To give you some background: Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin were once three young boys in rural Arkansas who happened to listen to heavy metal and wear black. Shortly after three eight-year-old boys were found mutilated and murdered in their small town of West Memphis, local newspapers stated the killers had been caught. The police assured the public that the three teenagers in custody were definitely responsible for the murders.

These same police officers allegedly coerced an error-filled "confession" from Jessie Misskelley, who happens to be mentally handicapped. They subjected him to 12 hours of questioning without counsel or parental consent, audio-taping only two fragments totaling 46 minutes. Jessie recanted it that evening, but it was too late. Misskelley, Baldwin and Echols were all convicted of murder in early 1994.

Image: Damien Echols in prison