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by Frank Wilkins
In 1996, Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger brought us Paradise Lost: The Childhood Murders at Robin Hood Hills, a chilling documentary that highlighted the case of three teenagers from a rural Arkansas town who, in 1993, were tried and convicted of the brutal rape, mutilation and ritualistic murder of three young boys. The HBO filmmakers were originally sent to document the trial of the “devil worshippers”, but they ultimately witnessed a jury of peers convict the teenagers – one is on death row – on little or no evidence other than the fact that the boys liked to wear black clothing and listened to the heavy metal music of Metallica. The prosecutors played upon the worst fears of the jury and depicted the suspects as members of a satanic cult. The jury convicted Damien Echols as the ringleader of the three and sentenced him to death row, while the other two suspects were handed down life sentences. The film, while giving equal screen time to the families of both the victims and the accused, made a strong case for the innocence of the boys, whose appeals are now running out.

Paradise Lost 2: Revelations picks up where the original left off. Revelations looks at the aftermath of the trial, the course of the appeals and raises serious doubt about the alibi of Mark Byers, the stepfather of one of the brutally murdered children. Where the original made a strong effort to take the high road with regards to presenting “just the facts, ma’am”, in Revelations, the filmmakers clearly turn the spotlight of suspicion on Byers.

We learn through a newly hired forensics expert that one of the victims was riddled with bite marks. Odontological tests performed on each of the three convicts exclude them from possibility of having created the bite marks. Mark Byers, the stepfather of the child with the bite marks has since had his teeth removed and forensic tests to be performed on his wife are hampered by the fact that she died several years ago from undetermined causes, although large amounts of prescription drugs were detected in her body post mortem. Byers’ testimony is contradicted several times throughout the film and although he passes a lie-detector test, we hear his disturbing exclamation of ?I knew I was innocent? immediately followed by extreme anger and seemingly fabricated grief.

A small but loyal group of supporters has banded together to bring public recognition to the plight of The West Memphis Three, as the three convicted youths have come to be known. The supporters, Free The West Memphis Three, are in the process of setting up new appeals in an effort to prove that the convicts were the victims of a botched police investigation and subsequently were not given access to a fair trial. Among their evidence is the reality that there was no blood at the crime scene. A fact that completely contradicts trial testimony that stated the murders were of a ritualistic nature. The character of the injuries and the lack of blood at the crime scene mean that the violent murders were likely an act of rage carried out elsewhere and the bodies were dumped at the scene. It is mentioned in the film that Byers has a history of drug and violence problems.

Paradise 2: Revelations, while a remarkable exercise in journalistic filmmaking, loses some of the emotional effectiveness that was characteristic of the original. The obvious bias towards attempting to bring the stepfather under scrutiny taints the authenticity of their intentions. While it is made clearly evident that Mark Byers is a lying imbecile, if not a legitimate suspect, Revelations walks a bit on the edge of exploitation and tainted purpose.

We are treated to very little new footage of conversations with the parents of the convicted and it is obvious that filming was off-limits with regards to access to the prosecutors or families of the other two victims. No new questions are answered but plenty are asked. The movie just takes it for fact that Mark Byers is guilty and spends the majority of its runtime convincing us that this is so. It’s probably an accurate accusation and if the truth, a terrible abortion of justice will be perpetrated when Damien Echols is executed.

It’s amazing that, in this day and age, such prejudice, based solely upon a person’s style of clothing and choice of music, can get so far out of hand and ultimately lead to a capital murder conviction.

Frank Wilkins


Click on the graphic below for more information on the West Memphis 3 and the current status of their appeals

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