Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory Page #3

have already been printed

In today's "commercial appeal. "

Jessie Miskelly Jr,

Is one of three

of the murder suspects.

I don't believe it.

He's not

that type of boy.

Miskelly Sr,

disputes a confession

Allegedly made by his son and

quoted in today's newspaper.

The paper doesn't mention how it

obtained young Miskelly's statement.

An unidentified woman called

action news 5 last Friday

Offering to sell us the transcript

for several hundred dollars.

We declined because we do

not pay for news stories.

Man:

the Miskelly confession

Got leaked

to the press.

- You didn't leak it, did you?

- No.

And was that

an item of concern

To you at the time?

Not really.

Jenna newton:
Echols,

Baldwin, and Miskelly

Plead not guilty to three

counts each of capital murder.

David Steinhart:
Miskelly will

be the first of three defendants

Tried for the murders of three

west Memphis boys earlier this year.

Jenna newton:
the judge sets

one trial date for late February

And rules Echols and Baldwin

will be tried together.

Woman:

can you describe for me

What the press coverage

was like?

Oh, it was anything

You would see today

Dealing with

A major celebrity.

I mean, it-

Look at the Michael Jackson

coverage.

That's the kind of coverage

we were getting.

Woman:
and that sort of coverage

was at the time of the murders,

- But also continuing through the trials?

- Yes.

Male reporter:
reporters have

written thousands of stories

About these two trials.

On k. A.I.T. Alone,

Our viewers have seen

More than 130 stories

about the three defendants.

Female reporter:
the attorneys

will be looking for jurors

Who can put aside the things

they've heard in the media

And make a decision

based on the facts

As they are presented

in the trial.

This case poses a

difficult balancing act:

On one side

- The defendant's right to a fair trial;

The other side-

The public's right to know.

I do recall

being asked

A specific question

by the media once

Of how I felt

this case was

Between a one

and a 10,

And I made a dumb remark

of "11."

And you've got to

keep in mind

The atmosphere

at that time.

We were 30 days

into the case

When an arrest

was made.

There was a lot

of burden

Taken off of everyone

That was involved

in that case.

We felt like we had

a very solid case.

Woman:
if you had it

to do all over again,

Would you have made

the comment

About 11

on a one-Out-Of-10 scale?

Gitchell:

I probably would not have.

In six months from now,

when the trial's all over,

I'll be with my parents

again and my family.

And everything will be

happy, the way it was.

But Im scared about

what could happen

If they did

find me guilty.

But I know they can't.

But then again,

they might.

I just don't like

to think about that.

The day he got arrested,

no one called me.

And I got home

and there were police

Going all through

my house.

And I kept asking

where my son was.

They gave me that

testimony of Jessies

That said that it happened

during the day

And that Jason

had skipped school.

I had proof that Jason was in

school and that it was a lie.

But that didn't matter

to Gitchell.

They already had him

in the courtroom

Before I could get up there

with his school records.

And I had to fight my way

through a crowd.

Ma'am, what do you think

about the reports this morning

Of your son's involvement

in this thing?

He didn't have anything

to do with it.

- Was he at school?

- Mr. Grinnell:
he was at school.

- The whole day?

- The whole day.

Gail Grinnell:
he was not

there. And I was in shock-

Total shock.

I first met Jason

The morning of his

very first appearance

At the west Memphis

municipal court.

Paul ford:

my impressions of Jason are

That he appeared

very shy and very timid.

He does not appear to be

an angry young man.

He does not appear

to be a violent young man.

He does not appear

to be a man

Who is capable

of a heinous act

For which

he's charged.

Joe Berlinger:

how did you guys meet?

- At school.

- Yeah, I think so.

In a study hall. I had, like,

a book bag full of tapes.

I used to try to steal them. ( Laughs )

We did about

everything together

Before we got arrested,

Used to go to places

on the weekends.

To malls.

John Philipsborn:

my client Jason Baldwin

Was essentially

investigated

Mainly on the basis

That he hung out

around Damien Echols

And was known to be

a good friend of his.

Jason was Damiens

constant shadow.

Wherever Damien went,

Jason went.

Guilt by association.

It's a scary thing

To be accused of something

because of your friends.

Why everybody thought

it was Jason

Was because he hung out

with Damien.

And why did everybody

think it was Damien?

'Cause he was the-

He was the guy

who had the weird suit.

My son wore black.

They weren't prosecuted

because they-

They wore

black t-Shirts

Or liked

heavy metal music.

Joe Berlinger:
can you talk

a little bit about, you know,

That day when they

brought you in for-

You know, for questioning,

and then, you know,

Later on

everybody was arrested?

Can you talk to us

what it was like?

They just asked me

who did it.

And I didn't know

who did it, you know.

They kept

- The police kept on asking me who did it

And I told them I didn't

know, which I didn't know.

You know, I told

- I told the police where I was at that day.

I was in Dyess, Arkansas,

wrestling, which I was.

I don't like people to keep on

asking me questions

And I done

told them once.

You know,

I don't like people

Asking me and asking me

and asking me.

You know, Im gonna

tell you one time.

And, you know,

if you just egg it on,

Then Im gonna just say

something just to leave me alone.

You know, and that's what I

did. And, you know, I just-

They just egged it on. And

finally I just told the cops,

"Look, you know, all

right, I did it, you know.

I killed them

and everything. "

- ( Phone rings )

- Man:
hello.

Woman:
operator. I have a

collect call. Your name, please?

- Jessie:
Jessie.

- Woman:
will you pay?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Thank you.

- Hey, son.

- Hey.

How are you doing?

That's good.

Oh, hell, yes.

It snowed like hell up here.

Got about 3 inches of snow

out here on the ground now.

Yeah?

It didn't?

Well, it is here,

I guarantee you.

Woman over radio:

go ahead.

Jessie:
you know, I talk

to my dad every Friday.

I call him

every Friday.

"I want you

to come home, son. "

You know, he tells me

that all the time.

He tells me he loves me.

Of course I know that.

You know, I love him. I

love him to death, you know.

I'm trying to get home

to be with him.

Jessie SR:
So do you ever think about that

- That happened,

The way the police treated you

up here in that questioning?

Yeah, I know.

Mike Allen asked my dad,

could he talk to me?

And my dad said, "well,

sure, you can talk to him. "

So I got in the cop car with

him and we rode to west Memphis.

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