A review by choward69
Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leveritt

5.0

I found this book to be very well written and well researched. I don't know how anyone, after reading this book, could come away not feeling appalled by the conduct of the West Memphis police department, and of the prosecutors and judge trying this case. I can't say that there is absolutely no possible way that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, or Jessie Miskelley Jr. could have been involved in this case in any way, but I can say that there was no way they should have been convicted, Damien even sentenced to the death penalty, based on the evidence provided in this case. The police department grossly mishandled evidence, manipulated witnesses, glossed over inconsistencies, and failed to search for, or pay any heed to, any evidence that anyone other than these three teenagers had been involved in these crimes. The motive that they suggested for the killing was preposterous and almost laughable. Citing that the fact that one of the accused owned 15 black t-shirts as evidence of Satan-worship? Yes, though I believe that she tried to present in case as neutrally as possible, it is clear that Leveritt believes there was not sufficient evidence to convict the three boys. But if Leveritt is slightly biased toward the defense, it pales in comparison to how unabashedly biased Judge David Burnett was toward the prosecution. It is hard to believe that in this day and age, justice can be so severely misrepresented.