far away to hear the conversation.” (PL1). Then, the girls gave a date that this “bragging” had occurred as a date that Damien was already in police custody. The police records proved Damien was in jail on the alleged date of this “bragging”. The prosecution called Dr. Dale Griffis as an expert witness in “occult killings.” Dr. Griffis testified that the main satanic indicators were “ black fingernails, black dyed hair, tattoos, and wearing black clothing.” (PL1). He mixed elements of Satanism with elements of Wicca. He showed his own religious prejudices against non-Christian religions. The defense brought out the fact that Dr. Griffis had obtained his Ph.D. from a mail order college without taking a single class or doing any type of schoolwork. On April 18, Damien and Jason were both found guilty on three counts of capitol murder. The next McNeal 7day, Damien was sentenced to death by lethal injection and Jason was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The prosecution had used theory instead of evidence to convict three teenagers on rumors of cult activities. The jury, swayed by these rumors and hysteria over Satanism, convicted all three of these boys without one piece of evidence, circumstantial or otherwise. Damien said, “ the public already convicted me before the trial even started.” (PL1).After the convictions had already taken place, HBO premiered the documentary “Paradise Lost,” which highlighted this trial. Instead of outrage over the murders of the three young boys, the outrage poured out because of the convictions of these three teenagers. People from all around the world were outraged. A group of individuals from California formed a support group called Free the West Memphis Three (FWM3), to help spread the word about all of the inconsistencies with the case. “During the original trial, the defense ...
