West Memphis Three case taking ugly turn

Wrongful conviction cases are often emotional minefields. This is particularly true when the case gets national media attention or it has multiple defendants and legal teams. So it’s not surprising that divisions are surfacing in the high-profile case of West Memphis Three, who were released last year after entering guilty pleas while asserting their innocence.

Evidence of rift between Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley surfaced last week, when The New York Times reported here that Baldwin and Echols weren’t speaking because of Echols’ criticism of Baldwin for allegedly delaying their release in his forthcoming book, Life After Death.

Yesterday, the Arkansas Times went into greater detail, reporting that “Echols unceremoniously throws fellow WM3’er Jason Baldwin and Baldwin’s defense team under the bus.” You can read the actual quotes and reactions here.

All of this upsets noted forensic scientist Brent Turvey, who helped turn the WM3 case around in the early stages.

“There are many rifts and divisions, some created by misinformation and some created by egos, that exist with the WM3 camps,” Turvey wrote on Facebook today. “The attorneys have been among the worst of these — each clamoring for publicity and credit. It is a strange and perverse thing to bear witness to. . . . When the films start rolling out, it will only get more obscene. It saddens the soul.”