k, wore his naturally black hair long, and listened to heavy metal music. When Damien was interviewed from prison, he said, “ People assumed that I was guilty and had made up their minds beforehand simply based on my taste in clothes, music, etc. In a larger city, I would never have been noticed but I happen to live in a small, conservative, traditional town where I was looked at as a freak.” (PL 2). Damien was questioned three days after the bodies were discovered, on May 9, but was released after his interrogation did not provide any clues.One month later, without any leads in the case, the police question an acquaintance of Damien’s. Jessie Misskelley, a 17-year-old with an IQ of 72 was given a lie detector test, which concluded that he was innocent and had no knowledge of the crime. This did not conclude anything with the police though. Jessie was interrogated for over 6 hours without representation of any kind. He “ was not allowed to go to the restroom, have a sip of water, call his parents, or have any legal counsel present.” (PL 1). The detectives told Jessie that “they knew he was in a satanic cult that Damien Echols was the leader of” (PL1). They told Jessie that “ he would not be allowed to leave until he told them what happened to those three little boys.” (PL1). The detective even testified that he had “laid out the pictures of the dead boys to get a reaction out of Jessie”(PL1). After about six hours of this interrogation, Jessie confessed to the crime. He said he “had not committed the crime, but had been there while Damien and another McNeal 4friend, Jason Baldwin, had” (PL 1). No records of this interrogation exist, except for the last 45 minutes after Jessie confessed. Once Jessie realized he was not going to be able to go home, he retracted his confession. With Jessie’s low IQ, he was unable to comprehend the extent of...
