Life for the West Memphis Three - Free After the Alford Plea

[Ausgirl]

However much I may have doubts about the evidence and trial in this case -- I do not doubt that Echols is a giant a-hole.

Baldwin had it right in wanting to wait for a trial in order to properly clear his name -- he'd rather have stayed in prison than to have people simplistically interpret the deal as 'look, he pleaded guilty'. A crapton of pressure from all sides and the prospect of many more years in prison with a lot less support than he'd get as part of the 'WM3' is pretty good incentive for not doing so.

Those comments in the book are just low.

 

[Miranda!]

What is the bet this was the pressure exerted on Jason to go along with the deal, the threat of no financial help whatsoever going forward. Either you come along with it or we leave you high and dry with no defence funds either.

No! The State were not going to let just DE go as that would not 'silence' the campaign for justice. And you cannot suffer if someone threatens to take away something you never had! The Defence Team always was just Echols' with the other two just getting the advantages of the team's findings and successes!

Baldwin still has a local attorney and a West Coast one, working pro bono. As things stand there are no filings needing to be presented to any court.

All that is left to be done is the application of constant pressure on the powers that be in the State to re-open the case, or at least do a thorough re-investigation in general terms and on new possible 'persons of interest'. This can be done without the case having to be totally re-opened.

 

[kyleb]

What is the bet this was the pressure exerted on Jason to go along with the deal, the threat of no financial help whatsoever going forward. Either you come along with it or we leave you high and dry with no defence funds either.

I figure Baldwin has studied enough law to know he couldn't even get his lies about the prosecution conspiring with Carson to frame him into a courtroom, and that the attempts to obscure the consistency between the survival knife and the wounds with vague claims of animal predation weren't likely to hold up under cross examination. So, while I've no doubt Baldwin would've pressed his luck in trying to win a new trial if that was his only option, I doubt it actually took any convincing to get him to sign on to the plea deal.

he'd rather have stayed in prison than to have people simplistically interpret the deal as 'look, he pleaded guilty'.

Sure, it's not like Baldwin's had masses of people misinterpreting all sorts of things to presume him and his fellow murderers innocent while conducting witch hunts on one parent of his victims after another since the first PL came out. :facepalm:

 

[Bravo]

Can anyone confirm the rumor that Damien has moved away from Salem and is now living in Boston, MA? I can't seem to find anything online, but I did hear the rumor that this move was made. TIA

Haven't seen anything but if I do will post. I do follow Damien on Twitter.

 

[Bravo]

Jason Baldwin and his gf got engaged a few days ago.

I wish them a long and happy life. So nice to hear this.

 

[reedus23]

Wow PF, I thank you as that short interview is full of examples of Baldwin lying, the part starting starting at 3:55 were he's asked about the Alford plea deal and claims it was "the only opportunity the state gave to save an innocent man's life" being particularly relevant to this thread, and it's rather serendipitous for you to post the interview just a few hours after UdbCrzy noted over in this thread that it was in fact Baldwin and his fellow murderers who offered to plead guilty rather than face the evidence which proves as much at trial. That said, it was thoroughly disgusting to watch Baldwin drone on about what a beloved boy he was in prison and proclaim "I'm just sharing my story and sharing hope" and waxing eloquently about justice between spouting his lies. That said, he obviously struggles with lying far more than Echols does, and couldn't even bring himself to name the parents who he hasn't duped.

Not able to watch the video. Again, how is Baldwin lying? Was the State willing to agree to some other plea deal? If not, then it was the only opportunity the State was willing to give. I'm assuming there is something else you are hanging your hat on to suggest Baldwin was lying because if that's all there is, it is a pretty poor attempt to demonstrate one's propensity to not be honest.

 

[Ausgirl]

Sure, it's not like Baldwin's had masses of people misinterpreting all sorts of things to presume him and his fellow murderers innocent while conducting witch hunts on one parent of his victims after another since the first PL came out. :facepalm:

Was Baldwin actually -behind- all those people, directing their behaviour? I am not aware of this, if it's actually so.

And the fact that Baldwin initially -refused- the Alford plea is .. well, a fact. That he begrudgingly accepted it later, under several points of pressure, is also a fact.

