MARION, Ark. — The fight to retest DNA evidence in the West Memphis 3 case may finally be concluded with a newly scheduled hearing focused on the subject.
The next hearing in the ongoing saga is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on July 23 in Marion. Prosecutor Sonia F. Hagood noted this date is likely to be moved to the last week of July due to scheduling conflicts.
Following an April 2024 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling affirming jurisdiction over Echols’ petition for new DNA testing, the parties involved—including Echols, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., the State, and the Innocence Project—reached a joint agreement to proceed with further forensic testing.
NEA Report discussed the agreed-upon order with the prosecutor before it was submitted to the court.
“The Supreme Court did not specifically order testing,” Hagood said. “However, it was obvious to me that the Supreme Court wants something tested. What’s the point in having all this litigation if we’re going to end up in the same spot anyway? So we started negotiating.”
Hagood said the three defendants have been talking with her office for about a year. She said she wants the public to know that it seems simple, but it isn’t black and white. She was close to the same age as the victims in the case and remembers watching the news about the murders as a child. Hagood said, like many, she wanted to see evidence tested. In her role as prosecutor, she contended that she must consider factors such as the families of the victims, or what could yield results versus what may be a waste of time to test.
The prosecutor said part of the statute says that the State must certify there is no contamination or tampering with the evidence, and she can’t say that with certainty. Hagood noted DNA testing was in its “infancy” in 1993. There is footage of lawyers and others handling the evidence without gloves. Hagood said it isn’t a disparagement of the lawyers or law enforcement. Today, we might think that is obvious, but Hagood said in 1993, nobody knew what touch DNA was or how it could affect the possible outcomes of that testing.
The Agreed Order
Under the order, key evidence from the West Memphis Three case – ligatures and hair samples – will be sent to Bode Laboratories for advanced DNA analysis. The testing will be paid for by the petitioning parties, and all sides will have equal access to the lab, testing procedures, and results.
The order will acknowledge that the biological material could produce new, potentially relevant evidence. All three men have waived their rights to object to destructive testing under state law. The State, while consenting to the testing, noted possible issues with contamination or tampering due to the age and past handling of the evidence.
A total of 15 categories of evidence will undergo testing. Once complete, results will be provided to all parties and filed with the court. Both sides reserve the right to challenge the significance or admissibility of the results.
“I still think we may test it and find that it’s been extremely contaminated and we can’t make heads or tails of what the DNA evidence says,” Hagood said. “But in my mind, it’s worth it. Let’s just try it. Why not? It may be nothing that comes out of it, or we may get a silver bullet that explains the entire case.”
She also noted the order isn’t final and must be approved by a judge. However, she is hopeful this will bring peace and answers.
In 1993, three 8-year-old boys—Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers—were found murdered in a wooded area of West Memphis. Three teenagers—Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr.—were later arrested and convicted in connection with the killings. Prosecutors alleged the murders were part of a satanic ritual, with the case largely built on Misskelley’s confession, which he later recanted, and circumstantial evidence.
Over the years, questions about the investigation and lack of physical evidence led to widespread public scrutiny and support for the defendants. DNA testing failed to link the men to the crime scene.
In 2011, the three were released from prison after entering Alford pleas, which allowed them to maintain their innocence while pleading guilty to lesser charges. They had each served more than 18 years.
Then, in 2021, an evidence box that attorneys were told had been destroyed in a fire was found to be intact. The box contained shoelaces used to tie the victims.
Echols said in a statement to THV11, “It’s been 32 years since Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore were senselessly murdered. In 2020, then-prosecutor Scott Ellington agreed to test the evidence. It didn’t happen. Last year, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the testing. It hasn’t happened. We just want justice and answers for everyone involved.”
In 3 days it will have been one year since the ruling was issued that DNA testing could be done…..yet still nothing has happened.
My attorneys have been asking the state what the hold up is every week – and no response has been forthcoming.— Damien Echols (@damienechols) April 15, 2025
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