EXHIBIT A-IOI - West Memphis Three Case - Document Archive

Case 4:09-cv-00008-BSM Document 30-5 Filed 07/17/2009 Page 40 of 297
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LexisNexis"
SECTION: Family and Religion; Pg. B6
LENGTH: 444 words
Copyright 1996 Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee)
November 16, 1996, Saturday
HEADLINE: Documentary on W. Memphis child murders raises troubling questions
BYLINE: By Betsy Pickle, News-Sentinel film critic
BODY:
Nothing outrages a community more than having its children murdered, but "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at
Robin Hood Hills" suggests that something should.
The film -- jointly produced, directed and edited by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky -- is a documentary that examines
the aftermath ofa triple homicide in West Memphis, Ark.
The tale begins in May 1993, when the mutilated bodies ofthree 8-year-olds -- Steven Branch, Christopher Byers
and Michael Moore -- were found along a creek bank in an area known as Robin Hood Hills.
A month later, West Memphis police came up with Jessie Misskelley Jr., a 17-year-old with an IQ of72, who confessed
that he restrained one child and watched as Damien Echols, 18, and Jason Baldwin, 16, tortured and murdered
the boys.
The filmmakers tune in to the media frenzy, which spirals out ofcontrol with reports ofthe suspects' involvement
in satanic rituals and orgies. They spend time with the parents ofthe victims, whose grieffluctuates between despondency
and biblical wrath. They seek out the parents ofthe accused and fmd loyalty and love.
And then there are the suspects themselves, average-looking heavy-metal fans who aren't so average in West Memphis.
Says Echols: "We were the obvious choice because we stood out from everybody else."
Without slanting toward either side, Berlinger and Sinofsky raise the question ofhow much justice was available to
the teenagers. In court, the lack ofphysical evidence is brushed aside. Echols' interest in Wicca and his penchant for the
color black are made much of.
Told without narration, "Paradise Lost" unfolds suspensefully and cagily. There's not a superfluous shot in the 21/2hour
film. Berlinger and Sinofsky's incredible editing pulsates with tension and electricity. They avoid an obsession
with details, concentrating instead on drama. The film has its lighter moments, though some ofthose are more surreal
than strictly humorous.
The movie prompts two thoughts ofspine-chilling proportions. One is that ifEchols, Baldwin and Misskelley are
innocent, the real killer or killers are still on the loose. The second, brought on by the recurring images ofthe victims'
photographs, is that eight years on, the little boys probably would have turned out much like the teenagers accused of
killing them.
While there's no way ofknowing ifthe film will keep an innocent person from being put to death, at least it has
raised questions -- and awareness. As disturbing as it is to watch "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood
Hills," it's even more frightening to contemplate a world in which the film did not exist.
LOAD-DATE: November 18,1996