Lydia Glenn

News Editor

lmg5921@psu.edu

The West Memphis Three, an infamous case in the true crime world, recently made headlines. Even though the crime took place over 20 years ago in 1993, access to DNA in the case was just granted to the defense attorney of the convicted men. 

The West Memphis Three who are known as Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, were convicted in 1993 for the murders of three young boys. 

The three eight year-old boys, Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch and Michael Moore were found in a ditch on May 6, 1993. The three boys were naked, hogtied with shoelaces and found in a ditch near West Memphis. 

At the time, investigators believed that the killings were part of a satanic ritual because the “satanic panic” was also happening at the time.

The three men, The West Memphis Three, were arrested and charged with the murders as investigators also believed they were in a satanic cult. 

Since their convictions, all three men have maintained that they are innocent. 

In August 2011, all three men were released from prison after serving 20 years. Their release was part of a bargain that they made with the West Memphis Police Department. The men agreed to take an Alford Plea for a reduced amount of time in prison. 

An Alford Plea for those who are not true crime followers is when a defendant pleads guilty to the charges but maintains their innocence. 

This plea is what allowed for the men to be released after only 20 years of prison time. 

The main issues surrounding this case besides what people believe to be bias is that there no was DNA evidence whatsoever linking the men to the murders. 

Since 1993, DNA testing has advanced and more technologies to build DNA profiles has emerged. The development of DNA testing in criminal cases is what pushed attorneys for the West Memphis Three to try and gain access to DNA from the crime to test it. 

Echols’ attorney began requesting access to the DNA from the case more than a year ago. After the request, he learned of rumors that the DNA and other evidence in the case may have been destroyed in a fire. 

After this failed attempt, Patrick Benca, Echols’ lawyer tried requesting again and this time was granted access. Bence told news reporters that he spent a whole day combing through catalogues and files of evidence and found several pieces of evidence that could be sent out to a lab for testing. 

Benca stated that “everyone was very cooperative. There was no one in there, the West Memphis Police Department, who I felt did not want to find justice and find out who is really responsible.” 

There has been speculation that access was only recently granted after Police Chief Michael D. Pope retired. This cannot be confirmed. 

When Benca talked with the Gazette, he said that he was unsure why officials have told him that some evidence may not exist anymore. “We have not gotten to the bottom of that particular issue as to why they believe some of the evidence was destroyed or lost.” 

The ligatures that were used to hogtie the boys was the main piece of evidence Benca was searching for. They hoped that if they could send the ligatures out to be tested and analyzed, human tissue or other genetic material could result in more information, particularly a new lineup of suspects. 

Benca and other officers at the police department found the ligatures and sent them to an out-of-state lab to hopefully gain some new insight. 

Clothing found nearby the bodies of the three boys was also secured and sent out. 

Although this access was huge news for the case, it is unclear how long the testing will take or if it will even yield any answers attorneys and police are looking for.

As of right now, The West Memphis Three remain The West Memphis Three.