Mariposa De La Luna
June 1st, 2001, 03:23 PM
I forgot all about this but I just checked my email and thought I'd share it. Visit the site to learn more.
Free The West Memphis Three
Local Activists spur local, national rallies June 3rd
They come from all walks of life; urban, rural and suburban; professionals,
university professors, students, high school dropouts, blue collar laborers
and
homemakers; Christian, Atheists, Pagans and everything in between. Around
the country, and even across the world, in Australia, supporters of the
so-called "West Memphis Three" prepare for the ominous 8th anniversary on
June 3rd of the arrests of three young men they believe were wrongfully
tried and
convicted for the capitol murder of three eight-year-old Arkansas boys.
Amidst nationwide and international cries for a moratorium on the death
penalty in the US, these groups are uniting to bring this case back into the
public
eye through rallies that will occur on that date.
Although two documentaries made by Creative Thinking International have been
shown around the world via HBO, the case has garnered relatively little
public
attention. Many big names in rock music donated tunes to a compilation
benefit CD last year, and a website, http://www.WM3.org , is maintained that
includes case
information and court documentation, or the lack thereof.
Despite public support from celebrities such as Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam,
the band Metallica, and Trey Parker, creator of South Park shouting "Free
The West
Memphis Three" after accepting his MTV Movie Award, the three young men
remain imprisoned.
And that is what the rally organizers wish to change.
Guidelines for local production of the rally were loose; public attention
was more the intent. Local activists in Dallas have been involved in the
West
Memphis Three case for the past three years, and the efforts they've
spearheaded have brought fruit--rallies are being organized coast-to-coast,
and some
public attention has been received.
Since the days when the rally idea was in it's infancy, however,
developments in the case have somewhat changed the focus. Originally
intended to inform,
the rallies now have the purpose of funding the legal battle to take the
case to the Supreme Court. Ed Mallet, a prominent Houston, TX attorney, has
been
taking the case pro bono (at no cost to the client) for several years, but
two months ago, after the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned the appeal for
his
client Damien Echols, (convicted as the "ringleader" of the group, and the
only one of the three sentenced to death), it was announced that the luxury
of a
part-time pro-bono attorney was no longer practical, and a defense fund was
opened.
Many of the rallies are charging admission which will benefit this defense
fund. All will take donations for the WM3 Legal Defense Fund. Activities
range
from bands, to raffles, to car washes, to screening of the films, and
locations will vary just as wildly...clubs, community centers, and New York
City's
Central Park. All will focus on the circumstantial nature of the evidence
brought against the accused, the incomplete autopsies of the victims, the
judge
who convicted them, and then rejected their appeals, the reports ignored by
police of a possible alternate murder suspect, in short the complete
travesty of
justice that has plagued and become the "West Memphis Three" case.
Free The West Memphis Three
Local Activists spur local, national rallies June 3rd
They come from all walks of life; urban, rural and suburban; professionals,
university professors, students, high school dropouts, blue collar laborers
and
homemakers; Christian, Atheists, Pagans and everything in between. Around
the country, and even across the world, in Australia, supporters of the
so-called "West Memphis Three" prepare for the ominous 8th anniversary on
June 3rd of the arrests of three young men they believe were wrongfully
tried and
convicted for the capitol murder of three eight-year-old Arkansas boys.
Amidst nationwide and international cries for a moratorium on the death
penalty in the US, these groups are uniting to bring this case back into the
public
eye through rallies that will occur on that date.
Although two documentaries made by Creative Thinking International have been
shown around the world via HBO, the case has garnered relatively little
public
attention. Many big names in rock music donated tunes to a compilation
benefit CD last year, and a website, http://www.WM3.org , is maintained that
includes case
information and court documentation, or the lack thereof.
Despite public support from celebrities such as Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam,
the band Metallica, and Trey Parker, creator of South Park shouting "Free
The West
Memphis Three" after accepting his MTV Movie Award, the three young men
remain imprisoned.
And that is what the rally organizers wish to change.
Guidelines for local production of the rally were loose; public attention
was more the intent. Local activists in Dallas have been involved in the
West
Memphis Three case for the past three years, and the efforts they've
spearheaded have brought fruit--rallies are being organized coast-to-coast,
and some
public attention has been received.
Since the days when the rally idea was in it's infancy, however,
developments in the case have somewhat changed the focus. Originally
intended to inform,
the rallies now have the purpose of funding the legal battle to take the
case to the Supreme Court. Ed Mallet, a prominent Houston, TX attorney, has
been
taking the case pro bono (at no cost to the client) for several years, but
two months ago, after the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned the appeal for
his
client Damien Echols, (convicted as the "ringleader" of the group, and the
only one of the three sentenced to death), it was announced that the luxury
of a
part-time pro-bono attorney was no longer practical, and a defense fund was
opened.
Many of the rallies are charging admission which will benefit this defense
fund. All will take donations for the WM3 Legal Defense Fund. Activities
range
from bands, to raffles, to car washes, to screening of the films, and
locations will vary just as wildly...clubs, community centers, and New York
City's
Central Park. All will focus on the circumstantial nature of the evidence
brought against the accused, the incomplete autopsies of the victims, the
judge
who convicted them, and then rejected their appeals, the reports ignored by
police of a possible alternate murder suspect, in short the complete
travesty of
justice that has plagued and become the "West Memphis Three" case.