WM3 - The Big Picture
OCCAM'S RAZOR
A rule in science and philosophy stating that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known.
If you believe the West Memphis Three to be innocent, then the subjects/people mentioned below have to be lies, liars, coincidences and unrelated to guilt. If you believe the three to be innocent, then alternative explanations are needed.
If you believe the three to be guilty, then everything mentioned below makes sense with just that one explanation.
Jason confessed to Michael Carson
After Baldwin’s arrest, he was incarcerated in a juvenile facility with Michael Carson. Michael would later give a statement and testify that Jason had confessed to the murders. Michael would later appear in the documentary, West of Memphis, financed by multi-millionaire and supporter, Peter Jackson, and produced by Damien Echols. In it, Carson would say that he was not sure of his actions during the trial due to his use of the drugs, including LSD. Supporters of the killers claim that this statement is a recantation. The truth is that Michael never actually says he lied in his statements or testimony. Michael also passed a polygraph administered by the Arkansas State Police at the time of his statement.
Carson in 1996, two years after the trial, would again stand by his testimony when challenged. Carson would never put in to question his testimony until the documentarian, Amy Berg, who was financed by the defense team, was to contact him for an interview in 2012.
Quote: “MICHAEL: Well, we was sitting there playing spades and then the officer comes over the intercom and tells us to get in our cells, because she's fixing to bring lunch in and so me and Jason was sittin there scraping up some cards and I turned to him and said, "between me and you, did you really do it"? And he said, "yes, I did do it,” and he started giving me the gory details.
BEALL: Okay. Are you saying he didn't get into any gory details or he did?
MICHAEL: He did.”
Michael Carson statement: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/carson2.html
Michael Carson polygraph: http://callahan.8k.com/images/mcpoly2.jpg
Michael Carson 1996 statement: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/sun_article_carson.html
Jason’s grandmother didn't seem surprised about him being arrested for the crime.
In an article run by the “Commercial Appeal” at the time of the arrests, Jason’s paternal grandmother was interviewed and most notable was her lack of surprise that her grandson was involved in such a crime.
Quote: “Baldwin, 76, said she and her husband, Purd Baldwin, 82, learned of their grandson's arrest from a television report Friday morning.
"We just looked at each other and I said, 'I don't know what that boy has on his mind, killing people like that, Mrs. Baldwin said.”
Link: http://westmemphisthreediscussion.yuku.com/topic/2809
Baldwin reportedly rid himself of weapons between the murders and arrests.
Days before the murders, Jason traded some T-shirts to Billy Newell in exchange for a knife and a pickaxe. Days after the murders, Jason sent his brother to the Newell household to give back the weapons. There has been some speculation that the pickaxe may have been one of the murder weapons, but this has never been substantiated. Why was he in such a hurry to give back the weapons? Was he worried about being blamed for something?
Quote: “worked at the Carnival from Wednesday until Friday and I had three T-shirts that I had traded a pic and a knife for, to Jason Baldwin, before I worked at the Carnival.
When I got home yesterday I found the pic and knife where Jason had brought it back. I made the statement to some kids that "I wonder if these were the weapons that were used to kill the boys." Then I said maybe I'd better call up to the police and tell them.”
Billy Newell statement: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/billnew.html
Kenny Newell statement: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/kennew.html
Jason’s mom accused her husband of turning Jason in to the police.
On the night of Baldwin's arrest, his mother, Gail Grinnell accused her husband of turning him into the police. If her son was indeed innocent then why would she think that her husband had “turned him in”? It seems a little odd that the thought would even cross her mind, unless something relating to the murders had been mentioned in the household.
Quote: “FOGLEMAN: Okay, alright, now do you remember the night that they arrested Jason and they were searching your trailer?
GRINNELL: Yea
FOGLEMAN: Okay, now I understand that when you came in you were very upset, which I understand, and you made a statement to your husband accusing him of turning Jason in for the reward money. What did you think that your husband could have told the police?
GRINNELL: I don’t know, why I said that
FOGLEMAN: You just don’t why you would have said that?
GRINNELL: Well I just um,
FOGLEMAN: You just don’t know?
GRINNELL: I (inaudible) I don’t know why I would have said that
FOGLEMAN: Alright, has um, what is,
GRINNELL: I just,
FOGLEMAN: Go ahead
GRINNELL: Nothing.”
Link: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/gail.html
Jason’s lawyer more or less admitted that his client’s alibi wasn’t credible.
Despite what he claimed were his best efforts, Paul Ford said he could only present a partial alibi for his client. Ford ultimately chose to put up no alibi at all, for fear that his witnesses would fall apart under cross-examination.
Quote: “I felt that if I was unable to establish an alibi, presenting an incomplete one was more detrimental than presenting none at all…… When we were in trial I realized that Echols’ alibi defense was ‘not very, very strong…’. It was like a house of cards… I tried to determine how to deal with…my concerns about how my alibi witnesses would hold up under cross examination.”
Link: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/bm_rule37/bm_rule37_ford.html
Misskelley was documented to have violent run-ins with younger children.
