JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) – They’ve been behind bars since their
conviction in the death of three boy scouts in 1993 — but now,
three men in Arkansas are going free immediately.
Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley agreed to a
plea bargain today in a court in Jonesboro, Ark. It lets them
maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have
enough evidence against them.
They were credited with time served. One of the men is being
freed from death row. A prosecutor says they’re still on probation
— and if they re-offend, they could be sent back to prison for 21
years.
Prosecutor Scott Ellington says he believes “this case is
closed and there are no other individuals involved.”
The big break in the gruesome killings came when Misskelley
unexpectedly confessed, and implicated the other two men. He later
recanted, and defense lawyers said the teen had gotten several
parts of the story wrong. His confession wasn’t admitted into
evidence, but lawyers for the other two men said jurors had heard
about it anyway.
A 1996 HBO documentary about the case drew the attention of
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and other celebrities who helped
fund a legal team that worked to win the three a new trial.
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