West of Memphis Page #16

take it in consideration.

Matter of fact, during the lunch

he said to me, "That's a big ask."

Um, but I felt that he was listening

to everything that I had to say.

BRAGA:
Much to our surprise, the

discussions progressed sort of away

from the

"agree to the new trial" idea to

is there a way to reach a practical

resolution of this case for everybody?

The attorney general brought in.

Scott Ellington,

a circuit county prosecutor.

He came to Little Rock

with a bunch of his lawyers.

The defense attorneys have

maintained complete innocence

on behalf of the defendants

all this time.

I mean, I don't underestimate our ability

to have obtained convictions

in these cases.

But I wasn't looking forward

to having to go to trial in this case,

because of the deterioration

of evidence.

Memories lost.

You know, stories changed.

Every time there was a filing,

you know, there was a DNA...

Came out in the paper

that there's new DNA, new DNA.

I was not looking forward to that.

We didn't want to show weakness

in maintaining the judgment,

so one of our positions was

the state is not making an offer.

BRAGA:
The state said they're guilty.

Our guys said they're innocent.

How do you bridge those two gaps?

There's only a couple

of options in between.

We started making our pitches.

We started making our pitch

for the Alford plea,

which we talked about

before going in.

BRAGA:
It's not a perfect resolution.

It will be a guilty plea,

but it's a very, very rare

and unique kind of guilty plea

where you get to

maintain your innocence.

Prosecutors hardly ever allow this,

and judges have the right to say,

"We're not gonna accept it

because can't maintain your innocence

and plead guilty at the same time."

It kind of seems oxymoronic.

ELLINGTON:
I'm... I guess I'm kind of a

"shoot from the hip" guy to start with.

I kind of jumped on it real quick

and then the attorney general and I

visited just briefly and he was like:

"Are you sure

that you want to agree to this?

Are you sure this is the right thing

for you, politically?"

Because he knows

I'm elected as a prosecutor.

And this could backfire.

BRAGA:
We knew what we really needed to make

this deal, which is really only two points.

We needed it to be a deal

where the West Memphis Three

could maintain their innocence.

And we needed it to be a deal where they

got out of prison the day it was entered.

Not two years from now.

Not, "We'll consider you for parole."

Not 10 years more.

Enter the plea, maintain your innocence,

get out of jail.

This notice was released today out of

the Craighead County Circuit Court.

It's vague, saying that the court

will take up certain matters

pertaining to the West Memphis Three

case tomorrow.

It went to Damien first,

and Damien readily accepted it.

How you doing?

BRAGA:
Then the deal went to Jessie.

Been a while.

It has been a while.

BRAGA:
And Jessie accepted it.

We're almost home.

Which means by the time it got to Jason,

Jason had the full veto power.

If he said yes,

the deal would work for everybody.

If he said no, everybody was left

right where they were, in prison.

JESSIE SR.:
I come home, turn

the TV on, it's all over TV.

Rumor mill got started this afternoon,

and it's all over the place,

but I think everything's gonna

work out fine in the morning.

BRAGA:
His position was, "I,

Jason, would rather stay in jail",

and fight this

with my last dying breath

"until somebody recognizes

I am 100 percent innocent."

REPORTER:
There are reports that at least

two of the infamous West Memphis Three

could be released from prison.

And I told him

that I wanted three or nothing.

I didn't sleep much.

I think the last time I looked at the clock

it was 4:
00 this morning.

Mixed emotions,

all type of things, so...

What do you think is going to happen?

Are you pretty sure, are you not sure,

you doubtful this would happen?

I'm not sure, I'm doubtful,

I don't know.

I'm just a pawn in this,

just like they are.

They've been a pawn

in this the whole time.

Now, I have to say, because I've been in

the Arkansas Department of Correction,

I understand

where they're coming from.

If I had to roll the dice

for my freedom

or get out today

by copping to a lesser plea,

I would probably take the plea

to get out of prison.

But then I'm stuck the rest

of my life with the stigma,

while the real killer walks free.

REPORTER:
Who do you believe.

This is notjustice! Is the real killer?

No comment.

REPORTER:
No comment?

Do you feel any relief? No.

None?

I gotta go.

What are you gonna do next, Terry?

Hey, hey, Terry,

just for a second...

There's the baby-killer. Talk to him.

This is a free world.

I can say what I want.

Freedom of speech,

First Amendment right.

I contacted the other attorneys,

asking them what was up.

If they knew anything

that was going on.

They really indicated

that they didn't know.

Jason was quite resolute

and not agreeing

to taking the Alford plea.

And, I mean, really that's about

the biggest illustration of his innocence

that you could ever imagine.

But this was really coming to a head,

and we didn't know how long

this offer was gonna be on the table.

And it was there for the taking.

LORRI:
We were trying to figure out

alternate ways to get in touch with him.

Somebody who cares about him

and loves him needs to be talking to him.

We need to get Holly.

It's busy.

I'm just gonna keep dialing

over and over.

You know, over the years

we've just grown to be...

I mean, I'm closer to Jason Baldwin

than I am to many people

that I have known my entire life.

Everybody just cannot believe

that he would choose to stay in prison

when he can walk out,

no matter what the reasons are.

I got a call from Lorri.

She said, "I'm gonna ask

Eddie Vedder to call you."

VEDDER:
I was trying to explain to Jason,

look, anyone's gonna have to understand

locally and globally,

State of Arkansas is not gonna let go

of three convicted child murderers

based on time served.

It's implied that they don't have enough.

They don't have enough to keep them in.

They don't have enough to win a trial.

HOLLY:
I was able to get a call in to the

prison to have Jason give me a call.

He said, "This isn't fair."

I don't wanna concede

anything to the state."

He did not wanna talk about it,

and he didn't call back.

And I was devastated.

VEDDER:
I believed in his decision,

and I didn't wanna question it.

I would never ask another man

to compromise his ideals.

But it was so close to freedom.

It was unbearable.

Not hearing from him

and not knowing what he was thinking

was unbearable.

Jason Baldwin is 16 years old.

He's been in jail for months.

And he's about to enter a trial

where prosecutors are going to ask

for the death sentence.

He's offered two deals in secret

if he would testify

that Echols had done the killing.

He tells the prosecutors,

"No, that would be a lie.

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