Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory Page #7

in the mirror

And realizing

my hairline is receding,

That my hair

is getting thin.

And it's hard

to accept that

Because in a way

My life

Just sort of

stopped abruptly

Whenever I came here.

December the 11th

It will be

my 35th birthday.

It will be the 17th

birthday

That Ive spent

in this prison.

I have a son who is now

almost the same age I was

Whenever I was

locked up.

We were absolutely

Poverty-Stricken

white trash.

I really do believe

these people

Would have gotten away

with murdering me

If it would not have been

for what you guys did,

For being there

in the very beginning

And getting this whole

thing on tape

So that the rest of the world

sees what was happening.

If not for that, these

people would have murdered me,

Swept this

under the rug,

And I wouldn't be anything

but a memory right now.

Male reporter:

a growing number of people

Are now standing behind

the west Memphis three

Saying the men convicted

of murder are innocent:

From Johnny Depp

to the Dixie Chicks,

Even a new York

architect

Who quit her job,

moved to little rock,

And married death row

inmate Damien Echols.

I've been working

on this case-

Actually Ive been

involved

And known Damien

for nine years.

But Ive been really

actively working

On the case

for about seven.

I am in love

And very loved

by a woman- Lorri,

Who lived in Brooklyn,

new York,

At the time that

"paradise lost" came out.

And it had a very powerful

impact on her.

I had to sort of think

about things overnight.

And I woke up the next

morning just knowing

Those kids-

They didn't do it.

And then trying to-

It just plagued me.

She couldn't stop

thinking about it,

So she started

to write to me

And I responded

to the letters.

In the course of writing

to Damien, I think we-

That's when we fell in

love with each other.

It was-

Because initially,

I think, we- We-

We fell in love

with each other's minds.

Because he didn't even

know what I looked like

Or, you know-

It was just really-

It was just

what we were thinking,

And later on, of course,

when we talked to each other.

So that was-

It was already a done deal

By the time

I got to Arkansas

Or went to visit him

in Arkansas.

And then I stayed

in new York

For another, I think, year

and a half after I met him

Before I made

the decision to move.

She lives now here

in little rock,

45 minutes away

from the prison,

Just so that she can

come here more often.

And now we are set

to be married

November the 1st.

And that'll be a Buddhist wedding

ceremony on November the 1st.

Oh, I think we're gonna

get him out.

I think

it's going to-

I think things are

happening much quicker,

But I think we're gonna

get him out.

Inasmuch as the state

has the burden...

( clears throat )

of proof in this case

And inasmuch as-

For a good portion of

the case is circumstantial,

It is necessary

and appropriate

That the state

prove motive if it can.

Call your next witness.

Fogelman:

I call Dale Griffis.

In looking at young people

involved in the occult,

Do you see any particular

type of dress?

I have personally

observed

People wearing

black fingernails,

Having their hair

painted black,

Wearing black t-Shirts.

Does the number three-

Three victims-

Have any significance?

One of the most

powerful numbers

In- In the practice

Of satanic belief

was 666.

And some believe the

base root of six is three.

Don Horgan:
the whole idea

of this being a satanic ritual

Was a key element of the

state's case at the trial,

Because they called

Dale Griffis,

Who had almost

no qualifications whatsoever.

But nonetheless

he maintained that

All those blank spaces,

you know,

That attached

to the crime scene

Were themselves evidence

of a satanic connection.

Every one

of these files

Is jam-Packed

full of cases or data

On particular groups

and so forth-

The things

that I could use

To educate other peop-

You know, therapists

And educators

and policemen.

It was in the start

of my career

Into occultism-

About 1985, I believe.

And there was

an explosion of cases.

Male reporter:
tonight, the

startling, sobering results

Of a "20/20"

investigation:

Satanism,

devil worship

Is being practiced

all across the country.

We have all types

of perversion

Going on,

and it's affecting America.

Male reporter:
perverse,

hideous acts that defy belief.

All of them were

investigated by police,

But usually

without much result.

Paul ford:

between 1982 and 1984,

When you became a ph. D.,

what classes did you take?

- None.

- None.

Val price:
judge, Id just

like to make an argument

At this point

on behalf of my client.

It's our position that,

based on a mail-Order ph. D.

In which a person doesn't

have to take classes,

Doesn't have to take

any resident courses

From a non-Accredited

school,

Does not qualify him

as an expert in Arkansas.

And we object

to the court

Qualifying dr. Griffis

as an expert.

I'm not sure in Arkansas

or any other state

That you have to have

any kind of degree

To be an expert

in a particular field.

- That's true-

- If you can demonstrate

Knowledge, education,

experience,

And training

in the field,

You could have

a third-Grade education,

If you have other education,

experience, and training

That qualifies you

as an expert.

So Im not

persuaded at all

About your argument

about a mail-Order ph. D.

So is there

anything else?

In the early 1970s

and '80s,

We began to see

at the f. B.I. Academy

Police officers coming in

from around the world,

And the cops were kind of

throwing around words like "ritual"

And using it interchangeably

with satanic crimes.

We did a close evaluation

and we didn't see one.

We didn't-

We didn't see one case.

Horgan:

if you can paint these guys

As involved in Satanism,

anything is possible.

And the apparent castration

of Christopher byers

Fit into the satanic theory

for Griffis as well.

Griffis:

they used knives to cut up

The three boys

that were killed,

The eight-Year-Old

boys.

Do the types of injuries

have significance?

The removal of sex-

Sex organs-

In some books

on occultism,

They will talk about

Removing of the testicles

for the semen.

A lot of the early

understandings of this case

Were really premised on a

misunderstanding of what was there.

And the information,

by and large,

Was there to be seen

and interpreted.

It just wasn't looked at

by the right people

And it wasn't

interpreted correctly.

State's exhibit 68a

Is a photograph

of an abrasion

That's patterned

And has, like, a serrated

appearance to it.

And that's 68a.

Brent Davis:
have you had a

chance to look at that knife

And examine

that knife, sir?

Yes.

You referred

in your testimony

To wound patterns

on the three victims

That were serrated

in nature.

That's correct.

Okay.

Did you find wound patterns

on the three victims

That would be

consistent

With having been caused

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