Devil's Knot_ The True Story of the West Memphis Three - Mara Leveritt [219]
370. Information about Byers’s location while on parole was not part of the public record. However, sources reported that after his release from prison, he was granted permission to move to eastern Tennessee.
371. In fact, the documentary opened with scenes from the video footage shot by the police during the recovery of the three victims’ bodies. Hobbs had signed a release and accepted payment for her participation in the film, but she claimed in her lawsuit that she’d been extremely upset at the time and not competent to enter into a contract.
372. She claimed that the availability of the photos on the site had caused her great emotional distress. This time she prevailed. As a result of her complaint, eBay announced that it would modify its policy and no longer allow the sale of morgue and crime scene photos. Rob Chestnut, an attorney for eBay, pointed out, however, that the issue was not a simple one. “The people who monitor our site really focus on the illegal items,” he said, “and there is nothing illegal about crime scene photos.” Reported by the Associated Press, September 25, 2000.
373. When word of the exchange was passed to members of the Arkansas media, a reporter called the governor’s office to clarify the matter but the aide would not return her calls. Prosecutor Brent Davis would not comment either, saying that the matter should be decided in the courts. “I regret my involvement that led to the documentary,” he said. “In hindsight, I think it was poor judgment and I don’t think I’m going to make the same mistake twice.” The supporter who wrote to the governor’s office asking that he “look into this case and see if there is something you may be able to do,” was Johnny Bratton Jr., of Cabot, Arkansas. The governor’s aide who responded on March 23, 2000, was Teena L. Watkins.
374. Web site cofounder Kathy Bakken signed up for the course taught by Brent E. Turvey, a self-employed criminal profiler based in San Leandro, California. Turvey lists among his credentials a master’s degree in forensic science from the University of New Haven, located in West Haven, Connecticut. He was a partner in Knowledge Solutions LLC, a company that specialized in criminal profiling.
375. In November 2001, Turvey wrote a similar analysis of information from Arkansas State Police files about the death of Melissa Byers. That “equivocal death analysis” concluded, “This examiner’s review of the autopsy report would suggest that this death was not likely consistent with natural causes, given the victim’s history, and given that no natural causes were found. It would also suggest that this death was not likely consistent with suicide, given the nature of the needle marks, abrasions and contusion that could suggest the involvement of a second individual. It would also suggest that this death was not likely consistent with accidental causes.”
376. “Personally, we felt they were innocent and that they deserved a new trial because there were so many questions,” Berlinger said, “but we weren’t making an advocacy film. To me, it was clearly a film about injustice, and it showed the trial to be a mockery, but we weren’t trying to shove that down peoples’ throats. The majority of people saw it the way we saw it. But to my surprise and dismay, that 20 percent confused our desire to present a full portrait and our lack of narration with the idea that the film was saying, ‘Those fucking kids got what they deserved.’” Berlinger said that members of that latter group cited clips of Damien in the courtroom as evidence of his guilt. “Damien was a young, narcissistic kid, and his behavior was apparently part of the reason people thought he must be guilty. We felt we had to include scenes like the one of him combing his hair in the courtroom, and talking about being remembered as ‘the West