West of Memphis (Amy Berg, 2012): New Zealand

Reviewed by Sandra Andersson. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Amy Berg’s West of Memphis is the fourth documentary about the West Memphis Three and the murders they were convicted for. The documentary covers the story about the three 8-year old boys that was murdered in West Memphis in 1993, and all the way up until today when the three men convicted for the crime now are free again. West of Memphis shows us how the justice system in Arkansas failed in 1994 when they convicted three innocent teenagers for the murders.

West of Memphis begins with the disappearance of Christopher Byers, Steven Branch, and Michael Moore, soon we’re introduced to the discovery of the three 8-year old boys bodies. We then get to follow the investigation that rather quickly points the finger at the three teenagers – Jason Baldwin, Jessie Miskelly and Damien Echols – that in 1994 were convicted for the murders. Baldwin and Miskelly were sentenced to life in prison while Echols was sentenced to death.

Following in the documentary we get to see how the three teenagers convicted for the murders were innocent and the evidence against them was false, including witnesses statements. We are introduced to how Arkansas justice system failed during the investigation and the conviction of the West Memphis Three. We get to see interviews with the victims families, Damien Echols, supporters of the convicted, Peter Jackson and others, all of them convinced and with evidence that the West Memphis Three were wrongly convicted.

The director Amy Berg also starts pointing the finger towards one of the victims – Stevie Branch – stepfather Terry Hobbs with evidence linking him to the murders of the boys. West of Memphis also shows us statements against Hobbs from his ex-wife, neighbors and from his nephew who tells us about the “Hobbs family secret” that should have something to do with the crime.

At last we get to see the West Memphis Three take the Alford plea, which is also called “I’m guilty but I didn’t do it”, on August 19, 2011. The Alford plea made it possible for the three men to get released from prison and we get so see the three receive the good news and then later get released.

After the showing of West of Memphis at the last day of Santa Barbara International Film Festival the audience had the opportunity for a Q&A with the director Amy Berg and two of the three men that was convicted for the crime; Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin. There were many in the audience who had questions, unfortunately all of them didn’t get the chance to ask them. Baldwin and Echols told the audience about their different experiences in prison; Echols was very isolated during is 18 years on death-row while Baldwin lived in open barracks, worked and didn’t have to see his visitors through glass like Echols. Baldwin also talked about how it was when he first came to the prison, the other inmates was waiting for him since they knew what he was there for and he explained that it took long time before they understood and believed his innocent. Echols also told us that there will never be a justice system that works correctly and that it wasn’t the justice system that finally got them out, it was the people in the US.