Attorneys File for DNA Testing on Ligatures That Left 3 Young Boys Dead in West Memphis 3 Case – Crime Online

The legal professionals for Damien Echols, one of many centerpieces of the “West Memphis Three” case, have filed a movement to have proof examined after the state of Arkansas beforehand refused the testing, in keeping with experiences.

Echols’ lawyer petitioned for the brand new DNA through the use of an MVAC, a moist vacuum system that may discover extra DNA than older exams, together with in hard-to-reach areas corresponding to on shoelaces and ligatures. The petition was filed on the Circuit Courtroom of Crittenden County in West Memphis, Arkansas.

If the petition is granted, Echols’ protection will have the ability to select its personal testing firm, however they’ll even be footing the invoice for it, Fox 13 experiences.

The information comes after the state allegedly didn’t honor a state order for proof within the case. In December 2021, Echols’ lawyer, Patrick Benca, reviewed case proof that was thought to have been misplaced.

The West Memphis Police Division and different officers are being accused of stonewalling the discharge of the proof for round 18 months and informing Echols’ crew that the proof was misplaced or destroyed.

“After 18 months Echols’ was knowledgeable that the proof was doubtless not out there, however after a state court docket order, Echols’ crew was invited to the West Memphis Police Division to assessment what proof remained. What they found was a really organized, catalogued and intact physique of proof,” a bunch engaged on the case wrote.

As CrimeOnline beforehand reported, Damien Echols was one in every of three teenagers convicted of killing three small boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. Echols was sentenced to dying whereas his co-defendants, Jesse Misskelly and Jason Baldwin, have been sentenced to life in jail.

The trio was dubbed the “West Memphis Three” after pervasive controversy surrounding the case spanned throughout the nation and several other international locations. The case later grew to become the topic of quite a few documentaries, whereas celebrities such because the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder pushed for the defendants’ jail launch.

Misskelly, who has a low IQ, reportedly gave detectives a false confession which helped a jury convict the teenagers. Misskelly later recanted and claimed he was drained, able to go residence, and stated what the detectives needed him to say.

In 2011, the defendants have been launched from jail by accepting an Alford Plea, which allowed them to keep up their innocence get out of jail. The plea didn’t clear the convictions and all three males nonetheless have a homicide cost on their document, regardless of their launch from jail.

Now, Echols says that Crittenden County Prosecutor Keith Chrestman rejected the request for DNA testing, resulting in the petition submitting.

“The prosecutor in Arkansas has refused to cooperate with new DNA testing,” Echols wrote on Twitter. “He says if we would like it completed, we’ll must battle for it in court docket.”

Test again for updates.

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[Feature Photo : Chris Byers, Michael Moore & Steven Branch/Handout]