Updated: Hearing scheduled for Dec 5-21

The evidentiary hearing dates have been scheduled, according to freethewestmemphis3.org. The hearing will begin Dec. 5 at 9:30 a.m. at the courthouse in Jonesboro. The hearing will last three continuous weeks, until Dec. 21. Following the hearing Judge David Laser will decide whether the trio should be granted a new trial.

Lorri Davis, Damien's wife released a statement saying she is pleased with the order for a hearing:

“We are very pleased that Judge David Laser has ordered a three-week continuous evidentiary hearing to review evidence of the innocence of Damien, Jason and Jessie. He clearly wants this case to move as expeditiously as possible. I am hopeful that upon a full review of the evidence there will finally be justice by years end. Every day in solitary confinement for Damien, and maximum-security imprisonment for Jason and Jessie, is a day in hell.”

Read the order here. But again, the PDF is posted upside down for some reason.

Evidentiary Hearing Dates

A Jonesboro court has scheduled the evidentiary hearing for the West Memphis Three, according to the Arkansas Times - the hearing will be held between Oct. 1 and Dec. 15 and will last up to three weeks.

Click here to read the Arkansas Times blog and view the Judge's order - although, be warned, for some reason the PDF is posted upside down. The order also contains an interesting letter from an Arkansas attorney expressing concern about waiting until the fall for the hearing.

Thank-you Video at Largo Benefit

Below is a video message from Jason and Jessie which played at the Largo fundraising event in Los Angeles on Feb. 21. The event was sold out and had an amazing group of performers: comedians Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Paul F. Tompkins, Blaine Kapatch, Kyle Kinane, Matt Besser, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and musicians Aimee Mann and Michael Penn.


As a side note, I can't even imagine what 17 years, 8 months and 19 days in prison feels like. I watch Beyond Scared Straight on A&E and get uncomfortable.

False Confession Study

Professors at Iowa State University conducted a really interesting study about false confessions. They found in two separate experiments that people were willing to confess to things they didn't do in order to gain short term consequences (avoiding interrogation) rather than gain long term rewards (not getting charged with a crime you didn't commit). Below is a quote from one of the researchers:

"What we found is that our participants clearly made admission decisions on the basis of the proximal consequence," Madon [one of the researchers] said. "They would admit to having done some criminal or unethical behavior in order to avoid answering repetitive questions. And they did that even though they knew that it increased the likelihood that they would have to meet with the police officer in several weeks to discuss their answers in more detail."

Read more about the study here.
Jessie Miskelley's confession has been debated - and with new information coming out all the time about false confessions, it seems that any new court proceedings will contain a huge amount of false confession discussion.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get in contact with the researchers - I'll post more as soon as I learn anything good!

Unhappy Anniversary

Today marks an ominous day: It has officially been 17 years since the conviction and sentencing of Jessie Miskelley. Miskelley was found guilty of two counts of second degree murder and one count of first degree murder on February 4, 1994. Later that day he officially entered the Arkansas State Prison system to serve his sentence.

Highland Trailer Park In the News

The Crittenden County-area trailer park where Jessie Miskelley lived before his arrest was in the news this week. In fact, Jessie Miskelley Sr. is in the video.


 

Jessie Miskelley Interview

Jessie Miskelley gave an interview with Memphis' WREG-TV about his reaction to the Arkansas State Supreme Court's decision to give the trio an evidentiary hearing.