By JON GAMBRELL
Thursday, January 17, 2008 6:45 PM CST
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Supporters of the three teens convicted in the brutal 1993 slayings of three West Memphis boy say they've raised more than $1 million for their court appeals from rock star donors and the Internet-savvy.
But a longtime attorney for Jason Baldwin says he and those defending Jessie Misskelley haven't seen any of the recent large donations that have come into the trust and legal defense funds of death-row inmate Damien Echols. Meanwhile, other supporters of the men known to sympathizers as the "West Memphis Three" are setting up a nonprofit corporation to funnel donations equally to the three.
"What we're talking about here is simple and uncontroversial _ it's about accountability and it's about transparency," said Kelly Duda of a new group called The West Memphis Three Innocence Project. "This is about making sure there are sufficient funds to support all three men, not just one."
John Philipsborn, a San Francisco lawyer for Baldwin, said he took the case after rock band Pearl Jam and punk rocker Henry Rollins raised money for DNA testing of evidence from the killings. That money, which Philipsborn described as entering the "tens of thousands" of dollars, came six years ago along with a small lump sum for the attorneys on the case.
Since then, Philipsborn said he and attorneys representing Misskelley haven't seen matching funding, though an Internet site about the case asks supporters to donate to the "Damien Echols Trust Fund."
"If a million dollars has been raised, I know nothing about that," Philipsborn told The Associated Press from Honolulu. "I think it is fair to say after the amazing generosity of Pearl Jam and Henry Rollins, the non-Echols teams have not seen a lot of funding."
Dennis Riordan, a San Francisco lawyer representing Echols, said he had canceled checks sent to Philipsborn's law firm for more than $10,000 in 2005 and 2006. Philipsborn said the money was used to pay investigators working on the case. Riordan said much of the money raised went to forensic testing and experts used during Echols' recent appeal in federal court.
"There is none of that testing and the result of it that favors any defendant more or less than any other defendant," Riordan said.
Riordan said Echols' wife Lorri Davis signs the checks that come out of the bank account for donations. Davis did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Echols, now 33, was sentenced to death for the slayings of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore. Baldwin, 30, received a life sentence without parole, while Misskelley, 32, received a life-plus-40-year sentence for the killings.
The three victims disappeared May 5, 1993, while riding bicycles in their quiet, tree-lined neighborhood. The bodies of the three Cub Scouts were found the next day in a watery ditch near their homes.
Police arrested the three teenagers after a confession by Misskelley in which he described how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys. Misskelley said he ran down another boy trying to escape. Prosecutors say the killings stemmed from the teens' participation in a satanic cult.
The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the convictions, but a later documentary about the case sparked interest across the Internet, as well as among celebrities. Last month, about 150 supporters of the men, including Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines, rallied on the steps of the state Capitol.
Echols' appeal claims that evidence from the crime scene that could be tested for DNA showed no sign of the three convicted in the killings. The appeal also includes testimony from forensic experts saying the genital mutilation that one victim suffered came from animals rather than a knife blade. However, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Wednesday that none of the new evidence exonerated the three.
The West Memphis 3 Innocence Project filed with the Secretary of State's office last month as a nonprofit corporation. The group says it will file to become a federally recognized nonprofit in the coming days and post its application on its Web site.
While Echols faces execution, Duda said it makes no sense to pour money only into his legal defense.
"Each man has his separate issues on appeal that he has to face and will have to successfully overcome to walk out of prison," Duda said. "And they walk out of prison through different doors."
On the Net:
Supporters' Web site with Echols' fund: http://www.wm3.org
The West Memphis 3 Innocence Project: http://www.wm3innocenceproject.com
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
