John Mark Byers, WM3 supporter
Recent News
Note: this is not primarily a news site, it
is intended to catalog the historical record of the case, primarily
focussing on the crime through the trials. Occasional
announcements will be made here. There is much late-breaking
information that is not covered here. Better resources for late
breaking information is the site supporting the innocence of the
convicted, wm3.org.
In an October 27, 2007
appeals filing, the attorneys for
Damien Echols described many remarkable
findings. Bolstered by a nationally recognized team of experts,
including John Douglas, who helped invent criminal profiling while head
of the FBI NCAVC, Dr. Michael Baden, premier forensic expert and former
Chief Medical Examiner for New York City, and Dr. Vincent Maio, author
of the textbook, Forensic Pathology, the
attorneys put forth these findings:
-
One hair that matched the mitochondrial DNA of Terry
Hobbs, stepfather of victim Stevie Branch, was found beneath the binding of victim Michael Moore.
mDNA is able to identify its source to the 99.9% resolution when
compared to DNA from the general population.
- One hair that
matched the chromosomal DNA of Terry Hobbs friend, David Jacoby, was
found at the site where the bodies were discovered. Chromosomal
DNA can be matchedto its source with near certainty. Hobbs had
visited Jacoby earlier that evening. It is contended that this
hair was secondary transfer and that the findings of two hairs linked
to Hobbs is beyond the possibility of coincidence.
- The mutilation wounds to the victims were committed post-mortem by animal predation.
- Several jurors had been
exposed to reports of Misskelley's confession, denied it during voir
dire, and considered this information while deciding their verdict.
The
defense made a presentation of this evidence on November 1st. A
video of this conference can be found here.
The state has responded, saying
The state attorney general's office said Tuesday that a review of new
DNA tests and other evidence in the case of one of the teens convicted
in the 1993 slayings of three boys in West Memphis will take some time.
In a statement, a spokesman for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel
said state officials are seeing the evidence put forward by lawyers
representing Damien Echols for the first time.
"As litigation goes, this process will likely take months and possibly years," spokesman Gabe Holmstrom said.
John Gambrell, Associated Press, October 30, 2007
Also coming to light: Terry Hobbs has a
conviction for a 1982 sexual assault. From the website of Mara
Leveritt, a reporter and author who has followed the case from the
beginning:
According
to a report by Hot Springs police, Hobbs assaulted Mildred French, in
her home on Dec. 8, 1982. Hobbs was 24 and married to his first wife at
the time. French was 54.
French reported the attack to police the next day.
According to the police
report, Hobbs admitted that he had entered French’s house and put
his arms around her as she came out of the shower.
Hobbs was charged with assault and criminal trespass. The case against him was dismissed when he agreed to undergo counseling.
Stepfather of Chris Byers, John Mark Byers, has said
he has seen further evidence against Terry Hobbs and has characterized
it
as damning. He has made several specific allegations which have
yet to be backed by evidence. They will not be repeated here.
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