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CAN 'DEVIL'S KNOT' HELP BRING JUSTICE TO REAL WEST MEMPHIS KILLERS?
The Wrap
May 8 2014
Movies | By Lucas Shaw
Director Atom Egoyan tells TheWrap that the dramatization is "about
showing how we live with doubt, how we navigate in places where there
is no resolution"
Jason Baldwin, one of the members of the so-called West Memphis 3,
credits Hollywood with getting him out of prison.
Now Baldwin hopes a new movie will ensnare whomever is responsible
for the crime he swears he did not commit decades ago. Atom Egoyan's
"Devil's Knot," which opens in theaters Friday, dramatizes the story
of three teens convicted of killing three young boys, with Oscar
winners Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon in key roles.
Also read: Joe Berlinger to Direct Eight-Part Criminal Justice Series
for Al-Jazeera America (Exclusive)
The movie follows three "Paradise Lost" documentaries by Joe Berlinger
about the case, which attracted celebrity interest, and one from Amy
Berg that came out after Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley
Jr. were freed three years ago.
Baldwin told TheWrap that he feels like he owes it to the slain kids
and their families to keep telling the story in hopes justice will
ultimately be served.
"There's no statute of limitations on murder," Baldwin told TheWrap.
"We're saying to whoever did this, whoever is out there, we're still
paying attention. We're not giving up on a search for you. You may
think you've gotten away with murder, but you haven't."
Although a series of appeals and new evidence convinced legal
authorities to ultimately free the three men accused of the 1993
murders, but Baldwin gives Berlinger a great deal of credit for saving
the life of Echols, who had been on death row.
Also read: West Memphis 3 Defendant Jason Baldwin to Executive Produce
'Devil's Knot' (Exclusive)
He served as executive producer on Egoyan's "Devil's Knot." TheWrap
spoke with Baldwin and Egoyan about the film, its potential impact
and how the case influenced their beliefs.
This story has been the subject of several movies and books. Why
did you pick this approach, and do existing materials complicate
your efforts?
Egoyan: I first saw 'Paradise Lost' when it came out in Toronto a few
years after the case, and clearly this documentary was instrumental
in keeping the case alive. It also pointed towards another culprit. A
lot of books and documentaries seem to say if only this person had
been pursued or that person. I don't think it's that easy; it would
have been another witchhunt.
What's remarkable about this incident is the mountain of evidence that
one has to wade through because so much of that was dismissed. Once the
system set its sights on these three young men, they felt they found
the culprits and focused on as expedient a resolution as possible.
See video: Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth Hunt for Justice in West
Memphis 3 Drama 'Devil's Knot'
It is the most horrifying crime scene imaginable and it happened in a
town deeply rooted in religion. With an action of unquestionable evil,
demons had to be created. Once these three young men were brought
into the system, the resolution was sealed.
Did you draw your own conclusions?
Egoyan: Nothing that I would begin to want to talk about. This movie is
not about saying this is what would have happened, but about showing
how we live with doubt, how we navigate in places where there is no
resolution. Mistakes were made from the get-go. You don't find a body
and then move it.
How many more ways can you tell this story?
Baldwin: I feel like we owe it to Michael, Steve, Chris, their families
and my family to use whatever tools we can. You may say the case
is closed, but the fact remains there's no statute of limitations
on murder. We're saying to whoever did this, whoever is out there,
we're still paying attention. We're not giving up on a search for you.
You may think you've gotten away with murder, but you haven't.
And what role will Hollywood play in this?
Baldwin: If it weren't for the documentaries before the movie showing
the world what happened to us, Damien would have been murdered by
the state of Arkansas. Whoever did this would have escaped justice
forever. Maybe this film is a part of all this. This situation is
not hopeless. Damien is alive.
Jason, how much attention did you pay to all of the media coverage
of the case and the books about your life?
Baldwin: I paid the utmost attention to everything I could grasp
about the real atmosphere of the crime scene. When you are arrested
you expect certain things to occur in the judicial system. A mugshot,
a phone call. When it came time to fingerprinting, I was not surprised
they took my entire handprint or footprint. I figured they must have
some kind of evidence to compare something from the crime scene.
They were convinced I'm the person that did this. I was no longer
looked at as innocent. A dark spell came over people and the
prosecution was allowed to create a fanciful story and overlook facts.
There was biological material that could be tested, but since tests
didn't lead to us it made no sense for the prosecution to act like
it was there.
Egoyan: For all the talk about dark magic, the only act of magic
was what Fogelman could do in that summation. Here's a table of
circumstantial evidence, and when you mix it all together you've
got demons.
Are either of you spiritual?
Baldwin: I was raised Southern Baptist all my life; I was raised on
the story of the Bible. On a sunny Sunday morning, you don't want to
sit in the church. When the murders occurred, I had this faith. At
the same time I would rather be spending time with friends. As I've
gotten older, I've been spending more time with faith.
Egoyan: I was raised in the Armenian Christian Orthodox church,
dealing with an extraordinary act of evil -- the genocide against
the Armenian evil. Justice hasn't been served; perpetrators haven't
admitted it happened.
What draws me to these types of stories is faith seems to be a very
personal issue. When applied communally, it becomes much more complex.
Did this influence your faith?
Jason: All things can be used for good, and all things can be misused.
Egoyan: When you look at Fogelman's summation, he says religion
can make people do evil things; he's talking about it in terms of
Satanism. Yet he is about to do a very evil thing in the name of
religion, and that religion is justice.
