Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three

by Leveritt

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

In 1993 three eight year old boys where savagely murdered, in the town of West Memphis, Arkansas. The community was in shock and with a lack of evidence and an outrage to catch the people responsible of the deaths of Michael Moore, Christopher Byers and Stevie Branch, the likes of a witch hunt transpires. Miraculously, three teenage boys, who chose to dress in black and listened to Matallica were apprehended, despite any evidence Jessie Misskelley, Jr. was sentenced to sentenced him to life plus 40 years Jason Baldwin to life and Damien Echols to death.

This book made me angry, I found there to be six victims in this story not three, and a vast miscarriage of justice. The West Memphis Three as they have been dubbed were guilty the minute they walked into the courtroom due to a biased jury and judge. Misskelley, who clearly has some learning disabilities was coerced into a false confession dragging Echols and Baldwin (unintentionally) down with him. After reading further on the case, past the 2002 publication of this book, see that there is no evidence that clearly points to these three boys and instead have seen suspicions and mismatched stories could have one believing that Terry Hobbs, Stevie Branch's step-father to be connected, although I should mention that this is just my opinion. This non-fiction novel was written nine years after their incarceration; in 2011 eighteen years after their conviction, The West Memphis Three were released under the Alfred Plea Deal.

I was disgusted while reading this book not only because of the heinous crimes themselves but also its aftermath, putting a foul taste in my mouth that lasted long after I turned the last page. Although, I think that is what made this book so readable, giving the reader a novel of just the facts, leaving them to decided the verdict.