Posts Tagged ‘DA Dustin McDaniel’

Confidential Calls to West Memphis PD Point to Hobbs?

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012

Damien Echols’s attorneys have made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all documents, recordings, logs, calls or tips regarding the West Memphis 3 case.  They  have requested any potential new evidence in the form of confidential phone calls placed to the West Memphis Police Department’s tip line recorded since August 19, 2011, regarding the involvement of Terry Hobbs or anyone else in the murder of the three children. The West Memphis Police Department currently operates a Crime Stoppers Confidential Tip Line at (870) 732-4444.

According to a sworn statement from Laird Williams, who was visiting the West Memphis Police Department on August 14, 2012, he was told that the WMPD had received numerous confidential calls over the past year, many concerning the possible involvement of Terry Hobbs, stepfather of victim, Stevie Branch.

“On August 14, 2012, I met an associate from the University of Memphis School of Law at the offices of the West Memphis Police Department located at 626 East Broadway, West Memphis, AR, to review materials germane to the 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch and Michael Moore. While in the WPMD offices, I was informed that the West Memphis Police Department is constantly receiving calls via their tip line regarding Terry Hobbs’s potential involvement in the murders of these three young boys, one of which was his stepson, Steve Branch. I was told one caller, a man who worked with Terry Hobbs when the murders occurred, had called repeatedly. I requested the procedures for dealing with these tips and was informed that the calls are recorded and delivered to the Criminal Investigation Division, headed by Captain Ken Mitchell. What CID does with this information is unknown.”

Based upon this information, which was corroborated by others who were present with Williams on August 14, Little Rock attorney Patrick Benca, who represents Damien Echols, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for “All documents, recordings, logs regarding phone calls or ‘tips’ made to the West Memphis Police Department tip line from August 19, 2011 until the present date regarding what has been described as the ‘West Memphis 3 case.”

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley were freed from custody on August 18, 2011.

The City Attorney for West Memphis Arkansas, David C. Peeples, rejected Benca’s request for information in two separate letters. In one letter dated September 19, 2012, Peeples denies that the WMPD has any information, “Please be advised that the West Memphis Police Department does not have any existing records that specifically set out the information sought in your request.”

Patrick Benca said, “We have reason to believe that the West Memphis Police Department has received information in the form of confidential calls to their tip line which has the potential to be very important to Damien Echols’s case, and that information should be made available to the defense team or those legal authorities responsible for reviewing such evidence. If the WMPD continues to refuse to turn over any and all information received that bears on the conviction of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley, we would respectfully ask them to turn that information over to District Prosecutor Scott Ellington for proper review.”

Prosecutor Ellington, who agreed to the Alford plea that allowed the three men to go free, has publicly stated numerous times that he would review any credible information regarding the case of the West Memphis 3.

Benca also suggests that anyone who has called the West Memphis Police Department with information about the WM3 case, please contact the WM3 Confidential Tip Line at (501) 256-1775. “There still remains a $200,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murders of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers.”

The West Memphis 3 Confidential Tip Line has been very effective in obtaining new evidence in the case pointing to the innocence of the three men. Calls made to the tip line by three eyewitnesses have placed Terry Hobbs with the children immediately before they disappeared. Three other callers provided sworn statements that Terry Hobbs’ nephew, Michael Hobbs Jr., revealed the Hobbs family secret: that his uncle Terry was responsible for the murder of the three children.

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Reward Upped to $200,000 To Find Killers in WM3 Case

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Another anonymous donor has come forward and, as a result, Damien Echols’s defense team has doubled the amount of the reward to $200,000 to find the real killers of the three young boys in the West Memphis 3 case. The donors have chosen to remain anonymous and have placed a time limit on the reward offer. If no direct evidence emerges, the funds will be allocated toward further DNA and investigative efforts.

Evidence will be turned over to Scott Ellington, District Prosecutor, who has committed to review evidence presented to him from Echols’s defense team.

 Little Rock attorney Patrick Benca said, “We are encouraged by the response to the original reward offer and have received some very important leads as to who may have killed these three little boys. Now that another supporter has stepped forward to pledge even more reward money, we feel confident that we will get to the bottom of this case.”

Capi Peck, founder of Arkansas Take Action, said, “It is time that those who know who committed this terrible crime come forward and provide information that can put this stain on the Arkansas criminal justice system to rest. It is just the right thing to do now. We do not intend to stop until those responsible are brought to justice, and those who spent half their lives imprisoned are exonerated.”

 Confidential Tip Line 501.256.1775 or send information to PO Box 183, 6834 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR 72207. See www.freewestmemphis3.org.

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$100,000 Reward for Information on Real Killer in WM3 Case

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

In an effort to find the real killer of the three boys in the West Memphis 3 case, an anonymous donor has offered a $100,000 reward for new information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murders of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore on May 5, 1993.

Billboards and radio advertising will promote the reward and encourage those with credible information to contact the confidential tip line as soon as possible. The confidential tip line number is 501.256.1775 or information can be sent to PO Box 183, 6834 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR 72207. Attorneys for Damien Echols will review all calls and verify the information provided. All credible evidence will be turned over to Scott Ellington, District  Prosecutor, who has said that he will review evidence presented to him from Echols’s defense team.

