Jessie Misskelley
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Jessie Misskelley Jr. (born July 10, 1975) is one of the 3 members of what has been called the West Memphis 3 (Misskelley, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin). The three were accused and convicted of a triple homicide in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Jessie gave a confession (later retracted) with respect to the murders which inculpated the other two accused. Under the "Bruton rule", his confession could not be admitted against his co-defendants and thus he was tried separately. Misskelley was convicted by a jury of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The court sentenced him to life plus 40 years in prison. His conviction was appealed and affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Postconviction forensic testing did not link Misskelley to the scene of the crime in July of 2007. Misskelley, however, remains in prison. Two hairs were found at the scene. One was found entangled in one of the ligatures tying one of the boys. It has been matched with DNA samples from Terry Hobbs, a stepfather of one of the victims.
Another hair, found on a tree stump, has been linked by DNA sampling to David Jacoby, a friend of Hobbs who was with him on the day of the murder and provided him with an alibi. No DNA evidence of any kind has been found at the scene to match any of the West Memphis Three. John E. Douglas, who pioneered the profiling of serial killers at the FBI, also believes they do not match the psychological profile of whoever carried out the crime. He said the way the boys were killed, and their bikes, clothes and bodies hidden, suggested a sophisticated adult who knew the victims.
Jessie Misskelley was originally arrested on June 3, 1993, and has been in custody ever since.
