Justice Junction Judicial Injustice - The West Memphis Three The HBO Documentaries

Two filmmakers made two documentaries profiling the case. They admit that in the beginning, their interest was to focus on the youth of a nation disaffected and disenfranchised by life in a small town. It was originally shown on HBO, but soon national interest made the jump and produced it to the public via VHS/DVD. The first one is harsh, seeing the angry Melissa Byers rage, her husband praying and pontificating. The fact that the victims were so young made it all the more horrifying. Someone victimized these children and the wrong people were in jail. The first documentary was called, “Paradise Lost: The Childhood Murders at Robin Hood Hills” and it was originally shown on the cable channel HBO. I will never forget the first time I saw this. My friend and I rented it, not having seen it on HBO. At the beginning, we were sitting on the couch. By the end of the movie, we were sitting on the floor, right in front of the TV, as if that would help us understand this senseless brutality. That night I dreamed about the case, for the first of many I have had. The documentary, set to the music of Metallica, showed a powerful case both against the residents who believed the three were innocent, and the townspeople that believe the three were satanic baby-killers. The parents of the convicted were almost pariahs in the community for believing in their kids and expressing grief for the families who lost theirs. The fair and non judgmental viewpoint was clouded by Mark Byers. He went as far as to go to the scene of the crime and discuss what may or may not have happened to the boys. He sings about God in church, and is the portrait of grieving father. Then, back to the scene of the crime with guns and pumpkins named after the accused. We watch as Byers blasts the pumpkins with a zealot’s glee. The filmmakers were given a gift of a folding knife by Mark, and after the movie was finished, the filmmakers turned it over to the police. This might have been important evidence coupled with the person who used it. The knife had blood on it, two types: Byers’ own and that of his stepson, Christopher. Byers had no explanation as to why it had blood on it and has told conflicting stories as to what had happened to the knife, but does admit giving it to the filmmakers. It was considered by some to be very similar to the knife that may have been used in the crime of mutilating his stepson.
The second documentary, called “Revelations: Paradise Lost 2” was a re-examination of the crimes and the trials that put the boys, now being called The West Memphis Three, behind bars for the rest of their lives and put Damian on death row. The issue of the knife was brought up and examined closely but was not thought to be of relative merit even though the knife had blood on it. Byers is in this documentary again, only now he is poverty stricken. He explains all his loss, of his stepson, his wife and his work as a jeweler over. He primarily blames the incarcerated for all the woes he has in life. He has no teeth to match up to evidence marks on the deceased body of Steven Branch. He screams at the camera to “go to hell” in a chilling way that makes one wonder if hell is somewhere Mr. Byers knows and has visited, in depth. The lawyers and criminal investigator, Burke Sauls tell very different stories and show that much evidence was overlooked or misinterpreted. There’s no way these two movies can answer the question of the guilt or innocence but one thing is clear: Damian, Jason and Jessie did not receive fair trials.

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This site was last updated on: Sunday, July 4, 2004 11:01 PM