It's hard to believe it's been 15 yrs since these boys were sent to prison for crimes that I don't think they committed.
WM3 and DNA
That alphabet soup of a headline refers to a hearing tomorrow in Jonesboro in the appeal of the West Memphis Three murder case and the case's potential, according to defense lawyers, for becoming a landmark on use of DNA evidence.
NEWS RELEASE
(JONESBORO, AR) – In what could potentially lead to a historic moment for the Arkansas justice system, an appearance will be held April 15 in the Craighead County Superior Court to schedule a hearing on new DNA and forensic evidence in the case of the West Memphis 3. Exoneration based on this evidence would mark the first DNA-based amnesty in the state of Arkansas.
“With this case comes the chance to change the future, particularly as it pertains to the Arkansas justice system,” said Dennis Riordan, attorney for Damien Echols. “Clearing the good names of these three men will hold the system accountable, helping to ensure justice for these individuals and so many others like them.”
In 1994, these three men—then teenagers—were convicted in the triple homicide of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in May of 1993. Just a month after the murders, with no physical evidence tying them to the crimes, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr., found themselves facing life in prison, while Damien Echols was forced to confront the horror of death row. Coupled with the coerced and facially false confession of Misskelley, a mentally deficient 17-year-old, negligible circumstantial evidence landed these boys in prison, where they have been forced to grow up over the last 15 years.
Now, circumstance and conjecture have given way to hard science: not a single one of the DNA samples taken from the crime scene indicates the presence of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin or Jessie Misskelley at the scene or near the victims. DNA on the bodies and clothing of the victims does, however, indicate the presence of others at the crime scene. FULL STORY 
