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

Apr 14, 2008 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

Remind me not to wear a black t-shirt next time I'm in Arkansas. For those who have seen the two "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" documentaries, you should know that the films barely scratched the tip of the iceberg. For those unfamiliar with the case, in 1993 in the town of West Memphis, three 8-year-old boys were found murdered in a ditch near a truck stop. The unbelievable investigative and judicial shit-show that followed resulted in three teenagers being convicted, wit...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Daniel Koehler rated it 5 of 5 stars

I live in Little Rock and have met Mara several times. She is a terrific investigative journalist and writer of non-fiction. I read her "The Boys on the Tracks" about the suspicious deaths of two young boys for political expediency during the Clinton Administration in Arkansas. A marvelous and chilling book.

Devil's Knot is the story of the West Memphis Three, three Delta teenagers convicted of the ghastly murders of three third graders in 1992, The story is highlighted by gross incompetence on...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Leveritt is an Arkansas journalist who covered the initial trial in the local papers. Realizing the preposterousness of the entire affair, she went on to support the three and release this book full of facts, photographs, court records and interviews. A few years earlier, my mom and I spent all of Thanksgiving Day watching my DVD’s of Paradise Lost 1 & 2 (these are two HBO Documentaries by Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger that shine a light on all of the unjust facts of the case. The video I...more Leveritt is an Arkansas journalist who covered the initial trial in the local papers. Realizing the preposterousness of the entire affair, she went on to support the three and release this book full of facts, photographs, court records and interviews. A few years earlier, my mom and I spent all of Thanksgiving Day watching my DVD’s of Paradise Lost 1 & 2 (these are two HBO Documentaries by Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger that shine a light on all of the unjust facts of the case. The video I watched in my Sociology class was Paradise Lost 1. There is a documentary done by Damien, his wife Lorri Davis and Peter Jackson of The Lord of the Rings fame called West of Memphis that will be released in theatres this December. See the links at the bottom of this post for a trailer for West of Memphis. A fictionalized account of Leveritt’s book starring Reese Witerspoon is set to be released sometime in 2013. I don’t know how I feel about this. I like the documentaries because they bring a spotlight to the case, but a fictionalized film only serves to make it look made up; like a story. There is absolutley nothing fictional about this tragedy at all). After watching the videos and talking it all over with me, my mom became convinced that the three boys were innocent as well, and if not innocent, then certainly not given a fair trial. I gave my mom a copy of this book last year and she said “it was a good book, because the author was very un-biased. At times I found myself wondering if it could have been possible for those boys to have done it…” Leveritt is extremely un-biased, that’s what makes her a first-rate journalist. In this book she does a stellar job of presenting the facts and letting the reader come to their on conclusions of what really happened that summer night in 1993. And even after reading this book, reading all of the articles on the subject, watching all of the documentaries, and just generally educating myself on the case, I still found myself changing my mind about who the guilty party really was.(less)

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May 10, 2013 Brentley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am a prosecuting attorney (I put bad guys in jail), and I regularly work closely with the police on investigations. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone (judge, attorney, cop) involved in criminal investigations with life or death consequences. I think I read half the book with my mouth hanging open because I was so shocked at the conduct of the police and so incredibly disappointed at the prosecutors who presented the case in spite of such glaring issues.

There is always pressure...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Stacy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mara Leveritt gives her best with detailed research of the failed criminal justice system in this eastern Arkansas community following the murders of three 8-year-old boys. This is a story about how murder and fear created chaos, which in turn created desperation by police and prosecutors. Devil's Knot details unethical police work that resulted in three vulnerable teenage boys being accused, then convicted of a heinous crime. It becomes clear that community panic led to the acceptance of a botc...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Laurie Gray rated it 5 of 5 stars

Journalist Mara Leveritt documents the investigation, trials and appeals of the West Memphis Three (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr.) for the murder of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, on May 5, 1993. With more than 50 pages of endnotes, the events are well-researched and the account well-written, if not neutral. Despite the judge’s rulings, the juries’ verdicts, and the appellate courts affirming the convictions, Leveritt is convinced beyond a reasona...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Stu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

The Story begins in West Memphis, Arkansas, on May 5th 1993, when three 8 year old boys were found brutally murdered. In the very beginning the police started to look into the possibility that these were 'satanic ritual killings', and as one defence lawyer later said, the police got a 'Damien Echols tunnel vision'.

