In 1993, the murders of three eight year old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, had the police stymied for weeks, then suddenly the detectives charged three teenagers--alleged members of a Satanic cult--with the killings. It is brutal and riveting--the abuses of the criminal justice system are so blatent and tragic--but unfortunately also the well documented truth. 

There have been multiple books and several HBO miniseries devoted to documenting the blunders, the absence of physical evidence, the error ridden "confession" that occurred while investigating and prosecuting this case--a case the lead to the ultimate conviction of three teenage boys.

Ms. Leverett's fine reporting covered the happenings through 2003, and ends with all three boys still in prison despite multiple appeals. Of course, as I read this in 2025 I went to the interwebs to see how it all played out in the intervening years. The real tragedy--the person who killed those three innocent 8 yr olds walks free today, while three teenagers spent close to twenty years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

Reading Challenge:

25 In 2025

Once Around the Categories: By The Number, Devil