The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers

A Condensed, Revised Version of "Blood on Black" and "Where the Monsters Go"

By: Gary Meece

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The beaten, bound and mutilated bodies of three 8-year-olds, Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Branch, were pulled from a muddy ditch in a wooded area in West Memphis, Ark., on May 6, 1993. The boys had gone missing the day before. Weeks of investigation led to arrests of Damien Echols, 18, Jason Baldwin, 16, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. on June 3, 1993, after the 17-year-old Misskelley confessed that he and two friends murdered the boys. All three were convicted. The convictions held up on appeal. Eventually, thanks to Hollywood celebrities and misleading documentaries, the killers walked free. They passed up the opportunity to present new evidence, taking instead guilty pleas that allowed them to claim they were innocent. No exonerating evidence, despite many years of investigation and a defense fund in the millions of dollars, was produced. They became known as the West Memphis 3. This is a combined, revised, condensed version of “Blood on Black” and “Where the Monsters Go,” written by Gary Meece, a veteran Memphis Commercial Appeal journalist and the former managing editor of the West Memphis Evening Times.

Please note that spelling and grammatical errors in official documents have been retained.

No compelling evidence of guilt

I learned some interesting tidbits about the backgrounds of Echols & Baldwin but nothing that points to their guilt beyond what’s widely known. Relies heavily on things Misskelley said during his many ‘confessions’ that are easily explained and/or debunked. World class forensic pathologists have addressed the rape and mutilation claims. I’m always looking for things to challenge my views on things. This one didn’t do it for me. I’m still in the WM3 are innocent camp.

A superior and detailed account…

… of the complicated and notorious case of the Memphis Three. Unfortunately, this is another example of a well-crafted and beautifully composed story, almost completely ruined by the distracting, disruptive and inferior virtual voice narration. This is a critical error I hope fewer authors continue to make – trusting their well honed narratives, and carefully chosen words to the mispronounced, cloying and abject abortive failure of Virtual Voice.

Poorly written clear bias

It’s not well written, so many grammatical mistakes. Very hard to listen to. Ignores any facts that don’t fit the narrative he is pushing.

West Memphis 3 are absolutely guilty when you listen to the actual facts of the case.

Finally information on this case that isn’t tilted for the defense. All of the facts of the case.

Definitely didn't prove anything

The thing the author kept going back to was "Damian was a liar and lived in a trailer". Extremely repetitive, classist, poorly written, snide, etc.. I was 50/50 on if they did it, now I lean towards they're probably innocent. Absolutely disappointing. Thankfully this book is free. I got what I paid for!