Rating: 
Summary: Free the West Memphis Three!
Review: Did you think that the days of the Salem Witch Trials were over? In this book, veteran true crime novelist Mara Leveritt gives us a thoroughly detailed and in-depth look at the Robin Hood Woods murders and how three innocent young people were sent to prison (two with life sentences and one to death row) because of what they believed, how they dressed, and the kind of music they listened to. Leveritt's intense passion for the truth and her ability to uncover it is highly evident. The world has a right to know how an inept police investigation, outright lies, and religious bias fueled the prosecution's case, culminating in one of the worst instances of abuse our legal system has ever known. Read this book and be very afraid because it could just as easily happen to you.
Rating:
Summary: Justice Denied
Review: I am sickened and outraged by the tragic miscarriage of justice that resulted in the imprisonment of three young men in West Memphis, Arkansas, formerly chronicled in the HBO specials, Paradise Lost & PL2. Please read this impeccably researched and well-written account of the horrific murder of three innocent boys, and then the modern-day witch hunt that led to an unbelievably unfair trial. The police, district attorney, and judge involved were blinded by their obsession with blaming the murders on a non-existent Satanic cult to the point where the almost incredibly obvious suspect was NEVER EVEN QUESTIONED as such. Three teenagers were falsely convicted on the most ephemeral and tenuous web of non-evidence I have ever heard. The only crime those three committed, as far as I can see, is that they wore black, listened to Metallica, and had the misfortune to be born into one of those most ignorant and corrupt towns in America.
As a conservative Republican and devout Catholic, I commend the author, Mara Leveritt, for her passion for justice denied.
Rating:
Summary: A Most Horrifying Book
Review: I came to this book with a great deal of hesitation, for I am one of those who read Mara Leveritt's previous book, "The Boys on the Tracks" and disliked it, a lot. Therefore I didn't expect much fro this book on the West Memphis Three, particularly because it is such a well-publicized case, to tell the truth i expected a hack rehash of the scary story from Paradise Lost. Was I ever surprised! I'm glad I gave the book another chance. Some have complained that the book is kind of "dry," but I think that's the only way that Leveritt could have written it, for if she put all her emotion and passion into every paragraph, it would have been overkill. Besides, all you have to do is read between the lines and, in a brave exemplum of investigative reporting at its best, she practically names the real killer and just stops short of handing down a new indictment. Surely nobody who reads this book will doubt the identity of the real killer of those poor three little victims. The only question remains, why? How could one human being be so evil, or if you don't believe in "evil," how could he be so depraved--"psychopathic"? And how can we protect ourselves not only from the individual psychopath, but from the system of checks and balances that resulted in this massive miscarriage of justice?DEVIL'S KNOT is an atmospheric book as well. You will feel as though you're living in the shadow of the wooded area they call "Robin Hood."
Rating:
Summary: The Truth will set them free
Review: I found this book as well as the Blood of Innocents to be a fair and concise report on the case. I hope the young men are set free before more innocent boys die in a misguided notion of justice. This was a very informative book
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding and important book
Review: I highly recommend this book - it is a carefully researched, thoroughly documented account of the miscarriage of justice in West Memphis, Arkansas. Three teenagers were charged and convicted with the brutal murders of three children in 1993. Leveritt's research uncovers some startling and disturbing truths about the case, including serious questions about the ethics and professional conduct of law enforcement officers and prosecutors. The strength of this book is in its ability to let the reader draw her own conclusion from the evidence presented. If there is any flaw in this book, it is that it is so detailed and analytical it sometimes reads like a textbook. However, given the significance of this case and the important lessons we need to learn from it, I think the research and footnotes are a small price to pay. Please read this book if you are interested in criminal justice.
Rating:
Summary: This is the most important book you will ever read
Review: I read this book from cover to cover the first night I had it and walked away with a sick feeling that justice was never properly served and that we are indeed vunerable to the whims of ignorance and hysteria that cost three young men thier freedom simply because they were "Different". It makes me both sad and angry that someone can be picked up and arrested just because of thier musical, clothing and religious preferences. That is certainly the case here. Paradise Lost and Revelations may have raised the questions about the questionable convictions but Devil's Knot rips away the lies, deceit and corruption and exposes the ugly truth,which is that the local law enforcement agencies did not know how to do the job that they were paid to do and at the same time, knew exactly what they were doing. In my opinion, and sorry Mario, I don't buy your dumb claims at all, they(The WMPD ) just played on the emotions of the people in the community and fed them a story that they would believe. FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE!!! David
Rating:
Summary: Profoundly Disturbing
Review: I suppose there are hundreds of cases such as this hidden away in American history justice files - sensational crimes, creating mass hysteria, law enforcement officials desperate to catch a break and solve terribly violent murders. What is most profoundly disturbing about "Devil's Knot - The True Story of the West Memphis Three," a well-researched and eye-opening account by Mara Leveritt, is there is no comfortable resolution to this case. If the three teenagers who were convicted in the slayings of three eight-year-old boys in 1993 are truly guilty - as the juries found them - then it is a sad testament to the ever-decreasing humanity existing within the interstate wasteland of faceless trailer parks, strip malls and fast food dives. However, if these three anti-social teens were railroaded simply because they were counterculture, adorned in black listening to Metallica and Black Sabbath while perusing Anne Rice, then this morbid tale is an example of a modern-day witch-hunt akin to the Salem Witch Trails hundreds of years ago. Has justice been served