State high court rejects motion by WM3’s Echols

By George Jared

JONESBORO — Three women’s witness statements will not be considered by the Arkansas Supreme Court in deciding whether they’ll order a new trial for convicted murderer Damien Echols.

Justices denied a motion for staying Echols’ appeal and refused to consider new witness statements submitted for review earlier this month.

No written explanation accompanied the decision. Officials with the Arkansas Supreme Court in Little Rock said it is common for motion rulings not to have written explanations.

Echols and cohorts Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were convicted in 1994 of the deaths of West Memphis 8-year-olds Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers.

The boys’ bodies were found in a drainage ditch in the Robin Hood Hills area of West Memphis on May 6, 1993, one day after they reportedly disappeared while riding bikes in their neighborhood.

Attempts to reach Echols’ attorney, Dennis Riordan, were unsuccessful.

Claims by sisters

Two sisters, Jamie Clark Ballard and Brandy Clark Willams, claim they saw Byers, Branch and Moore at 6:30 p.m. on May 5, 1993, near the time prosecutors believe the boys were abducted. Ballard was 13 at the time, and Williams was 11.

Their mother, Deborah Moyer, also claims she saw the boys at the time. All three stated in sworn affidavits that the last time they saw the boys the three were headed toward Branch’s house, which was on the same street as Moyer’s, at the behest of Terry Hobbs, Branch’s stepfather.

In sworn statements Hobbs has said he never saw his stepson or the other boys on May 5, 1993.

Hobbs became a central figure in the case in 2007 when a hair collected from one of Moore’s ligatures likely matched Hobbs’ DNA. Another hair collected from a nearby tree stump at the crime scene is a likely match for a friend Hobbs claimed to have been with when the boys became missing, according to court documents.

The West Memphis Police Department has maintained that Hobbs and the friend, David Jacoby, are not and never have been suspects in the case. Secondary hair transfer might account for those particular hairs being at the crime scene, police say.

None of the DNA evidence that has been tested thus far implicates Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley, who’ve been dubbed the “West Memphis Three.”

More than $1M raised

Their supporters have raised more than $1 million to hire attorneys and investigators to seek new trials.

A lack of DNA and forensic evidence linking the convicted to the crime and perceived wrongdoing by prosecutors and Judge David Burnett have spurred international interest in the case.

The bizarre manner in which the boys were tied and the horrific injuries to their bodies led police and prosecutors to believe the killings could have been part of an occult or satanic ritual.

Echols told police he was a member of the Wiccan religion and didn’t believe in God or the devil. The admission made him a suspect, and it also brought his best friend, Jason Baldwin, into the fold.

Some of the parents of the slain boys have in recent years come forward doubting the convictions.

Police based their initial case on a convoluted confession given by Misskelley on June 3, 1993. Misskelley got the time and exact place of the crimes wrong during his interrogation.

He also told police the boys were sexually assaulted.

According to state Medical Examiner Dr. Frank Peretti and other defense forensic pathologists, the boys were not sodomized, and no evidence proved they were forced to perform oral sex, as Misskelley confessed.

Misskelley, who has an IQ of 72, also said ropes were used to tie the youths when, in fact, their own shoelaces had been used.

Despite the inconsistencies a jury found Misskelley guilty. Even after the conviction Misskelley confessed twice more, and each time his story changed. He now claims the initial confession was coerced.

Police maintain that Misskelley gave them details, such as the mutilation of Byers’ genitals, that only the killer would know. A review of the confession tape isn’t clear as to whether Misskelley identified Byers.

The three women came forward with their new claim after learning earlier this year that Hobbs told police he didn’t see the juveniles the day they disappeared.

Ongoing lawsuit

Hobbs is in an ongoing civil lawsuit with famed country music singer Natalie Maines after she allegedly named him as the true killer on Web site posts and at a rally in Little Rock in 2007.

Hobbs steadfastly maintains his innocence in the case but refuses to comment about it publicly, acting on the advice of his attorney.

Retrial for hearings for both Baldwin and Misskelley wrapped up earlier this month, and Burnett is expected to decide by the end of the year if the two will receive new trials.

Echols has other challenges before the Arkansas Supreme Court that might garner him a new trial. It’s unknown when the court will rule on those filings.

Copyright 2009 Jonesboro Sun