THV Extra: Was Justice Served For The WM3 & The Victims?

Three teenagers were later convicted, but in recent months the case has been brought back into the spotlight and thousands across the world now believe the killer is still out there.

We've told you about new witnesses coming forward, appeals being filed and new evidence the defense claims clears the convicted. So over the next three nights, we'll dig deeper. Monday, we start from the beginning when the accused were sent to prison. It could have all ended there, but for some that moment was just the beginning.

It was March 18, 1994 when Judge David Burnett read the verdicts for Damien Echols, 19, and his best friend 16-year-old Jason Baldwin.

"We the jury, find Damien Echols guilty of capital murder of Steven Branch. We the jury, find Damien Echols guilty in the capital murder of Chris Byers. We the jury, find Damien Echols guilty in the capital murder of Michael Moore," says Judge Burnett. 

"It's wrong. All of it is wrong. It's been our Salem witch trial from the very beginning," says one of Jason Baldwin's family members.

"He was tortured to death by three murdering bastards on a ditch bank. He was 8 years old," screamed Christopher Byers mother Melissa in 1994.

Some called it the work of Satanism for a crime so heinous, so horrifying, so tragic.

One resident cried, "All of West Memphis. All of West Memphis is just torn up."

The victims were Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore; all 2nd grade classmates, all friends, all neighbors in a small West Memphis neighborhood.

They played together, disappeared together, died together.

Police Chief of Detectives Gary Gitchell explains in 1993, "The three boys were found submerged in water and it is not an accident. They did not slip off in it. We do have three homicide victims."

The scene was Robin Hood Hills just blocks from the boys' homes. The city became paralyzed with fear.

Author Mara Leveritt has studied the crimes and written a book. She says, "People were not going to the stores. Business was falling off."

Instead of letting their kids walk home from school, parents started picking them up.

One resident says, "To think that this possibly was going on while I was so close to it. It's an eerie feeling inside."

The wooded area, off Interstate 40, has since been torn down, but there is still speculation today if they were killed there, or somewhere else and then dumped later."

No one though debates the brutality of the crime. The boys were found naked, mutilated and beaten. Their hands and feet were bound.

Leveritt says, "The whole region was traumatized by these murders."

Rumors flew in the religious community along with stories of satanic rituals and witches.

Days turned into weeks.

Gitchell says, "We've got 28,000 to 30,000 people in West Memphis and as far as I'm concerned everybody is a suspect."

Then a month after the murders came a break. After hours of questioning, Jessie Misskelley Jr. confessed. He was a borderline mentally retarded 17-year-old with what some say was an error-filled story. It's one his father says was provoked.

"Cussed him, spit in his face, stepped on his hands," says Jessie Misskelley Sr.

"I just don't understand if he was in fact involved in this crime how he made a mistake on a time factor," explains a false confession expert during the trial.

Leveritt says, "The suggestions for the changes came from police, even in the parts that were recorded."

Misskelley recanted his confession the next day but had already implicated two others, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin. Both listened to heavy metal music. Echols wore black and practiced the Wicca religion.

After the arrests, the West Memphis Police Department held a press conference. A reporter asked, "On a scale of one to ten, how solid is this case?" Gitchell responded, "An 11"

All three were taken into custody. All three were tried. All three were convicted. Damien Echols was sentenced to die. Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were locked up for life.

Gail Grinnell, Baldwin's mother says, "My son is suffering for something he hasn't done."

As for the victims' families, some seemed to let it all end there.

"That is what all three of them are. Punks. Punks," shouted Pam Hobbs, Stevie Branch's mother, in 1993.

Also in 1993, Christopher Byers father, Mark John Byers said, "The day you die. I am going to praise God."

Only recently, they've had a change of heart. They now believe the killer is still out there.

"It is total incompetency on the West Memphis Police Department," says Byers.

Pam Hobbs explains, "The justice system failed me May 5, 1993."

They're two parents, now 16 years later fighting for justice; not just for their sons but for the three men accused.

Now Today's THV does want to make it clear that not all the parents believe the three men are innocent; including Michael Moore's father, Todd Moore. We reached out to him several times hoping he'd share his story, but he declined to be interviewed or even make on comment.

If it weren't for two HBO documentary filmmakers, this case wouldn't have garnered the world wide attention it has today. Was justice served?

Damien Echols says, "Back then, the murders were still fresh and everyone was still scared, almost terrified. Everybody was in sort of a blind panic at the time and it limited everybody's ability to use logic or to think."

We'll let you decide. Tuesday night, we'll walk you through the new evidence that the defense says clears the West Memphis Three. Catch the second part of this three part series Tuesday night on the "THV 10:00 Difference."

The boys attended Weaver Elementary in West Memphis. Shortly after the murders, the school put up a monument in their honor. Click here to watch a video preview.