This week I watched Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2, and these three are obviously innocent. The case reminds me of The Thin Blue Line, although the Paradise Lost docs are not at the level of greatness of that doc. There was a recent article in the LA Times, by a UCLA law professor, talking about introducing a kind of prosecutorial ombudsman to try to prevent frivolous cases from being brought. But that assumes the prosecutors and police in West Memphis were conducting their jobs honestly, and I seriously doubt that’s the case. They had nothing so they phonied up a bogus case that was sensationalistic enough that they could corrupt the jury pool and promote their own careers in the process.
It also reminds me of the “don’t talk to the police” videos. If the WM3 had not said anything to the cops, just sat there silently, no charges could have ever been filed. There would have been no “confession”, and Damien and Jason wouldn’t have been implicated. Then perhaps the authorities would have had to conduct an investigation for real. Sort of like Peter Jackson et al. are doing now.
This week I watched Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2, and these three are obviously innocent. The case reminds me of The Thin Blue Line, although the Paradise Lost docs are not at the level of greatness of that doc. There was a recent article in the LA Times, by a UCLA law professor, talking about introducing a kind of prosecutorial ombudsman to try to prevent frivolous cases from being brought. But that assumes the prosecutors and police in West Memphis were conducting their jobs honestly, and I seriously doubt that’s the case. They had nothing so they phonied up a bogus case that was sensationalistic enough that they could corrupt the jury pool and promote their own careers in the process.
It also reminds me of the “don’t talk to the police” videos. If the WM3 had not said anything to the cops, just sat there silently, no charges could have ever been filed. There would have been no “confession”, and Damien and Jason wouldn’t have been implicated. Then perhaps the authorities would have had to conduct an investigation for real. Sort of like Peter Jackson et al. are doing now.
I haven’t read Jackson’s piece yet, but Carson’s was excellent. I often disagree with him, but this was spot on.