Looks as if the Arkansas judicial system has come to its senses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html

A shining example of why one should trust neither the police nor the legal system.

Unless you're rich, of course, then you can trust them to bend over backwards to help you.

Nobody came to their senses. The prosecutor knew they were going to get a retrial and knew there was DNA evidence exonerating them. He admitted he released them because there was the possibility that he was going to look like the big, fat, bible-thumping moron he is...

I like how they plead guity without admitting guilt. If I was them, I'd get the fuck outta Dodge.

Way to destroy 3 lives, Arkansas.

If you plead guilty, it stays on your record, you can be imprisoned again if they so choose, you will be stigmatized by your community and therefore more likely to commit crimes again, and you cannot sue for false arrest and false imprisonment. Seems pretty logical...

* Thrash shakes his head *

Chief Detective Gary Gitchell, infamous for saying "eleven" to reporters when asked the accuracy of his sleuth work on a scale of one to ten in catching the right culprits, retired from the police force and created his own investigative team in Memphis, Tenn.

 

Sen. David Burnett, who constantly refused to warrant independent investigations and thwarted appeals for new evidence in a retrial as presiding judge over the case, rose to the power of State Senator.

These are only a few of the faces that have made a living off of the 1993 witch trials in West Memphis.

This was a hard lesson learned for the legal system in Arkansas. Without the Alford Plea deal, their asses would have been roasted. And now that the American economy is bust, the state of Arkansas couldn't afford an expensive trial that would inevitably lead to the release of the three men. Now that the three men are technically "guilty" they cannot proclaim their innocence and sue the shit out of the state. I find this to be a 75/25 win with Arkansas as the victor.

After the real killers are convicted, they can have the Alford plea vacated and sue the shit out of everyone from Gitchell to Geraldo Rivera and Oprah for what was done to them and I hope they do.

* Thrash nods his head *

Does Arkansas have a 'no profit from crime' law stopping these guys from cashing out ?

Nope!

I'm pretty sure that some of these benefits have been used to raise funds for them when they get out, so hopefully they will have some financial assistance.

After the real killers are convicted, they can have the Alford plea vacated and sue the shit out of everyone from Gitchell to Geraldo Rivera and Oprah for what was done to them and I hope they do.

The real killer is getting a free pass... but if I was Hobbs, I'd be kinda nervous.

* Thrash nods his head *

Damien Echols should start a metal band now!