Little Rock attorney Patrick Benca, said, “There are people in Arkansas who have information about who killed these three little boys and we encourage them to come forward now. We want to bring those responsible to justice. We are not looking for theories, but for real information that can put the true criminal(s) behind bars.”

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were freed in August 2011, after serving eighteen years in the wrongful conviction murder of the three children in 1993. Their freedom was based upon a plea agreement in which, while maintaining their innocence, the three agreed to an Alford plea. They were released based upon time served. The three, men, who unequivocally claim they are innocent, nevertheless accepted the deal to get out of prison. They have vowed to continue to fight to seek justice in the case and want the real killers to be found.

Capi Peck, founder of Arkansas Take Action, said, “We know Damien, Jason and Jessie were not involved in this crime, and that those responsible are still in our community.  It may be difficult to provide information about a murder, but it is the right thing to do. We are hopeful that this reward will motivate someone to help put an end to these tragic events.”

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Hair DNA Found with WM3 Crime Scene Evidence Excludes Echols, Baldwin & Misskelley

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

In a final report on DNA testing filed in the court of Second Judicial District Judge David N. Laser, mitochondrial DNA testing of hair found with crime scene evidence conclusively excludes Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley.

Most of the hairs tested were from the victims. However, one hair found with one of  the victim’s blue jeans and wallet has a DNA profile that remains unidentified.  In a DNA report filed last week, it was revealed that human DNA found on the shoes of murder victim Chris Byers also conclusively excluded the three men, but was linked to two unidentified male individuals.

According to the report, “Bode’s (Bode Technology) further comparative testing analysis also (once again) excludes Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley as the source of this new, non-victim hair.” A scientific analysis of the shoelaces used to bind the three children is expected shortly. 

It was previously established that a hair found in the ligatures that bound one of the victims is linked to Terry Hobbs, stepfather of victim Stevie Branch. According to three new eyewitnesses who have come forward, Terry Hobbs was with the three children at his home at approximately 6:30 p.m., shortly before the boys disappeared and were murdered. Hobbs has denied under oath that he was with the children at any time on the day of their murders.

Capi Peck, co-founder of Arkansas Take Action, said, “This newly discovered DNA evidence that excludes Damien, Jason and Jessie, combined with all other evidence of their innocence, will hopefully lead to a new trial for the three young men who have now served close to 18 years in prison for a crime many Arkansans believe they did not commit.”

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Echols Judge to Rule on Jury Misconduct

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Attorneys for Damien Echols  filed a reply brief on May 26, 2011 challenging the Arkansas Attorney General’s view that the blatant juror misconduct at the original trial was not relevant in a hearing for a new trial. “Evidence of jury misconduct at the Echols-Baldwin trial is germane to the Court’s present inquiry because it eliminates not only a presumption that the verdicts were valid but also any inference that the substantive evidence adduced at the trial was deemed reliable or credible by the Echols-Baldwin jury.”

Attorneys  for Echols asked presiding  Judge David Laser to admit evidence of juror misconduct into this proceeding and to conduct oral arguments and allow witness testimony. They also asked the judge to conduct a separate hearing on the juror misconduct prior to the December 5, 2001 court date to ensure that there be ample time to present all the evidence.

The office of the Arkansas Attorney General had submitted a brief to the Craighead County Court of Judge David Laser agreeing to the admission of juror misconduct evidence in evidentiary hearings in the West Memphis 3 case. According to the Attorney General’s filing, “The State does not resist admission of the juror misconduct evidence, although the State does not believe it will aid the Court’ resolution of the question on remand – whether a new trial would result in acquittal.”

Judge David Laser is expected to rule shortly.

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Damien Echols Asks for DNA Testing and FBI Files

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

ECHOLS REQUESTS DNA TESTING OF HAIRS FROM CRIME SCENE

Asks Judge Laser to Allow DNA Analysis of Crime Scene Material Never Tested and All Information Held by the FBI

(Little Rock, Arkansas—March 30, 2011)  In a brief filed today in the court of Second Judicial District Circuit Judge David N. Laser, Damien Echols’s defense team asked for permission to conduct DNA, fiber, and fingerprint tests on certain materials found at the crime scene and elsewhere, some of which could not be tested in 1993 because the testing technology was unavailable.

The attorneys requested all material held by the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory and certain forensic evidence possibly in the possession of the West Memphis Police Department, LabCorp (formerly known as Genetic Design), the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, the University of North Texas Health Science Center, and the FBI. The requested material includes:

  • All hair retrieved from the crime scene.
  • All remaining biological material, including “skin cuticles” from the ligatures.
  • All of the victims’ clothing, including shoes and shoelaces.
  • The non-ligature portion of the one black shoelace that was apparently cut in half.
  • All other physical evidence from the crime scene, including sheriff’s badge, bike reflector lights, bicycles, ice pick, cigarette packets and cigarette butts, child’s wallet, hook and rope, and all wooden sticks.
  • The wooden planks removed from the tree fort near the crime scene.
  • The white sheets in which the victims’ bodies were transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office, and the white paper on which the victims’ clothing was dried before being examined.

