Healing Lepers
An Interview W/ WM3 support founder Burk Sauls
MAD- www/nwowatcher.com
11/9/06

“The Seventh and last Pentacle of the Sun from the Key of Solomon is for freeing those unjustly imprisoned. If any be by chance imprisoned or detained in fetters of iron, at the presence of this Pentacle, which should be engraved in gold on the day and hour of the sun, he will be immediately delivered and set at liberty.”
-The Last Pentacle of the Sun-
Writings in Support of the West Memphis Three

One the eve of May 5th, 1993, three 8 year old Cub scouts were brutally murdered deep in the Robin Hood Hills area of West Memphis, Arkansas. Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore were beaten, bound and gagged, and mutilated almost beyond recognition. The events immediately took on signs which were defined as ‘ritualistic’ activity, and the small area of West Memphis became entrenched in what could only be called “Satanic panic”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqTKk5ebmGU
For a short video rundown of the events of May 5th and corresponding trial.

With media attention swirling and nationwide recognition being brought to the case through HBO pictures and their ground breaking documentary PARADISE LOST (1996), the public was in desperate need to convict someone, anyone as the perpetrator(s) of these heinous crimes. They quickly chose their suspects with 16 year old Jason Baldwin, 17 year old Jessie Misskelly Jr., and 18 year old Damien Echols who they declared was the ringleader behind the crimes. What was the evidence which would single out these three young men? Had witnesses viewed them at the scene of the crime, was their DNA evidence or other paraphernalia left behind with the victims; had notes or records been kept which implied they were the real killers? Not at all, in fact the biggest case against Damien, Jessie and Jason lay in the evidence that Damien wore all black clothes and black nail polish, listened to Metallica and other heavy metal groups, while reading books by Aleister Crowley and Stephen King. It was a modern day witch hunt which accused a group of outsiders as somehow being involved with Satanism and child sacrifice, simply for the fact that they didn’t have any other suspects to fit the bill with ‘occult’ or ‘ritualistic’ activity.

My first interest in the case of the West Memphis Three (popularly called the WM3), began around 1997 after viewing the documentary film PARADISE LOST, and reading the book published on the trial entitled THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS (1995). Over the years the strange and unique case of the WM3 has gained such supporters as the musical group Pearl Jam, comedian Margaret Cho, authors Clive Barker and Peter Straub, musician Henry Rollins and a large variety of others who have all lent support to garnering more interest in the case of the unjustly imprisoned West Memphis Three. Aside from dozens of well known celebrity names who have been attached to support causes over the years, there are also many thousands if not millions of die-hard investigators of the events in this trial, from around the world.

Even the popular community website Myspace has a dozen such support groups dedicated to raising awareness about the WM3, and in a recent poll of ‘Best Political Causes’ on Myspace, Free The West Memphis Three and the Damien Echols sites were both respectively voted in the ranks of top 10 causes. With WM3 awareness week running from November 13-19, I thought it was time to try and take a larger role in getting the information out on this unfair and downright corrupt abuse of power within the United States legal system, which not only did injustice to three murdered young boys, but also wrongly imprisoned three innocent young men for the rest of their lives. Damien Echols currently awaits execution on death row. For those of you viewing this article who might have been interested with this case in the past, or are new comers to the events surrounding, I urge you to read the following interview with WM3 support group co-founder Burk Sauls. He’s been involved with the case from the very beginning and has a lot of eye opening facts to share in the trial that has enthralled a nation of activists.

FOR FULL INTERVIEW W/ WM3 SUPPORT GROUP CO-FOUNDER BURK SAULS:
http://nwowatcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=6687.0