Hearings for West Memphis Three Postponed

Sorry everyone! I’ve been lax on my updates about the West Memphis Three. Here’s the latest on the new hearings for Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly and Jason Baldwin:

Hearings to be shelved over ’93 slayings of 3
West Memphis filings bog down judge

A set of hearings for the three men convicted in the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis boys will likely be postponed until late this month, said Michelle Grilletta, trial court assistant to Craighead County Circuit Judge David Burnett.

At the hearings, originally scheduled for Monday, defense attorneys planned to present new DNA evidence to the court in their efforts to obtain new trials for Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin.

The judge is drafting an order to reschedule the hearings, possibly for Sept. 24 through Oct. 10, Grilletta said Thursday.

The judge still has the option of making a ruling without holding any hearings, however.

The most recent rounds of filings from all parties were due Aug. 30. That left Burnett little time to ponder what had been presented for his perusal, Grilletta said, adding, “He’s just been covered up this past week.

“All I know is that at this point, he told me he was working on [the order ] and that there would be no hearings next week,” Grilletta said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the circuit clerk’s office hadn’t received any orders from Burnett.

Grilletta said Burnett plans to file the orders by fax today.

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette c/o wm3.org