Blood of Innocents: The True Story of Multiple Murder in West Memphis, Arkansas by Reel Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Blood of Innocents: The True Story of Multiple Murder in West Memphis, Arkansas
Book Review: A Sensationalist Account of an Important Case
Summary: 2 Stars
Two books have been written on this case; if you're only going to read one, though, do not choose this one. This case has turned out to be a very controversial one with seriously troubling questions about the manner in which the defendants were identified, incriminated, and prosecuted. But these authors, two of whom covered the trial as newspaper reporters, pretty much miss the story concerning those issues and instead choose to report on every lurid bit of unsubstantiated rumor and gossip concerning Satanic rituals and orgies and sacrifices that they can find; no tale is too absurd, no accusation too outrageous, to be harped on. A goth magazine found in the trash of one of the defendant's girlfriends gets twice as much ink (two pages worth) as the trial testimony of a defense expert witness on false confessions, an issue that is perhaps the central point of contention in this case. Two more pages go to a juvenile in confinement who is obviously improvising a false story about local Satanic street gangs affiliated with Bloods and Crips, while another defense expert who testifies about the lack of factual evidence or scientific basis to support the then-trendy theory of a national occult crime wave gets less than one page.
Like national reporters who have recently been embarrassed by simply believing and uncritically reporting stories from government officials about things such as the Jessica Lynch ordeal, stories which it is now obvious were largely invented by those officials, these reporters basically accepted the word of the authorities - prosecution and police - hook, line, and sinker without doing any critical investigatory work. To take one example that represents the blind trust that these reporters had in the accuracy of what they were being told by officials, the authors repeatedly express how amazing of a coincidence it is that the case number happened to be 0666; it seems so improbable that a case in which the police claim teenage Satanists were involved would happen to get, just by chance, the number of the beast. But they quote the lead detective as their authority that this is purely a coincidence, and they accept his word. Had they only paid a bit more attention to the case files, though, they would have discovered what the author of the other book on this case discovered, which is that the earliest reports from this case were originally numbered 0555; apparently, this was not some "coincidence" after all, but a deliberate act.
The book's Postscript, written years after the rest of the text, does acknowledge, though, that the authors may have erred when they wrote the disputable claim that, at the conclusion of the sentencing phase of the defendant Damien Echols, "all doubts that police had the wrong man began to evaporate." Apparently with the benefit of some hindsight, they have revised their stance and now claim that "given the void of evidence in this case - and developments since the trials - Echols' contentions [of innocence] may merit another look."
And another book. "Devil's Knot" is a superior account in almost every way. However, all of this is not to say that "The Blood of Innocents" is not worth reading at all. It can be seen as a supplement to the other book; it does contain some useful background and interesting descriptions of the towns involved, and it describes early leads and police interrogations of other initial suspects that went nowhere. But for a detailed, accurate, insightful account of how this case unfolded, you have to look elsewhere.
Book Review: Slanted and Irrelevant Story
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this book after viewing the documentary, Paradise Lost. I was disapointed. I was expecting and hoping for an unbiased account of this brutal, terrifying crime. Instead, I bought a poorly-written and biased account of the crimes.
Instead of focusing on the sensational crimes and the "Satanism Scare" that plauged the media for months, Blood of Innocents focued more on descriptions of the city and tedious biographies of minor characters.
For those interested in the case of the "West Memphis Three," I would suggest they search elsewhere.
Book Review: The Best Book About the West Memphis 3 Case Yet Written
Summary: 5 Stars
Written in an objective newspaper style, Blood of Innocents is the single best book yet written about the West Memphis murder case of 1993 in which 3 eight year olds were sadistically murdered, tortured and mutilated.
Unlike the grossly overrated Devil's Knot, this book does not feature any elaborate conspiracy theories about "satanic panic" and police skullduggery. Instead, it lays out the evidence against the 3 criminals and does so in throughly convincing fashion.
Ignore the conspiracy theory hype, Blood of Innocents lays the facts out for all those who really care about the truth in this case.
Heartily recommended.
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