West Memphis 3 Crime Scene Photos ✦ Working

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley are free, but the case remains unsolved. The real killer—whether Terry Hobbs (the stepfather of Stevie Branch, whose hair was found at the scene) or another unknown predator—is still out there. And somewhere in a police evidence locker, the original negatives of those crime scene photos wait for the day when modern DNA technology might finally reveal what really happened in the Robin Hood Hills on May 5, 1993.

The key finding: The photos showed that the ligature marks (from the shoelaces) were not consistent with a struggle. Moreover, high-resolution scans of the ditch photos revealed fibers and hair that had never been DNA-tested. Most damningly, new photographs of the victims’ DNA showed that none of the three convicted teens' DNA was present at the scene. Not a single hair, fingerprint, or drop of blood linked Echols, Baldwin, or Misskelley to the images documented by police. west memphis 3 crime scene photos

The Alford Plea (2011): In August 2011, after 18 years in prison, the three men were released via an Alford plea—allowing them to maintain their innocence while acknowledging the state had enough evidence to convict them. The crime scene photos, which had been used to create a monster out of a goth teenager, were ultimately overshadowed by the total lack of forensic evidence tying them to the scene. For true crime researchers, the West Memphis 3 crime scene photos remain a unique piece of forensic data. They are a textbook example of "confirmation bias" in criminal justice. The prosecution saw Satanic cult symbols. The defense saw a tragic drowning/animal attack. The truth likely lies somewhere in between, but the photos cannot lie—they show what is not there: no blood trail, no murder weapon, no DNA. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley are

It was on the internet—specifically on message boards and the now-famous "WM3.org" website—that the photos began to circulate unofficially. Leaked copies of the autopsy and crime scene photos became evidence for "armchair detectives." Amateur analysts overlapped the photos with topographic maps, measuring shadows to determine the time of death. They zoomed in on the wounds to challenge the medical examiner’s conclusions. The key finding: The photos showed that the