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

Case 4:09-cv-00008-BSM Document 30-5 Filed 07/17/2009 Page 43 of 297
In Search ofReality; Filmmake jek to pierce witch-hunt mentality in documel j ofchildren's murders Knoxville
News-Sentinel (Tennessee) November 15, 1996, Friday
"We really didn't want to be known as the murder-trial experts," says Sinofsky. But what they found in West Memphis,
as they had in Munnsville, N.Y., was that their story was less about the murder or the trial than about the accused
and their community.
"Now that both films are finished, I'm thrilled that we made this film ... they're great companion pieces because
they're the mirror images ofone another," says Berlinger. "The community in upstate New York rejected stereotypes
that the police were peddling and embraced the Ward brothers ... The town exemplified very decent, core-American
values.
"This film is the exact opposite. The community rushed to accept the stereotypes, thought ill ofsomebody based on
their (everyday) behavior and refused to listen to some rational thinking, and this witch-hunt mentality took over.
"In 'Brother's Keeper' the system ultimately works, and in this film the system has failed miserably.... it's naive to
think that either film is America. Both things can happen. So it's good that we have a body ofwork that covers both
ends ofthe spectrum.
"The filmmakers say it's not hard to understand why the tenor of community emotion was so different in the two
films. In Munnsville, residents were dealing with a slightly suspicious death ofa reclusive farmer whose illiterate
brother was being railroaded toward a murder conviction.
In West Memphis, there was no doubt that murder had been committed, and against three schoolchildren whose
parents were left to grieve and question in a relentlessly public forum.
Berlinger and Sinofsky, too, were deeply affected by the horror ofthe crime, especially since Berlinger's first child
and Sinofsky's third were both born during the film's production.
"You'd go back to your hotel room at night, and sometimes you'd just want to cry because you've just been around
such grief, and hatred towards the other side," says Berlinger, 35. "It was a hard film to make. There were very few
warm and cozy moments.
"What bothered them as much as the murders was their observation that the accused teenagers were not receiving a
fair trial.
"These kids were found guilty based on perception, not the reality ofthe situation," says Sinofsky, 40. "Our film is
as close to the reality ofthe situation as ever will be presented about this case."
Berlinger and Sinofsky worked patiently to get access to the three teenagers, as well as to their families and the
families ofthe victims. "Paradise Lost," made on a budget ofonly $ 750,000, moves from the murder site to the courtroom,
with side trips to the jail cells, trailer parks, support-group meetings and other venues where its subjects could be
found.
While the accused typically maintained their innocence, what struck the filmmakers were points that were made effectively
at trial:
That the confession ofMisskelley was the result of leading questions posed by police during an interrogation that
lasted more than 10 hours, though only two hours were recorded, and contained no self-generated narrative with information
beyond what investigators already had;
That no definitive physical evidence was presented to tie Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley to the murders, especially
in the form ofa murder weapon or even blood;
That the prosecution's main "proof' ofthe young men's guilt -- which was echoed in sensational detail in the media
-- was that "ringleader" Echols liked heavy-metal music, wore black clothing, dyed his hair black and read books about
the occult and Wicca, or white witchcraft.
"This is poor man's justice," says Berlinger. "O.J.'s obviously guilty and got off, and these kids are probably innocent
and got convicted.
"While "Paradise Lost" elicited a positive response at the Hot Springs Film Festival last month and won widespread
acclaim from critics in Arkansas, it didn't do well when it played in theaters in the state. Part ofthat can be attributed to
the moviegoing public's general reluctance to go see documentaries, but Sinofsky believes that in Arkansas there was a
greater prejudice at work.