DK2
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Thanks,
~Mara
September 1st, 2011
Dear Friends,
photo by Mara Leveritt
What a glorious couple of weeks! Who could have anticipated that, after all these years, Damien, Jason and Jessie would so suddenly be free?
Many of you have written to thank me, but I truly must thank YOU. Your concern for the WM3—and, I might add, for justice—has hovered around me, inspiring and encouraging me, as I know it has them. By subscribing to DK2, you also helped me be able to keep investigating aspects of their case that will go into my next book.
As you know, I planned to continue with DK2 through the hearing scheduled for the end of this year, and through the resulting trials, if they were ordered. This remarkable change of events has also changed those plans. Now that the men are free, with only pardons left to be sought, I will stop posting to DK2 in order to devote myself full-time to the book.
What I have already posted to this DK2 part of my site will remain here for subscribers only, but I will be posting no more. I will stop accepting subscriptions. I know some of you have recently subscribed—and I thank you, along with everyone else. But because of this change, I will gladly refund anyone’s subscription fee, no matter when you signed on. Just email me and it will be done.
If you are not already following me on Twitter, please do: I’m “freebirdmojo.” In the months to come, I’ll be tweeting bits of WM3 news and plans for the film of “Devil’s Knot,” as they develop.
photo by Grove Pashley
Again, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your support of the WM3—and me. You know that Damien, Jason and Jessie were not the only innocent people in our prisons. And you know that our “justice” system is riddled with problems that need public attention and correction. Please don’t let the energy you’ve devoted to this terrible case evaporate, now that this partial victory has been won. I hope that many of you will look at the cases around where you live and raise a hue and cry, as needed. You’ve proven what you can do!
Fondly,
Mara
August 18th, 2011
Judge David Laser just announced that his court will ”take up certain matters pertaining to the cases of defendants [Jason] Baldwin, [Damien] Echols and [Jessie] Misskelley on Friday, August 19.” A private meeting between the judge, the three defense teams and attorneys for the state will be followed by a session in open court that Laser said will begin at “about 11 a.m.” Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin will be present.
I will be reporting from Jonesboro here and for the Arkansas Times blog. Arkansas Times senior editor Max Brantley blogged this morning that tomorrow’s events could be “earth-shaking.” He wrote: “The surprise hearing tomorrow alone suggests a major development is at hand. The buzz in the defense bar community is that the news is beyond major. Until now, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office has fought vigorously against new proceedings for the defendants and in support of their convictions. A development tomorrow in which he joined in a defense suggestion would be momentous, indeed.”
Here’s more from Judge Laser’s brief announcement:
“Space will be limited for the public session. First the parties, counsel and court personnel, then to family members of the victims and family members of defendants with remaining seating to be occupied by media representatives and the public. There will be approximately 15 minutes between the chamber session and open session for media and public to be seated. Miss Stephanie Harris, Arkansas Supreme Court communication counsel, will be present on Friday to assist with implementation and will be the court’s intermediary with public and press.”
Anxious in AugustAugust 14th, 2011
From the WM3.org postcard campaign; a sample of public interest
This waiting is hard. I get impatient. Then I think of being unjustly imprisoned and impatient. I focus anew on December and wait for slow-grinding justice to get around to the “justice” part.
For the moment, here’s what I’m waiting for:
1. Shoelace evidence. Results from all of the scientific testing that the defense requested have been sent to Judge David Laser—except for analysis of the shoelaces used to bind Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Hobbs. In March, defense attorneys told Laser they wanted the boys’ shoelaces measured “to determine which black shoelace was apparently cut in half to be used as a ligature.” The lawyers also wanted “the remaining, non-ligature portion of that cut shoelace” to be “fiber tested for comparison to other fiber evidence in the case.”
This level of fiber testing far exceeds the testing conducted by the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in 1993, which was described at the trials of the West Memphis Three. At that time, state testimony that fibers found with the bodies were “microscopically similar” to fibers found in the defendants’ homes was presented as credible science. However, even by the standards of the early 1990s, claims that the fibers supported the prosecutors’ circumstantial case were unscientifically exaggerated.
The tests and comparisons of the shoelaces were due to be filed by mid-July. We’re a month beyond that now. I’m anxious to see what—if anything—those ligatures have to tell us.
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