... as the Metallica song goes. Which is ironic as their music plays throughout the film about which I write here. I'm rarely compelled to write about something I see on TV but this is one such occasion.
The West Memphis 3. Heard of them? I hadn't.
Sometimes you watch something on TV or read a story of an apparent injustice and it really affects you, even long after its finished.
If you've seen 'Making a Murderer' you'll know what I mean. That story was quite shocking, but this one surpasses even that in my opinion, particularly given the terrible outcome of the whole thing. I can't believe the story of the West Memphis 3 passed me by given how the whole thing developed and how much I always liked a good murder case (not in an inappropriate way, of course!). I must have been oblivious to world events in the early 90's. I'll avoid going into too much detail about the case because if you haven't seen the documentaries or have no knowledge of the ensuing events, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. It's truly incredible and for anyone still advocating the death sentence, this will challenge you.
The story is told in a documentary trilogy called Paradise Lost. It's not that easy to come by but it's on YouTube and also on some streaming sites but believe me IT IS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT. Of course, if you're not a skinflint like me, you can buy the whole thing on dvd on Amazon or suchlike. Depending on where you source it you may also have to put up with Spanish subtitles as it seems only uploads from Spanish speaking sources haven't been blocked (on YouTube at least).
It's the most upsetting (reduced me to tears more than once), shocking, bizarre, farcical and ultimately, depressing piece of TV I think I've ever watched. Like Making a Murderer, you have to keep reminding yourself this is actually real and actually happened. However, it is compulsive viewing.
To point you in the right direction I've posted YouTube links to the 3 parts of the documentary below. Parts 2 and 3 have Spanish subtitles (as mentioned above), but they don't get in the way. You can get these on streaming sites too without the subtitles if you care to search them out. However you watch it, be warned, there is very graphic and upsetting content from the off, it's not for the faint hearted...
Part 1 https://youtu.be/uEp9pWNxAl0
Part 2 https://youtu.be/tmrOVD6aSpI
Part 3 https://youtu.be/yubLZYCm8s8
There's also a documentary on Netflix called West of Memphis which also tells the story but nowhere near the detail so you don't get the full picture, timeline or background to appreciate the full extent of the case.
Lastly, I'd also say there's always two sides to every story and, like the Making a Murderer film, this one has received criticism for being too one sided. I'm looking at the other side of the coin as we speak, there's a whole raft of discussion and detail about this case online. However, regardless of who was right and who wasn't (and we'll probably never truly know the answer to that), this was a tragic mess of the first order.
Once you've seen it (or if you've already seen it) I'd love to know your thoughts so please leave some comment.
The American justice system. The gift that keeps on giving..
No comments:
Post a Comment