In addition, the brief requests that the court agree to the testing of  “… green vegetable-like material from Steve Branch’s stomach.” The defense has developed new evidence indicating that Pam Hobbs, Stevie’s mother and Terry’s wife at the time, prepared “Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner for Stevie on the night of May 5th before she went to work at 4:30 that day. Terry Hobbs drove Pam to work and then returned home approximately fifteen minutes later. If the green vegetable-like material found in Stevie’s stomach turns out to be green beans, then that fact would tend to help prove that Stevie was in his home sometime after 4:30 P.M. on the day he disappeared, which would likewise provide some corroboration for the new witnesses‘ testimony that Stevie went to his house around 6:30 P.M. that day.”

Three eyewitnesses have provided sworn statements to the court that place Terry Hobbs with the three children at his home at approximately 6:30 p.m., immediately before they disappeared and were murdered.

Capi Peck, co-founder of Arkansas Take Action, said, “We hope that Judge David Laser will grant Damien Echols’s request for DNA, fiber, and fingerprint testing of all material in this case that might provide additional information. The defendants have all requested—and offered to pay for—such additional DNA and scientific testing, thus revealing their lack of fear about what those results might show. It seems to me that the Attorney General’s opposition to additional testing is exactly backwards of what it should be on this issue.  It is precisely the truth of these testing results that the State should be looking for—not hiding from.”

New evidence confidential tip line – 501-256-1775

For more information about this case see:

www.freewestmemphis3.org

www.wm3.org

http://www,falseconfessions.org

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Arkansas DA Fights Echols’s Request for More DNA Tests

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

I first met Damien Echols when I visited him on death row at the Supermax Varner Unit in Grady, Arkansas, when I began to work on this case at the behest of his wife and co-founder of Arkansas Take Action, Lorri Davis. Lorri and Damien were aware that I had helped lead the public campaign to free Martin Tankleff in New York. Marty served 18 years of a 50 years to life sentence based upon a coerced, false confession. Sound familiar?

What is most familiar about the Marty Tankleff and West Memphis 3 cases, however, is the behavior of the prosecutors. When I first met Damien, he asked if police and prosecutors in New York were different from those in Arkansas, maybe more sensitive to the rule of law, concerned with common decency and honesty. Nothing could be worse, he reasoned, than what he has experienced at the hands of prosecutors over the past eighteen years.

I wish I could have had a better, more hopeful answer for him. “The only thing different about prosecutors in New York is their accents,” I told him.

Arkansas District Attorney Dustin McDaniel seems intent on doing anything he can to be uncooperative in the evidentiary hearings being briefed before Judge David Laser in Craighead County Court, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In the District Attorney’s opposition brief filed on February 18, 2011, prosecutors have expressed their desire to fight the defense on additional DNA testing, as well as on the shocking juror misconduct which introduced Jessie’s patently false confession into deliberations in Damien and Jason’s trial.

The State put huge emphasis on the value of forensic evidence and the lack thereof at the crime scene and it should therefore welcome any additional information that could clear up any misgivings as to who may have committed this crime.

In 1993 DNA testing was in its infancy and many items of evidence in this case yielded no useful result or were deemed too small to test. Since that time DNA testing has taken exponential leaps forward. We are merely requesting the opportunity to test items that have not been tested or were not deemed worthy of testing in 1993.

The multitude of post-conviction DNA exonerations tells us that science can be a more reliable arbiter of justice than jurors, who, being human, like prosecutors, are subject to human error. We assume the State places far more value on finding out the truth than in protecting three possible wrongful convictions.

It’s all in the accents, Damien.

Lonnie Soury

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Briefs Filed: New DNA Testing Requested of Court

Friday, February 18th, 2011

The attorneys representing Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley filed legal briefs reviewing the breadth of evidence they wish to present in upcoming evidentiary hearings before Craighead County Court Judge David Laser. It is expected that Judge Laser will review the briefs and issue directions impacting the scope of new DNA testing, scheduling, and other matters raised by the defense and prosecution.

Among the issues the court will be asked to review in establishing whether Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley deserve a new trial include DNA evidence, both existing and new material to be tested, alibi evidence, false confession evidence, juror misconduct evidence, forensic evidence covering cause of death and cause of injuries (animal predation), new witness statements, motive evidence, night of murder evidence, etc.

The attorneys also ask the court to review existing evidence already presented during the previous court proceedings including the Rule 37 hearings for all the men, as well as materials presented to the Arkansas Supreme Court. New expert forensic witnesses will likely be called.

Echols’s defense team also expects to call Terry Hobbs, his friend David Jacoby (who is the DNA-indicated likely source of another hair recovered at the crime scene and who was with Hobbs on the day the victims disappeared) and a fair number of other witnesses to testify about Hobbs’s and Jacoby’s actions on the night of May 5, 1993 and in the days that followed.

Lonnie Soury

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