Damien Echols was a 18 year old boy living in poverty (white trash as he himself has said), with a history of mental illness and more importantly, liked Stepehn King novels, wore black...more The Story begins in West Memphis, Arkansas, on May 5th 1993, when three 8 year old boys were found brutally murdered. In the very beginning the police started to look into the possibility that these were 'satanic ritual killings', and as one defence lawyer later said, the police got a 'Damien Echols tunnel vision'.

Damien Echols was a 18 year old boy living in poverty (white trash as he himself has said), with a history of mental illness and more importantly, liked Stepehn King novels, wore black, listened to metal music and was into Wiccan. things that got the police, and later the jury, convinced he was behind the murders.

Jason Baldwin was 16, also living in poverty. He was a good student, but his taste in metal music and more importantly, the fact that he was Damien's best friend, was enough to get him convicted for the murders.

Jessie Miskelley was 17, had a low IQ and he functioned on the level of a third grader. He wasn't really friends with either Damien nor Jason, but got tangled up in the case when police picked him up for questioning. The police questioned Jessie without a parents consent and without a lawyer, for 12 hours, which only less than an hour was recorded. In that recorded time, Jessie confessed he had witnessed Damien and Jason murdering the three boys. Even tho his confession was full of holes and it was pressured by the police, soon after Damien and Jason were arrested.

Damien Echols was sentenced death, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley were sentenced to life in prison. Together they got to be known as The West Memphis Three. A document that aired on HBO, called Paradise Lost induced a group of supporters which in the forth coming years grew bigger and bigger, getting such people as Johnny Depp and Eddie Vedder involved. Free The West Memphis Three was a phrase that got chanted and printed on t-shirts. Mara Leveritt's book is a close and honest look at a case that might be the biggest witch hunt since the actual witch hunts of the Salem Witch Trials. it reveals the amount of corruption that goes on in the State of Arkansas.

The book was written in 2002, when the WM3 were still in prison, since then a third Paradise Lost movie has been released, the convicts have been released after they made an Alford Plea, in which they can claim their innocence but plea guilty. This way they can't sue the State of Arkansas for wrongly conviction, nor are they exonerated. So the fight continues, this time the chant is not Free The West Memphis Three, but Exonerate The West Memphis Three!(less)

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Oct 19, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, true-crime

While Leveritt's books offers a mound of information concerning the case that was necessarily left out by the brief Paradise Lost documentaries of Sinofsky and Berlinger, and her comprehensive focus allows her work to exonerate Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley the way the films could not, the one flaw I see in Devil's Knot is its lack of revelation about the personal qualities of the teenagers, with the possible exception of Jason Baldwin, who is shown to be strong and loyal. Devil's Knot also lac...more While Leveritt's books offers a mound of information concerning the case that was necessarily left out by the brief Paradise Lost documentaries of Sinofsky and Berlinger, and her comprehensive focus allows her work to exonerate Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley the way the films could not, the one flaw I see in Devil's Knot is its lack of revelation about the personal qualities of the teenagers, with the possible exception of Jason Baldwin, who is shown to be strong and loyal. Devil's Knot also lacks the heavy metal perspective Sinofsky and Berlinger employed when they soundtracked their films with early-mid Metallica. The result is something a bit more serious and less sensationalistic.

Notes:

Leveritt's account immediately starts out more clear-headed and comprehensible than the films about the crime. Leveritt does not sensationalize the hickishness of the townspeople of West Memphis, though it would be easy to do so. It is immediately clear that Jesse Misskelley's confession is entirely coerced by the police. The police are cast as desperate and unreasonable in their determination to pin the crimes on the three teenagers.

Again and again, the police show themselves to be not only inept but insidious in their lack of interest in finding out the truth. Certain aspects of the case, mostly relating to the police and John Mark Byers are so gothic and grotesque they seem straight out of Flannery O'Connor. Jesse Misskelley is key to understanding this case. His second confession is almost believable, but in the end all it proves is his suggestibility.

