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'Paradise Lost' Helped Save Three Innocent Men From A Wrongful Murder Conviction
Not everyone has heard about the West Memphis Three, but they have a solid place in true crime history. Suspected of shocking acts of violence, the accused teenagers known as the West Memphis Three were the subject of a 1996 documentary called Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. It showed the gruesome truths of the crime and included both sides of the story to avoid bias.
But while making the film, documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky exposed significant problems with the prosecution's case. Paradise Lost changed hearts and minds, became an influential true crime documentary, and even helped save an allegedly innocent man on death row.
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A Search Party Found The Bodies Of Three Boys In The Woods
On the night of May 5, 1993, in West Memphis, AR, three 8-year-old Cub Scouts did not come home. Locals searched for Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers in the mosquito-infested woods the next day, eventually finding their bodies submerged in mud near a drainage ditch.
The boys were bound and missing clothing, and they showed evidence of various wounds and bites. The discovery shocked and outraged the community.
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Some Locals Blamed A Satanic Cult
Because of the binding and injury to the boys' bodies, many people - including the West Memphis police - suspected satanic cultists had perpetrated the gruesome acts. Rumors spread even more as local and national media covered the case.
Local probation officer Jerry Driver told investigators about his suspicions of occult activity in the area, pointing particularly to one of his teenage probation charges, Damien Echols.
Three Teenagers Faced Conviction
Police focused on local outsider Damien Echols during the investigation. Neighbors deemed Echols suspicious because of his juvenile criminal record and his unusual clothing and religious beliefs. Police eventually announced they had enough evidence to arrest Echols, his best friend Jason Baldwin, and their former classmate Jessie Misskelley.
In 1994, the trials ended with convictions for all three of the defendants. Baldwin and Misskelley received life sentences, and Echols went to death row.
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The Filmmakers Initially Thought The Accused Were Guilty
Early in the trial, Berlinger and Sinofsky arrived in West Memphis, AR, with their crew. They were intrigued by the details of the murder and "went down to make a film about guilty teenagers, like a real River's Edge," according to Berlinger.
Instead, as Berlinger and Sinofsky talked to locals, they grew skeptical over the lack of evidence and abundance of factual discrepancies in the case.
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The Documentary Presents Both Sides Of The Story
In the film, Berlinger and Sinofsky refrained from sharing their opinions about the West Memphis Three's guilt or innocence. They let the evidence speak for itself instead, presenting events to the audience as they might to a jury.
This objective approach led them to include grim photo and video evidence, such as a depiction of the victims' bodies. Berlinger and Sinofsky also allowed both the victims' and suspects' families to speak freely on camera, presenting their perspectives with equal emotional weight.
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Officials Allegedly Coerced Jessie Misskelley's Confession
Police were largely able to arrest and convict the West Memphis Three because of a confession from Jessie Misskelley, which he later recanted. Misskelley reportedly had a low IQ; the interrogation and criminal justice system confused him, and he may not have even understood that his court-appointed lawyer was on his side.
Extracted during almost 12 hours at the police station - less than an hour of which was recorded - Misskelley's confession was full of discrepancies. Many people, including his lawyer, believe detectives pushed the teen to change his admission to better match the evidence.
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Investigators Virtually Ignored One Potential Suspect
On the night of the murders, a disoriented man covered in blood and mud reportedly stumbled into a West Memphis Bojangles restaurant. He collapsed in the women's restroom, smearing blood on the walls and soaking a toilet paper roll, but he left before the police arrived.
Detectives collected blood scrapings from the wall, but the evidence was lost. They also reportedly told the Bojangles manager he could throw away the toilet paper roll.
Later, a crime lab analyst looking at the sheet once wrapped around Christopher Byers's body found a fragment of hair that could potentially have matched the suspicious man.
One Victim's Stepfather Gave The Filmmakers A Bloody Knife
While filming Paradise Lost, a cameraman received a knife as a Christmas gift from Mark John Byers, the stepfather of victim Christopher Byers. Blood visibly stained the weapon's hinge, and the filmmakers agonized over whether they should report it. They eventually turned it over, and analysts learned the blood matched Christopher's.
Defense lawyers introduced the knife during the trials, but Byers couldn't explain where the blood had come from. Regardless, Byers was eventually ruled out as a suspect.
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Suspicion Surrounded The Victims' Families
The bloody knife cast suspicion on Mark John Byers, as did his violent and unstable past behavior, but the evidence against him proved weak. Paradise Lost director Joe Berlinger said in retrospect, "I think we were too hard on Mark."
Terry Hobbs, Steve Branch's stepfather, was of interest to authorities as well. Hobbs had a history of domestic violence and may have withheld and washed possible evidence. Authorities even found a hair matching Hobbs's DNA tangled in Steve's bindings.
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The Judge Banned Psychologists From Testifying, But Allowed Occult Experts
During the trial, Judge David Burnett made several decisions that some believe benefited the prosecution. He objected to psychologist testimonies unless they were general, and he would not allow an expert to discuss the problems with Jessie Misskelley's confession.
But Burnett did let the prosecution call Dale W. Griffis, a self-proclaimed occult expert who allegedly obtained his degree by mail order. Griffis considered Metallica and Iron Maiden posters to be symbols of the occult and gave contradictory testimony about supposed satanic numbers and holidays. He suggested that the crime had satanic motivations because it took place during a full moon and on a date near a pagan holiday, and that the killers may have chosen the victims due to the powerful "life force" of younger blood.
When the defense asked Griffis how many classes he'd taken to obtain his "doctorate," he replied, "None."
Celebrities Like Eddie Vedder And Peter Jackson Were Moved To Help
After the release of Paradise Lost and the subsequent media attention on the West Memphis Three, famous actors and musicians took action. Johnny Depp, Natalie Maines, Eddie Vedder, and Henry Rollins contributed significant time and money to the cause.
Peter Jackson funded part of the legal defense and forensic analysis and helped produce another well-reviewed documentary about the trial in 2012. Metallica allowed their music to be used in Paradise Lost, which was a first for the band.
Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley Stayed In Prison For 18 Years
After their convictions, the West Memphis Three pursued appeals, but the state of Arkansas routinely rejected their requests for a new trial. While in prison, Echols spent a lot of time in solitary confinement. He credits Paradise Lost and their celebrity supporters as the only reasons the defense team kept fighting for their exoneration.
Berlinger and Sinofsky made two additional Paradise Lost films to follow up on new leads and keep the public eye on the West Memphis Three, but the convicted men remained in prison for 18 years.
The West Memphis Three Eventually Went Free - But At A Cost
Faced with mounting evidence against the initial convictions, the state of Arkansas negotiated an Alford plea for the West Memphis Three. To qualify, the defendants had to admit the evidence was sufficient to convict them and keep a guilty plea on the record. But it meant they would be released and legally allowed to assert their innocence.
Feeling strongly that their clients would be exonerated in court, defense lawyers considered rejecting the deal in favor of a new trial. In the end, though, all three accepted the plea.
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The Documentary Helped Pave The Way For The Modern True Crime Wave
Paradise Lost was one of the first crime documentaries to get major attention. Its objective approach, thorough interviews, and use of real crime scene and courtroom footage created a popular, well-respected formula. Its success prompted HBO to invest more in documentaries like The Jinx.
Joe Berlinger believes if Paradise Lost were being made today, it would fit right in as a binge-able Netflix crime docuseries like Making a Murderer.