As a Christian, the fundamental law you are taught is do as you would
have done unto yourself. There are a lot of people in the world who
don't want to be treated the way you would treat yourself.
http://www.thewrap.com/jason-baldwin-atom-egoyan-devils-knot-west-memphis-three
The Wrap
May 8 2014
Movies | By Lucas Shaw
Director Atom Egoyan tells TheWrap that the dramatization is "about
showing how we live with doubt, how we navigate in places where there
is no resolution"
Jason Baldwin, one of the members of the so-called West Memphis 3,
credits Hollywood with getting him out of prison.
Now Baldwin hopes a new movie will ensnare whomever is responsible
for the crime he swears he did not commit decades ago. Atom Egoyan's
"Devil's Knot," which opens in theaters Friday, dramatizes the story
of three teens convicted of killing three young boys, with Oscar
winners Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon in key roles.
Also read: Joe Berlinger to Direct Eight-Part Criminal Justice Series
for Al-Jazeera America (Exclusive)
The movie follows three "Paradise Lost" documentaries by Joe Berlinger
about the case, which attracted celebrity interest, and one from Amy
Berg that came out after Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley
Jr. were freed three years ago.
Baldwin told TheWrap that he feels like he owes it to the slain kids
and their families to keep telling the story in hopes justice will
ultimately be served.
"There's no statute of limitations on murder," Baldwin told TheWrap.
"We're saying to whoever did this, whoever is out there, we're still
paying attention. We're not giving up on a search for you. You may
think you've gotten away with murder, but you haven't."
Although a series of appeals and new evidence convinced legal
authorities to ultimately free the three men accused of the 1993
murders, but Baldwin gives Berlinger a great deal of credit for saving
the life of Echols, who had been on death row.
Also read: West Memphis 3 Defendant Jason Baldwin to Executive Produce
'Devil's Knot' (Exclusive)
He served as executive producer on Egoyan's "Devil's Knot." TheWrap
spoke with Baldwin and Egoyan about the film, its potential impact
and how the case influenced their beliefs.
This story has been the subject of several movies and books. Why
did you pick this approach, and do existing materials complicate
your efforts?
Egoyan: I first saw 'Paradise Lost' when it came out in Toronto a few
years after the case, and clearly this documentary was instrumental
in keeping the case alive. It also pointed towards another culprit. A
lot of books and documentaries seem to say if only this person had
been pursued or that person. I don't think it's that easy; it would
have been another witchhunt.
What's remarkable about this incident is the mountain of evidence that
one has to wade through because so much of that was dismissed. Once the
system set its sights on these three young men, they felt they found
the culprits and focused on as expedient a resolution as possible.
See video: Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth Hunt for Justice in West
Memphis 3 Drama 'Devil's Knot'
It is the most horrifying crime scene imaginable and it happened in a
town deeply rooted in religion. With an action of unquestionable evil,
demons had to be created. Once these three young men were brought
into the system, the resolution was sealed.
Did you draw your own conclusions?
Egoyan: Nothing that I would begin to want to talk about. This movie is
not about saying this is what would have happened, but about showing
how we live with doubt, how we navigate in places where there is no
resolution. Mistakes were made from the get-go. You don't find a body
and then move it.
How many more ways can you tell this story?
Baldwin: I feel like we owe it to Michael, Steve, Chris, their families
and my family to use whatever tools we can. You may say the case
is closed, but the fact remains there's no statute of limitations
on murder. We're saying to whoever did this, whoever is out there,
we're still paying attention. We're not giving up on a search for you.
You may think you've gotten away with murder, but you haven't.
And what role will Hollywood play in this?
Baldwin: If it weren't for the documentaries before the movie showing
the world what happened to us, Damien would have been murdered by
the state of Arkansas. Whoever did this would have escaped justice
forever. Maybe this film is a part of all this. This situation is
not hopeless. Damien is alive.
Jason, how much attention did you pay to all of the media coverage
of the case and the books about your life?
Baldwin: I paid the utmost attention to everything I could grasp
about the real atmosphere of the crime scene. When you are arrested
you expect certain things to occur in the judicial system. A mugshot,
a phone call. When it came time to fingerprinting, I was not surprised
they took my entire handprint or footprint. I figured they must have
some kind of evidence to compare something from the crime scene.
They were convinced I'm the person that did this. I was no longer
looked at as innocent. A dark spell came over people and the
prosecution was allowed to create a fanciful story and overlook facts.
There was biological material that could be tested, but since tests
didn't lead to us it made no sense for the prosecution to act like
it was there.
Egoyan: For all the talk about dark magic, the only act of magic
was what Fogelman could do in that summation. Here's a table of
circumstantial evidence, and when you mix it all together you've
got demons.
Are either of you spiritual?
Baldwin: I was raised Southern Baptist all my life; I was raised on
the story of the Bible. On a sunny Sunday morning, you don't want to
sit in the church. When the murders occurred, I had this faith. At
the same time I would rather be spending time with friends. As I've
gotten older, I've been spending more time with faith.
Egoyan: I was raised in the Armenian Christian Orthodox church,
dealing with an extraordinary act of evil -- the genocide against
the Armenian evil. Justice hasn't been served; perpetrators haven't
admitted it happened.
What draws me to these types of stories is faith seems to be a very
personal issue. When applied communally, it becomes much more complex.
Did this influence your faith?
Jason: All things can be used for good, and all things can be misused.
Egoyan: When you look at Fogelman's summation, he says religion
can make people do evil things; he's talking about it in terms of
Satanism. Yet he is about to do a very evil thing in the name of
religion, and that religion is justice.
As a Christian, the fundamental law you are taught is do as you would
have done unto yourself. There are a lot of people in the world who
don't want to be treated the way you would treat yourself.
http://www.thewrap.com/jason-baldwin-atom-egoyan-devils-knot-west-memphis-three