 

[kyleb]

I'm not so quick to take the word of the three and their lawyers as fact given all the claims of fact I've proven otherwise from them. As for Baldwin directing people, wasn't suggesting that, but he certainly has encouraged the witch hunts against the parents with talk like this bit from PL2:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkb2gf1Vl5c#t=1745s"]HBO ParadiseLost Pt2 Revelations - YouTube[/ame]

 

[kyleb]

Here's another example of Baldwin fulling the witch hunt against Byers from PL2, though by inference this time rather than by name:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkb2gf1Vl5c#t=3480"]HBO ParadiseLost Pt2 Revelations - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Compassionate Reader]

I'm not so quick to take the word of the three and their lawyers as fact given all the claims of fact I've proven otherwise from them. As for Baldwin directing people, wasn't suggesting that, but he certainly has encouraged the witch hunts against the parents with talk like this bit from PL2:

BBM

<respectfully snipped>

I find it a bit disingenuous to make the statement bolded above based on what amounts to a one-sentence statement made by a scared teenager thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit. Yes, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations pointed the finger of suspicion firmly at JMB because that's what the evidence seemed to be saying. However, as new information came forth, the finger of suspicion was redirected to the person to whom the new evidence pointed - as is done by a competent police force. Jason's following the "evidence" in the direction he did is certainly understandable, given his situation at the time of the interview. I hardly find it compelling "evidence" that he was supporting a "witch hunt" against JMB or anyone else. And the second clip is even less convincing, IMO, that Jason was "encouraging" a witch hunt of JMB. Again, he's a scared teenager trying to make some one hear his honest plea of innocence.

 

[kyleb]

There was never any evidence implicating Byers in the murders, and his alibi was investigated by a competent police force long before PL2 came out, Those facts were were ignored to use Byers as a scapegoat though, just as many facts continue to be ignored in the ongoing efforts to scapegoat Hobbs.

 

[UdbCrzy2]

There was never any evidence implicating Byers in the murders, and his alibi was investigated by a competent police force long before PL2 came out, Those facts were were ignored to use Byers as a scapegoat though, just as many facts continue to be ignored in the ongoing efforts to scapegoat Hobbs.

It's a shame that money is so important that they do not even consider what the victim's families have already gone through.

Makes me wonder if the Moores will be next on the list to accuse in any upcoming movies.

I really think that they have lost any credibility to blaming someone else at this point.

 

[SweetTeaGal]

'


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[gitana1]

An article from April that I somehow missed:

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/...ath.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.google.com/

 

[gitana1]

Jessie Miskelley looking pretty rough:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.commercialappeal.com/amp/897044001

 

[gitana1]

So while Miskelley stayed in AR and doesn't appear to be doing that well, Echols continues to return there only when he feels it is necessary to speak out against the death penalty or wrongful convictions.

And Baldwin is lecturing on the justice system from safely outside Arkansas:

http://duclarion.com/2017/10/jason-baldwin-on-unjust-imprisonment/

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Jessie Miskelley looking pretty rough:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.commercialappeal.com/amp/897044001

From the story link:

Misskelley, 42, was arrested at 9:27 p.m. Saturday, according to the Crittenden County Sheriff's Office jail roster. His bond was set at $395 for lacking proof of insurance, and $195 each for the headlight and driving without license charges.

The charges are misdemeanors, and it is unclear whether they would have any impact on the Alford Plea that freed Misskelley from prison in 2011.

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

I don't see why anyone would want to return to Arkansas to live, tbh, after going through all that.

Misskelly didn't leave, whether for lack of support network and/or lack of funds and resources, imo, and he appears to be broke. He continues to pay dearly for wrongs, whether actual or perceived.

So while Miskelley stayed in AR and doesn't appear to be doing that well, Echols continues to return there only when he feels it is necessary to speak out against the death penalty or wrongful convictions.

And Baldwin is lecturing on the justice system from safely outside Arkansas:

http://duclarion.com/2017/10/jason-baldwin-on-unjust-imprisonment/

 

[Hrenee]

I don't see why anyone would want to return to Arkansas to live, tbh, after going through all that.

Misskelly didn't leave, whether for lack of support network and/or lack of funds and resources, imo, and he appears to be broke. He continues to pay dearly for wrongs, whether actual or perceived.

Jessie and his family did not leave Arkansas due to lack of resources, which is what essentially caused the "confession."

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[LordYAM]

True. Jessie is arguably the most sympathetic of the three. Damian's not the monster nons think he is but he can be kind of a dick (though he DID return to Arkansas to speak on behalf of his friends on death row, which is a pretty admirable thing to do).

I don't think the state's actually going to throw the book at Jessie. They want this to go away, and putting Jessie back in jail may prompt a reopening of the case.

The entire reason they accepted the alford was because they would have gotten crushed in a retrial and they knew it.

When Eddie Elmore was declared innocent by some of the most conservative judges in the us the state chose an alford plea rather than face trial. Much the same. The state didn't want to go to court because if they did they'd have lost everything. All the corruption, all the lies.....the dubious *advertiser censored* nons would cite (True romance) would probably have been dragged in and torn to shreds.

Makes me wonder what would have happened if by some alternate universe they DID go to trial and won. I'm guessing a lot of nons would STILL be trying to defend the verdict, but I'm also sure they may have had no choice but to investigate Terry full time.