5 posts tagged “wm3”
Canada Day. We caught up with him at a hot dog stand on a busy corner of Robson Street. Tim poked him on the shoulder and said, "Hi!”
Tim pointed to the kid's shirt. He said, "West Memphis Three" then pointed at me. I repeated the words and pointed at the kid. Then Tim asked if he was involved in the case. The boy looked confused.
I pointed to my shirt then back at his and told him we had the same shirt, the same message.
I could tell he was trying hard to comprehend. Then, slowly, he said, "Ahhh West Memphis Three...I do not know what it means."
"You don't know the story of the West Memphis Three?" I asked to make sure I got that right.
Then carefully, with a blank face he said, "No, I do not know West Memphis Three. I bought this shirt in Korea."
I laughed. Then he laughed. I asked if I could try to explain who the West Memphis Three are and he nodded. I began acting out the story with hand gestures and limited words.
My T-shirt is an older model. A row of mug shots printed across the chest in white on black jersey.
I pointed to the photos and said, "These three men are The West Memphis Three. They are in prison in the United States for murdering 3 children." I held up three fingers then lowered my hand to the height of a child.
He said, "Ohhhh."
I waved my hands and explain that there are a lot of people out there, around the world, who think they did not do it. I tell him, "There are a lot of people out there wearing these kinds of T-shirts. We think they should be free."
I point to the face in the middle of the row of mug shots. "This is Damien Echols. For this crime he is going to be executed," I hold my fingers like a gun because acting out lethal injection is too much of a task, "and a lot of people do not want to see that happen. He is in prison - on death row in a place called Arkansas."
"So, I wear this and it is good?" He asked.
"I think it is really good." I answered.
Then I took his picture.
This is a great video put together by a fellow named Brian Quist. I've watched it about 3 times. It's great. It says it all in simple terms without more drama than the subject already creates.
I loves me some Dan Stidham. Great interview. Good read. READ IT!
Morehead's Musings:
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
West Memphis Three: Interview with Defense Attorney Dan Stidham
