Devil’s Knot

The True Story of the West Memphis Three

By: Mara Leveritt

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

“Free the West Memphis Three!” - maybe you’ve heard the phrase, but do you know why their story is so alarming? Do you know the facts?

The guilty verdicts handed out to three Arkansas teens in a horrific capital murder case were popular in their home state - even upheld on appeal. But after two HBO documentaries called attention to the witch-hunt atmosphere at the trials, artists and other supporters raised concerns about the accompanying lack of evidence. Now, award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt provides the most comprehensive look yet into this endlessly shocking case.

For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas, seemed stymied. Then suddenly detectives charged three teenagers - alleged members of a satanic cult - with the killings. Despite stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were tried and convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison. They sentenced Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. Ten years later, all three remain in prison. Here, Leveritt unravels this seemingly medieval case and offers close-up views of its key participants - including one with an uncanny knack for evading the law.

Mara Leveritt has won several awards for investigative journalism, including Arkansas’s Booker Worthen Prize for her book The Boys on the Tracks. A contributing editor to the Arkansas Times, she lives in Little Rock.

©2002 Mara Leveritt (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Devil’s Knot…leaves you wondering what new sick dread might be lying in wait on the next page, one of those that telegraphs the frustration and fear of its characters through the cover like a chunk of iron struck with a mallet. The monster Leveritt reveals in the end, however, is more terrifying than even the fork-tailed bogeymen conjured by West Memphis police and prosecutors to fit their crime. What Leveritt reveals to us is the most horrible fiend a rational person can imagine when matters of life and death are at stake: the Specter of Doubt.” ( Arkansas Times)

Devils knot

Very informative. The reader did am excellent job. This book gave more insight then the trial itself

Tragedy

This is real life, no happy ending. You feel horrible for everyone involved, from the little boys who were ruthlessly murdered, to the three teens who were found guilty because they listened to Metallica and wore black t-shirts.
Still to this day we don't know who killed these boys. This story is an absolute tragedy!

Ignore the Hollywood faces on the cover...

This book is a must for anyone interested in the case of the Robin Hood Hills child murders and the West Memphis Three. Though it does retread familiar ground already covered in Paradise Lost documentaries (especially the first two), there is considerably more detail to be found in these pages and much of it is shocking. Of all of the media I consumed on the subject, this has been the most thorough, presenting a more complete picture of the case and those involved in it. Though it is an advocacy book, I believe that the portrayal of the three defendants is more objective within these pages than any of the other major works covering the case. I highly recommend it.

Humane Manevolence

This is a highly detailed account of the disturbing 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. As well as the subsequent trials of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr, Jason Baldwin. The tragedy of this case is that no thorough investigation was taken at the time of the crime, further compounded by the judicial system which failed to render a just outcome.
These three teenage boys were railroaded, condemned and convicted without any real evidence. The West Memphis Three reached a deal with prosecutors, on August 19, 2011, they entered Alford pleas, which allow them to assert their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them. Judge David Laser accepted the pleas and sentenced the three to time served. They were released with ten-year suspended sentences, having served 18 years and 78 days in prison. To this day they are fighting to exonerate their names.
The most chilling aspect of this case is that the real murderer is still out there.
No justice for the children no justice for the West Memphis three.

Detailed account; narrator tonally off

This book gives an in depth, though not particularly objective or nuanced account of the police investigation and various legal proceedings concerning the Memphis Three. Lorna Raver is a good narrator, but I think she was the wrong pick for this book as she has a bemused, perky, down-home tone, whereas the material in the book is quite serious. It’s like if Dateline hired Rachel Ray instead of Keith Morrison to report about grisly crimes.

Fantastically written

If you love true crime, this book will be worth your precious credit and time spent listening. I do agree with other reviewers that the reading would have had more punch if narrated by a man, but as I slid into the book I grew used to Ms Raver’s voice.
This book is truly heart wrenching in so many ways, but what a fantastic ride!

amazing story innocent or thrown in prison

amazing story of the backwards state of Arkansas three innocent boys can be thrown in prison for years because of rumors and the belief in a devil and cult that doesn't exist

true crime story

although I've seen the HBO documentary I wanted to hear the novel,only negative thing was the story tellers voice when talking for men sounded more like Bart Simpson.

The research and the non biased opinion.

Would have liked having some more details on the Terry Hobbs DNA research. Otherwise it was a very good book on the case with some additional information.

Law Corruption in plain sight

This case has fascinated me for years. I made the mistake in googling the crime scene photos, I shouldn’t have. They are horrifying and burned into my memory forever. These crimes were done by an organized criminal with experience, not 3 “satanic” teens. Im not sure what law enforcement might have been covering up, but it’s obvious someone in power was connected and involved. It’s damn sick. Even FBI profiler John Douglas agrees. Small town power has a huge impact on their citizens and the jury. If these trials were moved to a different jurisdiction, these teens would have been released, and the guilty found. Law enforcement, the detectives, the judge, the prosecutor and jury should serve time for their incompetence. These children murdered received no justice, and only proves that Arkansas has ignorant, incompetent law enforcers and uneducated residents who are easily manipulated by small town politics.