The innocence and naivety of people who think owning 11 black t-shirts is qualification as a satanist and a murderer is shocking and unthinkable as a phenomenon of the 1990s. The more that's revealed the more horrifying the guilty verdict is. Leveritt's book is somewhat short on revelations about the character of anyone involved in the crime, though it offers much more information about the crime itself. It's odd to me that in the end Jason Baldwin looks to be more of an activist than Damien Echols.(less)

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Sep 28, 2011 Alicia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it's hard for me to be proud to be an arkansan after reading this book. the examination of corruption--lots of it--revolving around the investigation and trials of the 1993 killings of 3 west memphis 8 year olds is center stage. and it's ugly.
in light of the west memphis three's release in august, i can only think that if i had read this book while they were still in prison, i'd be raising all kinds of hell. it's disgusting and shameful how matters were handled. leveritt has done a tremendous j...more

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May 03, 2011 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I highly recommend everyone read this book.

First of all, the travesty of justice it describes is outrageous. It will make you angry. It will leave you virtually convinced that three teenage boys have been in prison for almost 20 years, one on death row, for a crime they didn't commit, while a savage, brutal killer goes free. But even IF you read this book and believe they still might have done it, the investigation and trial that put them in prison was clearly, irrevocably flawed. If this can s...more

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Feb 14, 2011 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Deeply disturbing on many levels and all very true, this book chronicles the murder of 3 young boys in Robin Hood Hills, West Memphis Arkansas in the early 90's and the resulting imprisonment of 3 teenage boys accused of committing these heinous acts of violence. NOTE: Parts of this book are very hard to read. I had to put it down several times because I was crying.

I vividly remember watching this unfold on the news when I was a teenager growing up in Arkansas, and could not believe these boys...more

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Feb 21, 2010 Nancy marked it as to-read

Shelves: true-story

On the evening of May 5, 1993, in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys disappeared. The next afternoon, the naked bodies of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore were found submerged in a nearby stream. The boys had been bound from ankle to wrist with their own shoelaces and severely beaten. Christopher had been castrated.

The crime scene had yielded few clues, and despite Christopher's castration, there was a remarkable absence of blood. The police we...more On the evening of May 5, 1993, in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys disappeared. The next afternoon, the naked bodies of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore were found submerged in a nearby stream. The boys had been bound from ankle to wrist with their own shoelaces and severely beaten. Christopher had been castrated.

The crime scene had yielded few clues, and despite Christopher's castration, there was a remarkable absence of blood. The police were stymied, and citizens' alarm mounted as weeks passed without an arrest. Finally, a month after the murders, detectives announced three arrests -- and a startling theory of the crime: that the children had been killed by members of a satanic cult.

Detectives attributed their break in the case to a former special education student, seventeen-year-old Jessie Misskelley Jr. Although Jessie insisted he knew nothing of the crime, after eight hours of questioning, police announced that he had implicated himself and accused two other teenagers, eighteen-year-old Damien Echols and sixteen-year-old Jason Baldwin. Damien and Jason both denied Jessie's account, and Jessie himself recanted it within hours, but by then all three had been charged with the murders.

With no physical evidence connecting anyone to the crime, prosecutors contended that the murders bore signs of "the occult" and that the three accused teenagers possessed a "state of mind" that pointed to them as the killers. As proof of the defendants' mental states, they introduced items taken from their rooms -- such as books by Anne Rice and album posters for the rock group Metallica. Jurors found all three teenagers guilty. Jessie and Jason were sentenced to life in prison. Damien was sentenced to death.

While the verdicts were popular in Arkansas, an HBO documentary raised questions about the lack of evidence in the case, and a Web site was formed to support the inmates, now known as "The West Memphis Three." When the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the verdicts, state officials insisted that anyone who questioned the trials simply did not know "the facts."

