Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained for the West Memphis Three

I just had a viewing marathon of the Paradise Lost Trilogy, which meant I spent more than six hours glued to the TV screen and consumed about 10 mgs of caffeine. FYI, the Paradise Lost Trilogy is the award-winning documentary series by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky for HBO. It went in depth on the triple murders that occurred in West Memphis Arkansas in 1993. Three 8-year-old boys were stabbed, mutilated (one of the victim's has had his penis cut off) and allegedly sexually assaulted then ditched in the shallow creek in the area known as Robin Hood Hills. Actual crime scene photos and footages were used, so be ready to be grossed out. In the aftermath of the crime, three teenage boys were arrested -Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr - whom locals and police believed to have connections with a satanic cult. After the first installment (Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills) was shown in 1996, the suspects gained sympathy from some quarters which later formed the Save Memphis Three support group or the Save WM3. The group believed that the suspects were arrested because they were the easiest fall guys around: They are from impoverished rural area and practiced "weird" lifestyle. Echols, believed to be the leader of the group, adored heavy metal bands particularly Metallica and wore black clothes and liked to paint his nails black. The documentary also showed the bungled police investigation - from lost blood scrapings to coerced confessions.

It's truly unbelievable watching the case unfolds, on how crime and punishment is sometimes meted out in America. Geez, it resembles a witch hunt in the medieval times! Believe me, the documentary is worth the sleep deprivation and caffeine overload. Plus, Metallica songs are interspersed throughout the series so expect your auditory nerve to take a trip down the great '90s (James Hetfield et al., o brothers, where art thou?). On a side note, I say it was uncharacteristically generous of the band to allow their songs to be used in the documentary. I heard a rumor that during their concert here in Manila back in '93 even their front acts (the late Karl Roy and Razorback, I think) paid for their tickets. LOL Talk about greedy flies! Ok, back to Paradise. The trio were released from prison in August 19 last year arguably due to the showing of this film. Presently, rewards are being offered for some up to US200,000, for the capture of the real suspect/s. Hmmmm, maybe Metallica will join the hunt just for the money. Happy hunting, guys!