by Tim Knox for HBO

A year ago today the West Memphis Three were released from prison after almost two decades of imprisonment.  Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin were arrested in 1993 for the murder of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.  After years of legal battles and fighting, the West Memphis Three were released from prison on a deal that released them from incarceration, claiming innocence, yet they still had to plead guilty to the crime itself.

The West Memphis case has been the source of a lot of controversy over the last 20 years and has been of interest to the Wiccan community because of the occult references and accusations that were used as a part of the case. The bodies of 8 year old Michael Moore, Christopher Byers and Steve Branch were found naked and mutilated in a ditch, where some feared they were killed as a part of an occult rite.

There are many articles that have been released today about the lives of these three men, who are now in their 30’s, and will be linked at the end of this article.

The Bay Area Pagan Newswire Collective would like to celebrate this one year anniversary of justice with the West Memphis Three.  Welcome home.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/18/west-memphis-three-life-after-prison_n_1800897.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

http://wreg.com/2012/08/17/west-memphis-3-one-year-later/

http://www.themorningsun.com/article/20120817/NEWS04/120819774/-west-memphis-three-out-of-prison-for-a-year

http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/out-for-a-year-west-memphis-three-rebuild-their-lives_2012-08-18.html

Crystal Blanton reporting, Pagan Newswire Collective Bay Area