WM3 Update
Defense to appeal in West Memphis killings case
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) -- A defense lawyer for one of three men convicted in the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis boys said Thursday a notice of appeal would be filed within days of a judge's ruling denying a new trial in the case.
Dennis Riordan of San Francisco, who represents death-row inmate Damien Echols, said the appeal would be filed with the Arkansas Supreme Court. The high court previously upheld the convictions.
Crittenden County Circuit Judge David Burnett on Wednesday rejected claims that new DNA evidence proves the innocence of Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. Burnett also said that even if he agreed that the new DNA evidence should be heard in court, he would deny Echols' request for a trial because there was "not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted."
The men, known as the "West Memphis Three" by supporters who include music celebrities, were teenagers when the bodies of 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Michael, Moore, and Christopher Byers were found in a drainage ditch May 6, 1993, near their neighborhood. The boys were last seen the day before riding their bicycles.
Both Baldwin and Misskelley claim their trial lawyers failed to adequately represent them during their separate trial's. Misskelley told investigators he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape. Misskelley did not testify against his co-defendants, however, who were tried together.
Baldwin was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Misskelley was convicted of first-degree murder in Moore's death and second-degree murder in the deaths of the other two boys. He was sentenced to life plus 40 years.
U.S. District Court Judge William R. Wilson Jr. ruled last year that claims about the DNA evidence first needed to be heard in state courts.
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) -- A defense lawyer for one of three men convicted in the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis boys said Thursday a notice of appeal would be filed within days of a judge's ruling denying a new trial in the case.
Dennis Riordan of San Francisco, who represents death-row inmate Damien Echols, said the appeal would be filed with the Arkansas Supreme Court. The high court previously upheld the convictions.
Crittenden County Circuit Judge David Burnett on Wednesday rejected claims that new DNA evidence proves the innocence of Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. Burnett also said that even if he agreed that the new DNA evidence should be heard in court, he would deny Echols' request for a trial because there was "not compelling evidence that he would be acquitted."
The men, known as the "West Memphis Three" by supporters who include music celebrities, were teenagers when the bodies of 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Michael, Moore, and Christopher Byers were found in a drainage ditch May 6, 1993, near their neighborhood. The boys were last seen the day before riding their bicycles.
Both Baldwin and Misskelley claim their trial lawyers failed to adequately represent them during their separate trial's. Misskelley told investigators he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape. Misskelley did not testify against his co-defendants, however, who were tried together.
Baldwin was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Misskelley was convicted of first-degree murder in Moore's death and second-degree murder in the deaths of the other two boys. He was sentenced to life plus 40 years.
U.S. District Court Judge William R. Wilson Jr. ruled last year that claims about the DNA evidence first needed to be heard in state courts.