If it turns out they didn't do it I wonder who did 
West Memphis Three jailed for the 'satanic' 1980s killings of three boy scouts could be released on new DNA evidence
* DNA tests failed to link those jailed to the murder scene
The brutal 1993 murder of three-eight-year-old Cub Scouts in Arkansas shocked America, but those jailed for the crime - known as The West Memphis Three - could be sensationally released today after a judge called a surprise hearing.
Craighead County Circuit Judge David N Laser has been looking at the DNA evidence on the orders of the Arkansas Supreme Court - and results showed that it failed to link any of those convicted to the murder scene.
There is now a frenzy of speculation over what the outcome of the hearing will be, as Judge Laser has placed a gagging order over the proceedings. But some are speculating that convicted murderers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr could be freed.
Possible reprieve: Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley have served 18 years of a life sentence for murdering three Cub Scouts but could be freed due to new DNA evidence
Today Laser will hold one private session in chambers followed by a public session with victim families, family members of the defendants, and media.
Echols, now 36, is awaiting execution on Death Row for the murders. Baldwin, now 34, and Misskelley, now 35, are serving life sentences. All three have now served about 18 years in jail.
The murders of the Cub Scouts - Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and James Michael Moore - rocked the community of West Memphis. Police called the murders ‘satanic’ in nature because the children's naked bodies had been bound and mutilated.
Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley
The West Memphis Three, who were teenagers at the time of the murders, have always maintained their innocence in the deaths of the boys in the Arkansas-Tennessee border town.
DNA tests conducted in 2008 failed to provide a link with the three to the crime scene, along with fresh tests conducted this summer.
Prison officials confirmed that the three men were turned over to Craighead County officials from the Arkansas Department of Corrections yesterday.
‘Craighead County officials picked them up around midday from ADC with all of their possessions,’ Shea Wilson, a prison spokesman, told Reuters.
This led to speculation on the internet among West Memphis Three advocates that a release for two, or all three, could be announced as part of a deal to include a new trial.
The judge issued a gag order for both sides in the case several months ago. So attorneys for the West Memphis Three and the Arkansas Attorney General would not comment yesterday.
The killings received international attention in 1993. Two HBO documentaries have been produced about the murders, and a third is planned for later this year.
The case continues to attract celebrity activists. Last summer, singer Patti Smith, actor Johnny Depp and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder appeared at a benefit for the West Memphis Three in Little Rock.
An evidentiary hearing ordered by the Arkansas Supreme Court last November is already scheduled for December 5. It is unclear if this will be affected by today’s hearing.
Death penalty opponents are hoping for exoneration today for all three prisoners.
‘If it is exoneration, then Arkansas has just joined the other states that showed the dishonour of sentencing an innocent person to death,’ said Christian Ruud, executive director for Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Support: Actor Johnny Depp appeared at a benefit for The West Memphis Three
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-released-new-DNA-evidence.html#ixzz1VTyGHLup
