and that is why I took the deal, after Holly and I both spent the few short days we were given agonizing over this impossible choice.
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=459598564074948&id=145944238773717