West of Memphis [Blu-ray]

ALFORD PLEA IS NOT JUSTICE!!!
This movie shows a true mistake in the American justice system. If you know anything about the case of the west Memphis 3 than you know that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr were wrongfully convicted of the murder of 3 eight year old boys. West Of Memphis shows the damning amount of evidence against Terry Hobbs a victims step father. He is the only parent of the victims that still believe's the West Memphis three are the killers. What is truly sad is that because the state of Arkansas will not admit a mistake, Terry Hobbs has gotten away with murdering 3 eight year old boys. This movie shows when the West Memphis 3 walked free after accepting an Alford Plea. If you don't know what that is it means the West Memphis 3 can maintain their innocence but must plead guilty to the murders. That means that the case is closed and the real murder Terry Hobbs gets away with it. This shows that the state does not care about justice AT ALL they only care about being right.

Riveting and revolting documentary is a MUST SEE
"West of Memphis" (2012 release; 147 min.) brings the story of the West Memphis Three case, in which three teenagers in West Memphis, Arkansas are accused and convicted of the 1993 murder of three 8 year old boys in what appears to be a "satanic" killing after sexual abuse. But we know by now (and this is not ruining the 'plot') that the three teenagers would eventually be released. Several comments:

First, in the retelling of the events, the documentary reminds us that one of the three teenagers in fact confessed to being at and witnessing the murders, even though in fact he did not. This is reminiscent of that other documentary from last year ("Central Park Five"), in which a group of teeneagers confess to a crime they did not commit. Why do the innocent then confess? Just watch! Second, there are a lot of interesting tidbits in the movie that will make you revolt against the way the prosecution AND the jury AND the West Arkansas community at large essentially railroaded...

The Agony and the Ecstasy
I have to give this documentary 5 stars because it was even more riveting, thought-provoking and devastating than the original Paradise Lost film which I saw on HBO when it first came out in 1996. Though a bit long and drawn out in parts (should have been edited down to make it a neat 2 hours) I simply could not stop watching. I have never been convinced one way or the other about this case. On the one hand, I thought the evidence against the WM3 as presented in Paradise Lost and several of the books written about the case was minimal, I don't think I ever lost sight of the fact that 3 beautiful little children were viciously ripped from the world by someone and, putting the evidence together as it was presented by the prosecution, I could understand why the 3 were found guilty. This film doesn't gloss over that evidence or pretend it didn't exist but carefully and precisely dissects that original evidence presented in the prosecution's case to illustrate how it was misinterpreted,...

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