Did Justice Go Awry

A New York Times article (October 12, 2009) raises

disturbing questions about a case that is 16 years old

involving three teenagers who were found guilty of

kidnapping and killing three young boys from Arkansas.

Two of the three are serving life sentences and the

third is on death row. The sentences were based on

the recanted and error-filled confession by one of

those charged. New DNA evidence points elsewhere

and people have come forward to strengthen the

alibis about where the convicted youth were at the

times when the little boys disappeared.

Even the parents of the victims are joining the cry for

a new trial. The town where all six lived is a very

small rural area and the new questions about guilt

are causing a schism between those who want a new

trial and those who say the trial was had and that

is enough.

Too many cases these days where questions are

raised about whether justice was absent. Is this

another instance of tunnel vision on the part of

police and the prosecutor or even worse a forced

confession? The three in prison are

Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr.

Echols is on death row and Kisskelley provided

the confession. You might want to keep a lookout

to see if the Arkansas Supreme Court grants a new

trial.