| Updated: 8/19/2011 5:23 pm |
Published: 8/19/2011 2:26 pm |
JONESBORO, AR - This is not your typical courthouse crowd. It actually feels more red carpet then red tape.
Most people outside the courthouse reacted overwhelmingly positively to the hearing.
"I'm ecstatic. It’s wonderful. I'm about to cry."
"I was really excited to hear the news that they were going to be released today and I really want to be a part of watching them."
"I just thought the whole time that they were innocent."
"I'm glad they're loose and free and ready to go home and visit with their families."
Their families are happy too. Damien Echols married Lorri Davis while in prison. Now they can be together.
"I'm just thrilled with, you know, with the results,” Davis said. “We have these three men out and I have this man that I love very much with me."
Prosecutors were also positive today, but for slightly different reasons.
Prosecuting attorney Scott Ellington said in no way does today's hearing mean Echols, Misskelley, or Baldwin are innocent.
"Today’s proceedings allow the defendants to have the freedom to say that they're not guilty, but in fact, they just plead guilty," Ellington said.
Regardless though, whether you're a lawyer or in this giant crowd, everybody can agree on one thing.
"The legal tangle that has become known as the West Memphis Three case is now finished," Ellington said.
