In case you have been living under a rock; the West Memphis 3 were 3 teenage boys who wrongly accused of “satanic murder” of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. There was very little evidence to point the blame to these boys however they were convicted of the crimes. They also were screwed after Jessie Misskelley (one of the 3 convicted boys) was tricked into doing a false confession due to his borderline mental retardation. They eventually spent over 18 years in federal prison. They were basically convicted because they were goth/metal kids that the locals didn’t like. It also was around the time of the satanic cult panic of the early 90s so it was easy to blame it on satanic cults. They eventually got out after pleading guilty but maintaining their innocence.
The film unlike the Paradise Lost goes into quite a bit to detail on the possible suspect Terry Hobbs. Terry was one of the victims’ stepfather and had a history of violence and is a very shady figure and has a very questionable alibi. Paradise Lost 2 is mostly about Mark Byers (one of the fathers of the murder kids) who for a long time was a the key suspect for WM3 supporters but eventually DNA ruled him out. It does however go though the entire case so people who haven’t seen Paradise Lost will get a good grasp of the case.
The documentary is slightly glossier than the Paradise Lost series probably due to Peter Jackson and Sony’s involvement with the film. This is not a bad thing cause it condenses the story to be easier digested for a casual viewer. It’s overall a extremely well made film about one of the worst miscarriages of justice in the recent memory.
Ian Schultz
Rating: 15
DVD Release Date: 20th May 2013
Director:Amy Berg
Cast: Michael Baden, Mark Byers, Henry Rollins, Holly Ballard
Buy:West of Memphis On DVD [2012]
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