Now, for the first time, an award-winning investigative reporter examines that official stand. In riveting narrative, Devil's Knot draws readers into the drama of a modern-day courtroom dominated by references to Satan. In laying out "the facts" of this still-unfolding case, it offers a frightening look into America's system of justice(less)

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Jan 17, 2012 Krista Ashe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-112-of-2012

The case of the West Memphis 3 is probably one of the worst cases of a witch hunt since the actual Salem Witch Trials. Three young men were sentenced to life in prison--Damien to death--without any concrete evidence. I had became reaquainted with the case upon the release of Damien, Jesse, and Jason this year. I watched the HBO documentary Paradise Lost: The Robin Hood Hills murders as well as the sequel. And as I watched, I couldn't believe the prosecution's lack of evidence or the overwhelming...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Drat Dreadful rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tru-crime

The very facts...that show the total utter shoddy work of: cops, JUDGES, lawyers, your Salem Witch Trial neighbors who are out for blood just because you are a male teen with long hair and wear all black and wardrobe contains only "devil worshiping" band t-shirts... and other factors can impact a case and send innocent people to jail. There was even NO physical evidence of any sort, that linked them to the crime.
These poor kids were robbed of their life. They were in "wrong place at wrong time"...more

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Feb 11, 2009 Caleb is currently reading it

Shelves: q3-2009

Mara Leveritt, with her ingenious reporting and research, sure has brought up a good example of a badly abused criminal justice system in her novel Devil's Knot. In 1993, three young boys without the permission of their parents ventured into the Robin Hood woods one May evening in West Memphis arkansas, the next day their bodies would be found in a ditch close to a truck stop located not far from the woods they had been in the night before. Police took the case into investigation right away and...more Mara Leveritt, with her ingenious reporting and research, sure has brought up a good example of a badly abused criminal justice system in her novel Devil's Knot. In 1993, three young boys without the permission of their parents ventured into the Robin Hood woods one May evening in West Memphis arkansas, the next day their bodies would be found in a ditch close to a truck stop located not far from the woods they had been in the night before. Police took the case into investigation right away and thinking it had to do with satanic cults they quickly accused three young teenagers of the crime. The West Memphis court would find them guilty and would sentence two to life, and one to death. I, like the author, believe that this was an in justice act becuase no evidence was found to accuse the young men of the crime. Are we not innocent until proven quilty anymore? Isnt this just like the Salam witch trails that happen over 300 years ago. If you are in to true crime books like Devils's Knot, You can not miss this read.

Level one

Where did the three little boys go the night of May 5th 1993? Most say that the boys ventured into Robin Hood Woods.

What made the people kill these young 8 years olds? The police it was because of satanic cults.

Why did police believe that Damien Echoles was a part of the murders? Becuase of his dark past and being active in cults

Level Two

Was the false aligations and fallicies of the crime and lack of evidence good enough to prove the teenagers in the book of the crime?
They lost there court case and were sentenced to jail two for live and one for death, but some believe they should be free.

Is there anyway that the murder could have been someone closer to the boys? Maybe but to the police and jury of the case there was no strong evidence to give the police probable cause to accuse anyone.

Level Three

With the case being decided with the idea of witchcraft, being implict and close to something of the salem witch trails, is this case a prime example of religion being used in a courtroom when our judicial states laws sepparating church and state?

Most people believe so but nothing has been done since this midevil case.
(less)

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Nov 11, 2012 Capiz rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked this up for several reasons. For one, I've been hearing about this case from friends of mine for a really, really long time. For another, now that the WM3 have been released, they're turning Devil's Knot into a movie which is being shot in my homestate. (Incidentally, *not* Arkansas.) For a third thing, a friend of mine is going to be in the movie. So when I found the book on sale, I figured what the hell and gave it a shot.

And it... made me unreasonably angry, which is a mark of a boo...more

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May 29, 2012 pip rated it 4 of 5 stars

this title is outdated, but it served as a pretty comprehensive look at the evidence that was presented in the trials and subsequent appeals filed by the defendants up until the early 2000's...

it was not an easy read...for one thing, the gritty, uncompromising look at the particulars of the crimes was hard in places to look at head on...so disturbing, what was done to these three little boys, that it makes you mentally flinch away...i found myself having to put it down and walk away, take a brea...more this title is outdated, but it served as a pretty comprehensive look at the evidence that was presented in the trials and subsequent appeals filed by the defendants up until the early 2000's...

