Anyone who’s seen Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s brutal, haunting documentaries Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations has likely never forgotten them. This Saturday, events here and across the country aim to make sure the films’ subjects are remembered too.

When three young boys were viciously slain in the poor backwater of West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993, three suspects were arrested almost immediately. There was no murder weapon, and no physical evidence linking Jesse Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols to the murders. But there was an inconsistent, illegally obtained, and soon retracted "confession" from Misskelley (who’s borderline mentally retarded). There was also the fact that Echols dressed in black, listened to Metallica, read Stephen King, and flirted with Wicca. Rumors of Satanic sacrifice swept through the largely Baptist community, and after a shoddy trial riddled with errors, all three were convicted. Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin got life without parole, and Misskelley received life plus 40 years. In the decade-plus since, the case has been a rallying point for those who believe the teens are innocent — or at least deserve a fair trial.

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Portland Phoenix Feature Story on the West Memphis Three

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