The most unusual aspect of the two murder cases was the apparent lack of motive from any of the accused; Knox and Sollecito were convicted of Meredith Kercher’s murder after a sex-game went awry, the West Memphis Three were found guilty of murdering three eight year-old boys on the evidence that they were “Goths” and listened to heavy metal music.
In both courthouses, the prosecutors used an evocative word when coming up with a motive – Satan.
REPORTER DONALL HOEY; THE IRISH INDEPENDENT; Donall Hoey is a contributing writer for the Irish Independent.
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"AFTER the acquittal of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in what was perhaps the most famous murder case in recent years, I was struck by the similarities to that case and that of the West Memphis Three, who were released just a few weeks ago after 17 years imprisonment," the Irish Independent story by reporter Donall Hoey filed earlier today under the heading, "...Why the Satan motive never stacks up in a court of law," begins.
"The most unusual aspect of the two murder cases was the apparent lack of motive from any of the accused; Knox and Sollecito were convicted of Meredith Kercher’s murder after a sex-game went awry, the West Memphis Three were found guilty of murdering three eight year-old boys on the evidence that they were “Goths” and listened to heavy metal music," the story continues.
"In both courthouses, the prosecutors used an evocative word when coming up with a motive – Satan.
Most people are aware of the circumstances surrounding the trial of Knox and Sollecito; it was hard to miss it with the blanket coverage given to it from the news organisations, however what received little coverage in the mainstream media was the prosecutor’s original hypothesis of what caused these two middle class students to murder Knox’s flatmate.
Lead prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, theorised that on the night of 1st November 2007 the two lovers held a satanic ritual with a casual acquaintance Rudy Guede, that called for a blood sacrifice.
To add to Mignini’s suspicions of dark forces at work, Knox and Sollecito admitted to occasionally smoking marijuana and engaging in pre-marital sex (the ranks of Dark Lord’s minions must be swelling in campuses across Ireland if that’s the criteria for being a follower).
Rolling Stone, when covering the original 2008 trial wrote that Mignini, “...detected Satan's influence as early as 2001, when he became a central figure in the Monster of Florence serial-killer case. He proposed that the suicide of a Perugian doctor was actually a murder committed by a satanic cult, practicing since the Middle Ages that demanded human organs for their Black Masses.
He later accused a hostile journalist of Satanism and was convicted of abusing his office. In the early stages of the Kercher investigation, Mignini suggested that the victim had been slaughtered during a satanic ritual, but in his closing argument, he only went so far as to refer to Knox as a sex-and-drug-crazed ‘she-devil.’”
On the other side of the Atlantic, the West Memphis Three case involved the conviction of Damien Wayne Echols (18), Jessie Misskelley (17) and Charles Jason Baldwin (16), with murder in the deaths of 8-year-olds Michael Moore, Christopher Byers and Steve Branch in 1994.
The bodies of the three victims were found in a ditch, hog-tied and naked but with no conclusive proof that they were raped. Police officials arrested the three teenagers who were known amongst locals for wearing “Goth” clothes and listening to heavy-metal music in a conservative Christian town.
Law officials allegedly coerced an error-filled "confession" from Misskelley, who is legally mentally-handicapped.
Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution tenuously presented black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual.
Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40 years.
After a heavy campaign by various supporters over, including Pearl Jam’s Eddie Veder and the Dixie Chick’s Natalie Maines, the West Memphis Three were allowed to walk free after entering a “no contest” plea.
This basically means that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to secure a conviction but innocence is nevertheless maintained (a cop-out from an embarrassed DA who realised that “witches” were put to death in 17th Century Salem with more evidence).
The three were only granted freedom six weeks ago and are still getting used to life on the outside; Echols stated that he had trouble keeping his balance because he is not used to walking without chains attached to his ankles.
These two high-profile cases emphasise the need to keep criminal prosecution in the realm of the secular. The invocation of Satan or merely satanic-worshipping in a murder trial as a motive is, perhaps the most desperate example of unsubstantiated evidence used to secure a conviction.
In murder trials, there will nearly always be an unknown factor that cannot be explained, and on quite a few occasions, that elusive “x” value is the motive.
It’s up to the prosecutor to present the surrounding evidence (forensics, pathology reports, eye-witnesses) as conclusive proof that no other person could have committed the crime than the accused. Establishing motive isn’t the only way of getting a conviction, but filling in the lack of motive with a theory based in the supernatural is an indication of a weak argument.
Sixty years were lost in a jail cell amongst the five people wrongfully convicted on the premise that Satan had influenced their mind, one of them was almost put to death.
Be wary of lawyers who use the Book of Revelations as a law reference."
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The story can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