In March, 1993, Jessie was arrested for punching Tiffany Danielle Allen, a 13-year old girl, in the face. In a statement given after the arrests to the WMPD, Dennis Carter, a friend of Miskelley’s, reported an incident in which Miskelley hit a 6-year old girl in the head with a rock and laughed about it. In the book Blood of Innocents there is an account on page 160 of an incident in which Misskelley stabbed a fourth-grade classmate in the mouth with a pencil.
Quote: “On Friday 3-12-93, the above named complaintant and her mother came to the Sheriff's Department
and reported that on 3-11-93 at approximately 4:45 PM the above named suspect struck the victim in her mouth with his fist, while at the park in Lakeshore Estates.”
Link: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/tifa.html
Quote: “Jesse chased the little girl and threw a rock and hit her in the head. The little girl was crying and Jesse was laughing”
Link: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/d_carter_interview.html
Jessie reportedly had terrible fits of crying after the murders.
On the night of the arrests, Lee Rush, Jessie’s step-mother, reported that Jessie woke up crying uncontrollably during the nights following the murders. This was something she thought to be highly unusual and worth reporting. This information was also given to the crew of Paradise Lost, but they apparently didn’t feel the need to include it in the final cut of their documentary.
Quote: “Mrs. Misskelley got to talking about how Jessie Jr. was waking her up at night crying and having nightmares. Every time she went into his room he would be crying hysterically and he would tell her it was because his girlfriend was moving away. She told us it happened a number of times, and that she could not believe his girlfriends' moving would cause that kind of hysterical behaviour”
Charlie Dabbs report: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/cdabbs.html
Tony Anderson report: http://callahan.8k.com/images/report_06-07-93.jpg
Howard Tankersley report:
http://callahan.8k.com/images2/rush_l_tankersley.jpg
Jessie was brought in for questioning and confessed after only 4 hours.
Jessie confessed within four hours of arriving at the WMPD on June 3, 1993. Warren Holmes, one of Jessie’s own experts, would testify that Jessie confessed within the recommended interrogation time and that he had no problem with the length of the interrogation. Despicably, documentary makers, journalists and internet bloggers still make the false claim that Jessie was interrogated for over twelve hours, before he finally gave in and confessed. As of 2011, the twelve hour lie had been increased to fourteen hours on some websites and news pieces.
Quote: “Q: Okay. And would it be accurate to say that when you train officers to conduct interrogations that you tell them that, at a minimum, in an important case, that you want them to go 4 hours, uninterrupted, with a suspect?
A: True.
Q: Okay. So, in this particular case, the time period that the officers were with the suspect doesn’t pose a problem for you, does it?
A: No.
Q: That would be what you recommend them to do if you were advising them, correct?
A: I would have done exactly what they did”
Warren Holmes testimony: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/warrenh.html
Time log: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jmtl.html
Misskelley happened to implicate two people with no alibi.
Let’s pretend for a moment that we believe the defense spin that Jessie hardly knew Damien or Jason; he operated at the level of an eight year old; and his confessions and all he said in them were untrue. For a person with such supposedly low intelligence, Jessie was extremely lucky to name two accomplices who did not have a credible alibi for their whereabouts on the night of the murders.
Quote: “MISSKELLEY: Damien, he was holding him down like, and Jason had his legs up in the air and that little boy was kicking, saying, 'don't, no' like that.”
Link: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jlm_june1.html
Misskelley implicated one person with a disturbing history of mental problems.
It would stand to reason that a person involved in these atrocious murders would likely be someone with serious mental health issues. It turns out that one of the convicted fits that role perfectly. Echols had a long and frightening mental health history, which can be seen in “Exhibit 500” a 500+ page document produced during the sentencing phase of the trial by his own defense team.
Quote: “There is an abundance of evidence to show that Mr. Echols’ serious mental illness required long term hospitalization and more aggressive treatment than he received in prior hospitalizations. In January of 1993 Mr. Echols again sought help at East Arkansas Mental Health Center where mental health professionals described Mr. Echols’ elaborate history of delusions, psychosis, and severe problems with mood and memory. His delusions often were grandiose. He told staff he was “going to influence the world.” He also reported he obtained power by “drinking blood.” His mood oscillated between euphoria and severe depression. Most of the time his affect was flat and his face “expressionless.” Other times he reported he could “do anything.” During his worst periods Mr. Echols became psychotic. He felt a “spirit [was] living within him” that was “put inside him last year.” The spirit “decided to become part of him” and was the spirit of a woman who was killed by her husband.”
Link: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/gwoods.html
Exhibit 500: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/img/exh500.html
Jessie confessed to Buddy Lucas.
Documentaries, news articles or internet sites tend to only mention the June 3, 1993 confession given by the WMPD to Miskelley. Because most of the general public obtained their information about the case from one of the heavily biased documentaries or a supporter run website, they don’t know that Jessie confessed many times. He continued to confess his involvement in the murders after he was convicted, including once to his attorney, Dan Stidham. The first of Miskelley’s many confessions occurred the day after the murders. Buddy Lucas would later recant his statement about this confession and it has been rumoured that he was threatened by friends and family of Misskelley.
