Paradise Lost: Purgatory. The third installment of the HBO documentary series profiling Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley’s 18 years in prison. Better known as the West Memphis Three - the men took the Alford plea in August and were
released, but had to plead guilty in exchange.
It looks like an ordinary line outside any Friday night movie premiere - but look closer. There's no red carpet or fancy cameras at the historic Melco Theater in Hot Springs, but this line is made up of the storytellers themselves.
Pamela Metcalf, Damien Echols' mother says, “It’s been pure hell."
She says the Paradise Lost documentaries not only got her son off of death row, they saved his life.
And she's not the only one who believes the films changed the outcome of the three men.
Jason Hughes from Beaumont, Texas said, "Damien would be dead right now. Jason would still be in prison and Jesse would still be in prison."
Mike Ledford says, "They would have been buried."
"I've been a supporter of this case since 1996,” Hughes says. “Ever since part one aired on HBO."
"A lot of times a filmmaker has a deep strong inner passion,” says Dan Anderson director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. “They want something to be changed and through film, often times its the best way to make that happen."
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory showcases Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley’s release just months after the men taste freedom for the first time in nearly two decades.
“He has to relearn everything,” Damien’s mother says.
But don't be fooled by the celebration and smiles - These supporters on the sidewalk say the fight is not over yet.
"Exonerate them," they say.
Damien Echols’ father and sister are also watching the film's Arkansas debut. They'll be a part of the question and answer segment.
