By: John Hardin
When the West Memphis 3 entered into the Alford plea in 2011, they did so with the agreement from then District Attorney Scott Ellington that he would agree to considering and testing any new evidence, or testing old evidence with newly-developed technology. Mr. Ellington is no longer the DA, but we had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that the state would still live up to its end of the bargain. A recent hearing in West Memphis showed that the state continues to have no interest in justice for the WM3 or the three murdered children.
At issue in the hearing whether the state would be forced to release ligatures found at the crime scene for advanced DNA testing. The effort was led by Damien Echols and his attorney, Patrick Benca. The judge, Tonya Alexander, made it clear from the outset that she was going to deny the release of the evidence. It is disappointing, but not unexpected considering the history of denying justice to the WM3. You can read more detailed accounts from my friend Mara Leveritt, or from a number of other media sources that covered the hearing.
West Memphis memory, 6/23/22. Police in body armor blocking the courthouse, ordering citizens to stay at a distance. And, when most were not admitted into the hearing they’d come to attend, forbidding them sit in their air-conditioned cars to await word of the the outcome.
— Mara Leveritt (@MaraLeveritt) June 24, 2022
Beyond the legal issues, what I experienced outside and inside the courthouse that day was unlike anything I’ve seen. Jason and I arrived at the courthouse an hour and a half before the hearing was to start. I started walking across the parking lot to ask one of the dozens of police posted outside what time we should expect the doors to open. Two officers approached me very aggressively and angrily yelled at me to get back across the lot, not even allowing me to ask a very normal question. It would only get worse as more and more supporters and media showed up.
As the time for the hearing approached, one officer kindly told us to get the small group together who needed to be up front in the courtroom and he would escort us in. However, once we entered the courthouse doors it became clear that his efforts were going to be thwarted by a more senior officer. Despite there being no signage or advance notification about masks being required, entrance would not be allowed without them. One officer told me that masks had not been required in there for a long time. Additionally, despite the courtroom being big enough to handle a couple hundred people, only 15 or so of us were allowed in due to ‘social distancing.’ A different officer told me that hadn’t been a policy in at least many months, if not longer.
After the hearing, I learned that the people who were not allowed inside the courthouse were also not allowed to be in their cars to cool off on that very hot and very humid day. This is also not a normal policy. One officer told a friend I trust who was left outside that none of this was normal procedure and that he was ‘humiliated’ about the scene.
I believe all of this was an effort to discourage West Memphis 3 supporters. To dishearten us and to assert their authority. To take our voices away. But as the past decades have shown, we are a resilient bunch who won’t be deterred. I’m certain authorities in West Memphis are tired of hearing about the West Memphis 3, but there’s a solution to that: stop standing in the way of justice and finally do the right thing for Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols, and Jessie Misskelley.