it was not an easy read...for one thing, the gritty, uncompromising look at the particulars of the crimes was hard in places to look at head on...so disturbing, what was done to these three little boys, that it makes you mentally flinch away...i found myself having to put it down and walk away, take a breather until i could bear to face more...

also, there was such a overwhelming amount of evidence, lack of evidence, contradictions, oversights, outright mistakes, and numerous evidence of glaring misconduct committed by law enforcement and various players in the larger judicial system all through the evolution of the case, that the writer was at some pains to present it in a comprehensive, chronological narrative manner....

that said, i think she did achieve a comprehensive look at how it all went so terribly terribly wrong and while there have been subsequent updates in the cases of each of the defendants since its writing, i think the book, overall, achieves what i presume to be it's purpose, which was to call a more intense scrutiny to this travesty of American justice, and to serve as a warning to the rest of us subject to the American justice system that all is not as fair and balanced as we are led to believe, and that 'presumed innocent until proven guilty' is often a misnomer, one that could entangle any of us in a web of misinformation, ineptitude and corruption that could result in a cost of lives, both literally and figuratively....

at the conclusion, the book leaves one hanging, with all three defendants still languishing in prison, one on death row, with a 1/3 of their young lives spent there for a crime none of them could have committed...

since then other books have been written, documentaries and movies have been made, evidence has been retested, new suspects developed and others that were once considered to be good candidates to have been fingered as the 'real killer' have been cleared and finallyfinally, on August 19, 2011 the three young men that were railroaded into conviction for the heinous murders of the three innocent young boys who this story 'should' have been about, have been freed after spending 18 yrs in prison, pleading guilty in exchange for time served under a odd lil twist of jurisprudence that allowed them to maintain their innocence while acknowledging that the state had sufficient evidence to convict them...

while the fact that they have been freed is both relieving and satisfying, i personally feel that it was just another backhanded slap at justice that has allowed those culpable in the conspiracy of ineptitude that caused these boys' lives to have been stolen from them to save face and carry on to corrupt American jurisprudence another day...

and the real killer or killers has yet to be positively identified, or tried...an important observation to keep in mind....would he/they have been caught and convicted by now, had not law enforcement so badly mishandled this case?...and it should not be overlooked in all of this...that killer is still out there, that committed these heinous acts, presumably capable of killing again....

i think the author of this work, the authors and film makers of other works both before and after this book's publication, the creators and participants of the website dedicated to freeing the West Memphis Three, all those, known and anonymous, that supported their respective efforts, and HBO should all be recognized and rewarded for fighting the good fight on behalf of these kids that were hopelessly overwhelmed and undergunned in a fight for their lives and their sanity...

and i think those responsible for the mistakes and the overt and illegal actions to railroad these kids should all be subject to prosecution...i realize that is unlikely, especially now, given that the boys have accepted this extraordinary plea in order to try to salvage something from the tatters of their life, but just as in my following of this case, along with millions of others all over the world, i continue to hold out hope...

if there is a God?....justice will be served, one way or the other...real justice....for all parties involved, known and unknown....(less)

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Sep 02, 2011 Chicklit rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, kindle

It's always difficult for me to assign a rating to a book like this. Was it well-written? Yes. Did it make me think? Yes. Was I profoundly disturbed by how American justice can go so wrong? Absolutely. Do I hate that it had to be written in the first place? Definitely.

I began reading this shortly after the release of the West Memphis Three. Having only vague recollections of the murders and the trial from when I was a teenager, I wanted a better understanding of the case. And a better understand...more

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Aug 03, 2010 Ed Eleazer rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this in 2002 when it first came out, but have re-read it in preparation for a freshman composition class I'm teaching this fall, where the theme is "witch hunts." As other reviewers have pointed out, here, Leveritt is not unbiased, but it is hard to be unbiased in the face of such overwhelming evidence--that these three young men were the victims of a witch hunt quite similar to the day care center trials of the 1990's and ultimately to the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century. T...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: journalism, crime

Reading this now with the knowledge that the three unjustly convicted defendants in this case have now been freed should make this story less infuriating. It doesn't. Three innocent teenagers lost 18 years of their lives, and three eight year old boys murders have never been solved. It's reprehensible that this could happen, much less in the United States in the 1990s.

