Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

nonpluss K non by Mara Leveritt - Essay Examplehin the book entitled Devil Knot The True Story of the West Memphis Three. In the first half of the book, readers are given an in depth look at Jesse Miskelleys trial specific bothy, and from the evidence provided, the verdict returned by the jury does not appear to be correct.Although some elements of the crime remain shrouded in mystery, there are certain aspects that all parties regard as factual. The murders of three eight year old boysChristopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branchoccurred on May 5, 1993(Leveritt, 6). The inside information of the crime were particularly gruesome as the boys were found naked, beaten, hogtied with shoelaces, and floating in a bank deep down the Robin Hood Hills(Leveritt, 11-12). One of the boys was missing parts of their genitals, and it appeared that the primary cause of death was drowning. The murder blow out of the water the close-knit, largely religious community, and there was a lot of pr essure on the local constabulary to attend the murderers as quickly as possible. After a few leads that did not go very far, the police began to focus on the idea of a gang or cult perhaps having committed or been involved with the murder. This idea quickly took shape due to the disturbing nature of the crime. Additionally, in 1993, there was a certain kind of demonic panic spreading across the United States. Leveritt states, By the late 1980s, affair in the suspected prevalence of satanic ritual abuse, or SRA, as it became known, had grown so desirous in the United States(Leveritt, 44). Basically, anyone who dressed in black, listened to heavy metal music, or was in any former(a) way an outsider, was seen as someone who could potentially be involved with satanism. Ultimately, it was a combination of the crime and the satanic panic that pointed the police in the direction of three teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Miskelley.Although these boys were initially sus pected due to their odd carriage and dress, there was not really