Judge Approves DNA Testing in West Memphis Three Case After Years of Legal Battles

MARION, Ark. — A judge has approved a long-awaited order to allow new DNA testing of evidence in the West Memphis Three case, potentially bringing closure to a decades-long effort by defendants and advocates seeking to reexamine forensic material from the 1993 triple homicide.

Read the Order Here

NEA Report first reported that the state would agree to the order in June. The order, approved following a hearing held Friday in Marion, allows for advanced DNA testing of key evidence, including ligatures and hair samples, to be conducted by Bode Laboratories. The court’s approval follows a joint agreement between the State of Arkansas and attorneys for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., with support from the Innocence Project.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“This testing may not change anything—or it could explain everything,” said Prosecutor Sonia F. Hagood in a prior interview, acknowledging the limitations posed by possible contamination of the nearly 30-year-old evidence. “In my mind, it’s worth it. Let’s just try it.”

Hagood noted the Arkansas Supreme Court did not directly order DNA testing in its April 2024 ruling, but affirmed jurisdiction over Echols’ petition. In response, all parties began negotiations, ultimately agreeing to proceed with testing while preserving their rights to challenge the significance or admissibility of any results.

Under the order, the testing will be paid for by the petitioning parties. All sides will have equal access to the lab, its procedures, and the results. Fifteen categories of evidence will be tested, and the defendants have waived their right to object to destructive testing under state law.

The State acknowledged the risk of contamination, citing outdated practices from the original investigation—including instances where individuals handled evidence without gloves. Hagood stressed that such practices were common at the time and not an indictment of those involved.

The case dates back to May 1993, when three 8-year-old boys—Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers—were found murdered in a wooded area of West Memphis. Teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were arrested and convicted in the deaths, based largely on Misskelley’s now-recanted confession and circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors alleged the killings were linked to a satanic ritual.

Widespread public scrutiny followed the convictions, especially after DNA testing failed to link the three men to the crime scene. In 2011, they were released from prison after entering Alford pleas, allowing them to maintain their innocence while pleading guilty to lesser charges.

In 2021, a previously believed-to-be-destroyed evidence box—containing shoelaces used to bind the victims—was discovered intact, renewing calls for testing.