Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three

Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three is a 2002 True Crime book by Mara Leveritt about the 1993 murders of three eight year old children and the subsequent trials of three teenagers charged with and convicted of the crimes. The names of the three teens convicted are: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. They, however, would come to be known as the West Memphis Three. Leveritt's book revolves around the central idea that the three teenagers convictions were a result of "Satanic panic" rather than actual evidence. The book also focuses on one of the victim's stepfathers and his possible connection with the murders. All three teenagers convicted were released on August 19, 2011.

Synopsis

On May 5, 1993, Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Steven Branch went missing from their homes in West Memphis, Arkansas The next day, their bodies were found in the woods near their homes with evidence showing that they had been brutally beaten and savagely murdered. In the case of Christopher Byers, the evidence revealed that he had been castrated and his penis had been skinned before he was killed. News of the boys deaths and the manner in which they happened soon reached the inhabitants of the small community. The rumor then spread that the nature of Christopher Byers death in particular hinted that the deaths may have been related to a Satanic ritual. Weeks after the murders, a local woman by the name of Vicki Hutcheson brought her eight year old son Aaron to see the police. Aaron claimed to have witnessed the kidnapping of his three friends. Vicki Hutcheson volunteered to help the investigation by becoming "involved" with both Jessie and Damien. Hutcheson was a neighbor of Jessie's and coaxed him into setting up a "meeting" with Damien so Hutcheson and Damien could get to know each other. Vicki Hutcheson would later admit to the police that she had attended an Esbat with both men. Years after the trials, Hutcheson would admit that she had lied about attending the Esbat. Over the months that led up to the arrests and trials, her son Aaron would also change his account of what happened numerous times, each time the story becoming more outrageous and unbelievable. Eventually, the police brought in Jessie Misskelley for questioning in relation to the murders. Misskelley was 17 and considered mildly retarded. Despite this, a simple questioning turned into a heated interrogation by West Memphis Police which resulted in a confession from Misskelley that was almost immediately recanted. Based on this confession and the story told to police by Aaron Hutcheson, Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin were all arrested and charged with three counts of Capital Murder. Each of the three men encountered issues during the course of their trials, including the inability to have the trial moved away from Arkansas area, lack of the prosecution's required assistance in the delivery of all intended evidence to the defense, and what is perceived by the author to be a biased judge. Author Mara Leveritt makes numerous comparisons to the trials of the three men to that of the Salem Witch Trials, stating that the men were convicted based on the "Satanic Craze" the community was surrounded by after the murders. Actual evidence used by the prosecution during the trials included pictures of Metallica t-shirts worn by Jason Baldwin and books checked out by Damien Echols at his public library. Prosecution cases contained little more than circumstantial evidence. Eventually, all three men were convicted of the murders, with Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley receiving life sentences without parole and Damien Echols receiving the Death Penalty. See http://DevilsKnot.com

Central characters

• Damien Echols – Portrayed in the media as the "Ringleader" of the group. Central figure throughout the case, with a lot of attention focused on the prosecution's attempt to vilify him to the point of conviction. Has since written a novel and been married since being imprisoned.
• Jason Baldwin – Damien's "best friend". Considered by many "guilty by association" for his friendship with Echols. Prosecutors used Jason's Metallica t-shirts as evidence that he was involved in "satanic activity" and "the trappings of the occult". Currently takes education courses in prison and is considered a "model inmate".
• Jessie Misskelley – Friend of both Damien and Jason. Is considered mildly retarded and at the time of his arrest, he had the education level of a fourth grader despite being seventeen years old. His confession was the basis for the arrests and convictions of Echols and Baldwin, despite the fact that he recanted his confession almost immediately. Currently works manual labor jobs in prison.
• John Mark Byers – Stepfather to Christopher Byers. Was and still is the most outspoken family member of any of the victims. His numerous run-ins with the law including a violent outburst against his former wife, and the mysterious death of Christopher's mother. Questions were raised as to his involvement in the murders after he gave a knife to HBO productions that contained Christopher's blood type in the fold. Byers denied ever using the knife to HBO and police; this statement was recanted by Byers only after the police informed him that they found blood on the knife that matched Christopher's. To this day, the West Memphis Police have yet to investigate Byers any further.
• Gary Gitchell – Chief Inspector for West Memphis Police. When asked during a press conference as to how confident he felt about the case against the Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley, based on a scale from "1 to 10," he stated: "An Eleven".
• Judge David Burnett – Judge presiding over the trials. Portrayed as stubborn and biased toward the prosecution in the book.
• Ron Lax – Private Investigator who lends his services to Damien Echols and goes on to uncover many concerning details surrounding the arrests and trials.
• Christopher Byers – Murder Victim
• Michael Moore – Murder Victim
• Steven Branch – Murder Victim