Free The West Memphis Three

This article from Fox News does a good job of explaining some aspects of the case, such as the circumstances of the murder and some of the new evidence. However, in some places it takes leave from the facts in order to paint a story that would be more appealing for a Fox News audience. I question the inclusion of the information that the victems were riding their bikes in their neighborhood before being murdered. Their bodies were found in a drainage ditch behind a truck stop it is unknown how long they laid there. You might as well say they were eating dinner with their family before being murdered if you are going to be including irrelevant information from an indeterminate time before the murder. This may all seem like nitpicking but it seems to me to be the author dressing up the story for his intended audience.

Another example of this is the erroneous statement that the police attributed the murder to the participation of the accused in a satanic cult. The prosecution never alleged that they were satanists, which would have been irrelevant even if it were true. One of the accused, Damien Echols, was a Wiccan at the time and the prosecution made much of this, finding damning quotes from some of the more eccentric mystics from previous centuries and by claiming that Mr.Echols held beliefs about cannibalism. Cannibalism, by the way, was not a part of the crime. The rest of the prosecution's evidence was that the boys were outcast, wore black, and listened to Metallica. As well as the forced confession of one of the accused who was mentally retarded.

"Thats some good police work there Lou."

The new information is that the federal judge is requiring the state courts to hear the new evidence first.