Quote: “RIDGE - AND WHAT DID HE TELL YOU HE WAS IN TROUBLE OVER?
LUCAS - THAT HE REALLY, HE SAID UM, WE HURT, UH.... UH WE HURT A COUPLE OF BOYS, THAT JASON AND DAMIEN KILLED
RIDGE - OKAY
LUCAS - COUPLE, I SAID WAS YOU INVOLVED? HE SAID YEA, I SAID WHAT DID YOU DO? I FINALLY GOT IT TALKED OUT OF HIM WHAT DID HE DO, HE SAID I HIT UH, A COUPLE IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD
RIDGE - OKAY, AND
LUCAS - AND EVERYTHING TO KEEP THEM FROM RUNNING AND EVERYTHING
RIDGE - AND THAT'S WHAT HE TOLD YOU?
LUCAS - YES SIR
RIDGE - AND THIS IS ON THURSDAY MORNING?
LUCAS - UH-HUH
RIDGE - OKAY.
Buddy Lucas statement: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/b_lucas_interview.html
Misskelley confessed to Kim Floresca.
A 15-year old girl and friend of Jessie, claimed that Jessie had told her and some friends that he participated in the murders on the day before his arrest.
Quote: “He was saying he hit the little boy and the little boy ran off and he was taking him back to where Damien and the other boy were," she said. According to Misskelley's story, Echols had already killed the two other boys, she said.
Floresca said she didn't believe Misskelley at the time.”
Link: http://westmemphisthreediscussion.yuku.com/topic/2832
Jessie confessed to the police.
On June 3, 1993, a month after the murders, Jessie agreed to go to the police station to answer questions about Echols, as he was a suspect at that time. As documented above, after less than four hours of questioning, Jessie implicated himself in the murders and named Echols and Baldwin as his accomplices. Without prompting by the detectives, he volunteered to police that he chased and caught Michael Moore, who was trying to flee from the killers.
Quote: “JESSIE: When I was there, I saw Damian hit these one boy real bad, and then uh, and he started screwing them and stuff and then uh,
RIDGE: Alright, you got in front of you a picture, that was taken out of the newspaper I believe, it's got three boys and these are the three boys that were killed on that date in Robin Hood Woods, okay, which one of those three boys is it you say Damian hit? The third picture, which will be
JESSIE: Michael Moore
GITCHELL: This boy right here,
JESSIE: Yeah,
GITCHELL: Alright, that's uh the Byers boy, that's who you are pointing at?
JESSIE: Yes
RIDGE: If you read the caption, the grizzly slain from left, 8 year old Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. Okay, so you saw Damian strike Chris Byers in the head.
JESSIE: Right
RIDGE: What did he hit him with?
JESSIE: He hit him with his fist and bruised him all up real bad, and then Jason turned around and hit Steve Branch
RIDGE: Okay
JESSIE: And started doing the same thing, then the other one took off, Michael Moore took off running, so I chased him and grabbed him and hold him, until they got there and then I left.”
First confession June 3, 1993: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jmjune1.html
Second clarification statement June 3, 1993: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jmjune2.html
Jessie confessed his involvement in the murders the day he was convicted.
While being transported by two officers to the Arkansas Department of Corrections Diagnostic Unit at Pine Bluff, Jessie would again confess.
Quote: “Jessie said they were hiding behind bushes when Damion grabbed Michael Moore. The two other young boys started hitting Damion trying to help their friend and that is when Jessie and Jason jumped out and helped Damion "beat them." Jessie advised he helped hold them and beat them but had no part in raping or killing them.”
Incident report Feb 5, 1994: http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jmpc.html
Jessie confessed while alone with his own attorney.
A common excuse used to explain away Miskelley’s many confessions is to label them all as “coerced” or “fed to him by police. Even though no evidence of coercion exists, this excuse is still parroted by those who believe the three to be innocent. What makes these claims of coercion and feeding of details by the police incredible is that on August 19, 1993, Jessie confessed while alone with Dan Stidham, his attorney. Are we to believe his own attorney coerced him and fed him details, too?
Quote: “STIDHAM: Okay. So basically what you’re saying is that you basically volunteered what you told them, you told them what happened and they didn’t force you to do it?
JESSIE: Huh-uh. (Negatively indicating)
STIDHAM: Is that what you’re saying?
JESSIE: Right.
STIDHAM: Was there a lot of blood there on the ground?
JESSIE: I don’t know –
STIDHAM: - out there where they were hitting them with sticks and stuff?
JESSIE: Yeah, there was a lot of blood.
STIDHAM: A little bit or a whole lot or …?
JESSIE: I’d say a lot.
STIDHAM: Okay. And that was at the low bank of the creek –
JESSIE: Uh-huh. (Affirmatively indicating)
STIDHAM: - which would be on this side going toward Blue Beacon?
JESSIE: Right.
STIDHAM: That’s where actually all the hitting and cutting took place?
JESSIE: Yeah.”
Conversation with Stidham August 19, 1993: http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/jm_stidham_8_19_93.pdf
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