in West Memphis, Arkansas - a small, faceless Southern town near the banks of the Mississippi River? Someone murdered those three innocent boys in or near the woods outside of town. But is that someone truly behind bars? When reading "Devil's Knot," it is abundantly clear these law enforcement officials had little experience dealing with a violent case such as this. The crime scene was contaminated, officers didn't follow leads, interviews were not recorded, evidence was lost, witnesses were threatened, body conditions leaked to the press. Most disturbing of all, there seemed to be an inability by these desperate officials to believe a God-fearing resident of their community - one of them - could ever murder three boys in this brutal a fashion. "It had to be someone who is not one of us. Someone who does not believe in God." When terrible crimes like this happen in our society, there is always an instinctive reaction to find a boogey man - some kind of monster not one of us. Damien Echols, goth and counterculture, with a creepy (though creative) presence fueled by depression and smalltown restraint, made the perfect boogey man for a wounded community trying to understand and cope. It is clear when reading "Devil's Knot" that Damien fueled much of this talk, and relished his role as eventual goth martyr. It is also clear mentally handicapped Jessie Misskelley, Jr. was intimidated and taken advantage of during his 11-hour ordeal when he eventually implicated himself, Damien and Jason Baldwin in the murders. The confession itself is so unconvincing as to be surreal. And the scant evidence - some of which was discovered or found months after the murders, was never scientifically related or matched to a single wound on the victims' bodies. But drop the name of Satan or Cult into a hysterically uneducated, conservatively religious town needing, if not wanting, to lynch someone for these murders, and all bets are off. All workings of a fair justice system are suddenly crippled. Damien and company made the perfect boogey men. Of course, Damien and company could truly be the boogey men we have always feared since the beginning of time......since the days of Salem Witch Trials. From all sides, this is an ugly story. As America, one way or another, we should be ashamed. "Devil's Knot" documents this in perfect fashion.
Rating:
Summary: Not only well-researched, but also a fine read
Review: I've followed the case from the start, as I was living in AR when the murders happened. Having seen both documentaries and read the earlier Blood of Innocents, my initial concern was that Devil's Knot might rehash what I had already read and seen of the case. What I found was that Leveritt's work sheds new light on the case--and not just on the case as it is now (versus where things stood when Blood of Innocents came out. So, whether you are just learning about the case, or you've seen the other materials, read this book. One last note: I'm confused as to why someone who has not read the book would review it and only give it 3 stars--read the reviews from folks who have read the book; you'll find that we all think it is a must-read for anyone interested in the case, whether it be for legal or religious reasons or both.
Rating:
Summary: That looks bad
Review: The Devil's Knot is a thorough look at the famous 'West Memphis 3' case, where three teenagers were apparently railroaded through court to close up a particularly disturbing murder case. When three young boys were found murdered and mutilated, a Satanic-cult case was prepared against three local misfits in West Memphis, Arkansas.
The evidence against the boys is pretty slim, any way you look at it. The biggest weapon of the prosecution were admissions from the teens themselves, admissions that don't make much sense. When we look closer at the (now-incarcerated for life and/or waiting to be executed) teens, we find murky waters indeed.
There is a lot going on here, and Leveritt does a pretty good job of weaving through the cast of players, including lawyers, parents, victims, judges, etc, etc.
It's fairly obvious that the judge has absolute contempt for the (court-appointed) defense from the start. Not being a lawyer, nevertheless some of the decisions are downright odd.
It all sounds like a case of the prosecution, the community, and the state wanting to put these brutal crimes to rest, quickly. Most disturbing in this whole thing is the behavior of one of the victim's children, famously captured in the two documentary films on the case. Mark Joseph Byers, a petty career criminal and all-around lowlife, is acting rather odd in the face of all of this, and he mysteriously never does any jail time for his numerous (and hair-brained) offenses.
Something reeks in this whole thing, period. Whether or not the '3' are given another trial is a whole different story, and it doesn't look likely that they're going anywhere soon. Disturbing, period.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh the poor satanists .. gimme a break
Review: They are satanists and they are murderers. They did it. This book is satanist-friendly; that is the only reason why the author says they are innocent. If these 3 were Christians, and they were actually innocent, this same author would ask that their heads be impaled on a spear and placed in front of the Wal-Mart in West Memphis. Anyone can write a book today. Ever see those books on "revisionist" history that claim there was no holocaust ... on Amazon? I could write a book on sponge bob square pants being the sole gunman in the assassination of Jack "Lefty" Kennedy. And I would get all these great reviews and people who will say how great the book is. But I'll know it's BS and some other halfway smart readers will know too. I know one of the victim's grandparent. You should see what he uncovered working with the law enforcement agencies around here. It is truly shameful how this book steers the reader into believing these 3 satanists are innocent. It's total BS. Remember all that liberal barking that those poor convicted communists were innocent and that they were being abused by the terrible American government. Remember Hiss, the Rosenburgs, etc.??? Come to find out they were all guilty as h*ll. Thanks to declassified documents uncovered in Russia. Ever hear about that???? NO?? This is somewhat the same situation. The boys will be found at some point (beyond a shadow of a doubt) to have done the murders. And this author will be mute on the issue. Probably too busy (the author) fighting to save the Rudas. Ever hear of them??? They're psycho-satanists also. Look it up it's on the internet. This happened in Germany. Did you know they all follow the same very destructive patterns? Think people! Don't be spoon-fed crap. And remember these were extremely horrible acts done to our young kids!!!
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