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The Case of Jason Flom and Barry Scheck with Jason Baldwin
📻 Episode #17
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Mar 27, 2017
About This Episode
At 16 years old, Jason Baldwin along with Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley – known as the West Memphis Three – was convicted in 1994 of killing three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, AK. There was no DNA linking the WM3 to the crime, and some of the DNA found at the crime scene even…
The Case
At 16 years old, Jason Baldwin along with Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley – known as the West Memphis Three – was convicted in 1994 of killing three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, AK. There was no DNA linking the WM3 to the crime, and some of the DNA found at the crime scene even seemed to implicate the stepfather of one of the victims. The case gained national attention soon after the teenagers' arrests when word was leaked that the murders were committed as part of a satanic ritual. A key prosecution witness in the second trial was a self-proclaimed cult expert who stated that the murders bore "trappings" of the occult. This testimony, combined with testimony about books Damien Echols read and some of his writings, plus evidence that he and Jason Baldwin liked heavy-metal music and several black t-shirts were found in Jason’s closet, helped to convict the two teenagers. Jason received life without parole; Echols was sentenced to death, and Misskelley was sentenced to 40 years. After serving more than 17 years in prison, all three of the WM3 took the Alford Plea, which meant that the state of Arkansas admitted no wrongdoing. After being released, Jason Baldwin executive produced the 2014 film about his tragic saga, Devil’s Knot. He is joined by the co-founder of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck.
https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom
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In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:05:50“Speaker 2: want to skate on it? I was like cool. And Speaker 2: next thing I know, he's riding my bike around. I'm Speaker 2: skateboarding on a skateboard. And it just developed from there Speaker 2: a great friendship. Speaker 5: When this hall came down, you were in tenh grade,”
00:23:42“Speaker 5: was like, well, the jury's got to hear that. And Speaker 5: the other thing was when they had the doctor on Speaker 5: the stand, right, it was like an orthopedic surgeon or Speaker 5: something whatever he was, and they were asking him about Speaker 5: the fact the way that the one boy had been mutilated, right,”
00:40:04“Speaker 5: were going to execute your friend. Is that right? Speaker 2: They had my best friend's life at stake. I remember Speaker 2: very well. It was a Wednesday, August tenth of twenty eleven. Speaker 2: At this time, I'm working in the school department. I'm Speaker 2: helping people get their GDS and stuff like that. And”
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Also on the podcast: #1 Jason Flom and Barry Scheck with Barry Gibbs · #10 Jason Flom on Christmas Behind Bars: A Special Episode with Amanda Knox, Jarrett Adams, and Jeffrey Deskovic · #47 Jason Strong