Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

This film left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Not that it was gruesome -- it is, but I've done research involving reading coroner reports, so gruesome I can cope with. It was the unanswered questions and the unasked questions.

It seems so utterly implausible that a jury could have convicted any of the suspects that I wonder what the filmmakers did not show us. Specifically, I wonder about the fiber evidence, which was the only real physical evidence at all.

I could only rate this documentary a 7 out of 10 because of the unasked questions and the evidence we were not shown. I would like to have come away from watching Paradise Lost with a clearer understanding of what those jurors heard and saw that led them to their verdicts. Mind you, I don't think those boys did it -- I think that even fiber evidence could have been too flimsy to convict them. But I wish I had been left convinced.

Absolutely shocking and riveting from beginning to end. A brutal murder of three young boys leads to the wrongful conviction of three teens who were fingered for the crime because the police and townspeople found them "weird." Two of the teens are currently (2004) serving life sentences, and one is sitting on death row! This documentary brilliantly unfolds the story of the tragedy in West Memphis through interviews with the murdered boys' families, the accused and convicted teens, and footage of the court trials. The directors remain unbiased and let the audience decide for themselves "who did it," but there's no disputing that the police investigation was a travesty and that the West Memphis Three did not get fair trials--were found guilty before even taking the stand. Also check out the sequel: "Paradise Lost: Revelations." Be warned, though--both documentaries will make you want to scream with the injustice of it all, and rightfully concern you that despite an absence of any physical evidence linking three young men to a crime, and despite mounds of evidence indicating that the young men are innocent, the desire by influential individuals to convict won out over justice.

I remember watching this documentary when it appeared on HBO and being completly disgusted. This was a witch hunt. The trial of these boys was based more on their look and taste in music more than actual hard evidence. I grew up around this area and I know exactly what it's like to be a noncormist..you're automatically accused of being a satanist and associated with murders just because you look and think a certain way. Now I can't honestly sit here and say that these boys didn't do it..because I don't know..it's possible..and my heart tells me they didn't..but ya know i'd look like an ass if the evidence came up that they did. What disgusted me was the trial..and the assassination of the boys . There was no real concrete facts..just their lifestyle of music and fashion. The second one focused more on the father of the murdered children..all evidence pointed at him and away from the boys..just my opinion. This is a disturbing look at corrupted justice in the Bible belt.

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but the American courtroom is stranger, still. For the two hours during which I've watched this film I've gained a valuable insight into the nature of the witch trials. I feel powerless, as there is not much I can do to help these kids. But perhaps there is a lesson in it for us, and everyone who has seen the film should have taken some mental notes. First -- never name youself or your children 'Damien' -- especially if you live in the Bible Belt. And, as a general survival strategy, do not be the black sheep of the local community. There may come the time when your eccentric behavior alone will be used against you to sentence you to death.

Powerful and thought provoking look at American justice, and how we treat those who are outsiders or 'different'.

When three very young boys are found brutally murdered, and mutilated the town of West Memphis demands retribution and closure, and so, after some fruitless weeks of police work, the suspects become three teen-age boys, who listened to heavy metal, and the oldest of whom dressed (somewhat) Goth and was interested in Wicca. A strong indictment of how, at least some of the time in our justice system 'guilty until proved innocent' is the rule.

That said, the film makes some serious miss-steps by not being clearer about some of the evidence it brings up, but never explores. For example, we're told early on by the filmmakers that all 3 boys had alibis for the night of the killing, yet we never hear about it again. Are their defense lawyers THAT bad, or were the alibis not solid? Two said they were home with their families, yet the families never mention being with them that night. Similarly, we are never told why the police picked up the first of the boys, a borderline mentally retarded kid, who clearly didn't know what was going on, for questioning. The implication was that the cops wanted an easy pliable target, but the issue is never explored either by the defense, or by the film-makers. In a 150 minute movie, there's no need for those kind of loose ends, leaving us to question whether we've seen a fair reporting of what went on, or if there really was more evidence against the kids than we're shown.

Still a powerful and important examination of how we often rush to judgment, socially and legally. Recent history has shown this is far from an isolated case - people are sent to prison, even death row on flimsy or incomplete evidence, and by playing on a juries fears far more often then we would all like to believe.