Leveritt has thoroughly researched and retold this account of shoddy police work, a judge with severe conflict of interest issue...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Lauren Stanek rated it 3 of 5 stars

Even though I'd heard of the WM3 prior to reading this book, I didn't now much about the trial aspect and the investigation as far as other suspects. I thought it was very well-researched and covered the before and after. Obviously, the book is out of date at this point since so much has happened since the early 2000s. M only complaints (and one is very minor) are that: 1. The book is written completely from the defense perspective. I think most familiar with the case would agree that there were...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This book sheds some serious light into the case of the West Memphis Three and the Robin Hood Hills murders. As I had said in my status updates, it's just infuriating to see all the wrong that was done to these three teenage boys, and it's hard to believe they are still sitting in jail to this day. I tried to read this with an objective point of view, but that became increasingly difficult the more I read. People are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and ther...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an upsetting and disturbing book that actually changed my opinion on the death penalty. The book follows the crime, arrest, trial and conviction of the killing of 3 boys in West Memphis. I'm not 100% convinced the three convicted didn't actually committ the murders, but I'm not sure they did either and yet they are in prison for life and one on death row.

I used to be supporter of the death penalty, believing that it was a just penalty for certain crimes. I still believe that in theory,...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

excellent book about a horrific crime and a tragic miscarriage of justice. anyone interested in true-crime, witch hunts, or the legal system will probably like this book. the only reason i didn't give it 5 stars is because there have been a number of developments in this case since the book was written. i can hardly fault the author for that, but she draws conclusions about possible suspects who have been cleared, and treats someone who has emerged as the prime suspect (in the eyes of those who...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a sad story, about police officer's not doing a thorough job on checking out the real facts of the problem. I feel bad for the guys who were harassed by the police officers. Had their been more detailing and researching, I believe that they would have been able to arrest the real criminals who did the crime. I don't think that it is right for police officers to harass anyone. I do feel sorry for the victims also, but I also feel sorry for the ones who got arrested when in my opinion the...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a well-researched and polished true crime novel. The writer is a seasoned journalist and she made sure to dot her i's, etc. She talks to basically everyone involved and presents a clear picture of what went on - and makes a strong case for the innocence of the West Memphis Three. My only gripe, and it's a minor one, is that the book ends abruptly in 2002. It then has a few afterwords tacked on to update the reader up until the present day. Now, a lot of that can't be helped - the author...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Tessa Foreman rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book after reading "Life After Death" by Damien Echols, one of the teens convicted of murder in this case. The one sentenced to death. I knew enough about the case prior to reading Echols' book that I believed that the 3 had been wrongly convicted. I just kept thinking, though, that surely the cops, the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, had some reasonable foundation upon which they made made this horrible mistake. It couldn't have been based on absolutely no evidence at all. It just...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Ricky Henderson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tragic story, superbly told. The levels of stupidity, incompetence, ignorance and dare I say it corruption displayed by the West Memphis police department and the whole judiciary system there is staggering. This book will have you boiling with anger when you read about the deliberate attempts to deny and discredit by all who were meant to be serving justice. Three young innocent boys murdered and instead of attempting to find the real killers, those who are charged with seeking the truth railroa...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Kerry rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent, albeit skewed, tale of the WM3. Although it's clear that the author believes that the Three are wrongly imprisoned, she does take the time to explore the point of view of the prosecutors and the families of the victims (at the time). The problem with this book and, in reality, with all investigatory media regarding this case, is that the real investigation is now moving so fast that media like books and movies can't keep up. There's new evidence and evidence revisited almost every...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Tyler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Holy fucking shit.

This book is so incredibly interesting, well-written, and well researched. I had absolutely no idea about this particular case and murder prior to reading this book. I merely picked up the book because I had heard Scott Derrickson bought the rights to it, and I am a fan of Scott Derrickson.

Being as objective as I possibly can, this book does a very good job of showing a very, very, VERY, reasonable doubt that these 3 kids were not in involved in these murders. I don't want to g...more

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