23
Aug
2005
Activism can sneak up on you. One year ago, Bettendorf musician A.J. Haut couldn't have imagined being the initiator of a benefit performance involving dozens of performers and nearly a thousand dollars in raffle merchandise.
But passion can make you do atypical things, and Haut found himself so moved by the plight of three imprisoned men that he vowed to do what he could to raise money for their cause.
The event he's orchestrated is the Free the West Memphis Three benefit performance, which begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, at Lumpy's in Davenport (the proprietors of which aren't charging Haut a fee to host the event). Five local bands are scheduled to perform (see sidebar), and there will be a $3 admission charge and raffle tickets sold, with all proceeds going to the West Memphis Three defense fund.
With this evening of awareness, Haut, who is 23 years old, hopes to raise funds for what he sees as a grievous miscarriage of justice, and he landed upon his new role as activist via a rather unusual route: hard-rock music.
In early May of 1993, deep in a wooded area of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys were found brutally murdered. The boys were stripped, tied ankle-to-wrist with their own shoelaces, severely beaten, and tortured before their deaths. By early June, police were confident that they had found their killers: three West Memphis teens named Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Misskelley.
Local officials were convinced that the accused were members of a religious cult that engaged in ritualistic human sacrifice, who killed the youths for the sheer pleasure of it; the boys' affinity for heavy-metal music and dark clothing, and, particularly, Echols' interest in the Wiccan religion, led authorities to believe they were Satanists. Though no conclusive physical evidence linked the trio to the crimes, no motive was established (outside of "Satanism"), and expert testimony was provided stating that the defendants couldn't have committed the crimes - the heinous murders required a degree of physical strength and surgical precision that the accused did not possess - juries were convinced. Misskelley is currently serving a life sentence and Baldwin life without parole, and Echols received the death sentence.
Numerous inconsistencies within the case, however, caught the attention of documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. Their films Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Revelations: Paradise Lost 2 investigated the story in excruciating detail, and helped convince millions that Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley - referred to now as the West Memphis Three - were wrongfully imprisoned. Eleven years have now passed since the young men were sentenced, and despite many legal battles waged, the convictions have not been overturned, and no re-trials appear in the offing. (For more information on the case, visit (http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/memphis/index_1.html).
Like many, A.J. Haut first became aware of the case when HBO aired Paradise Lost in the mid-'90s, but his initial interest in the film had less to do with its content than with its soundtrack. "I first noticed it [Paradise Lost] because they had Metallica music in the background," Haut says, referring to the score that Metallica composed for the film. "So I watched it and was interested in the case, but that was about it."
Years later, Haut again found himself confronted by the case, and again, music was responsible. "There's a band called Alkaline Trio that I'm very hip to," Haut says, "and they wrote a song called 'Prevent This Tragedy' that was about the West Memphis Three."
The song, delivered from the point-of-view of the accused, begins with: "Here we are again with handguns for hearts / They had a master plan, wanted to tear us apart / Nothing to hold, all hope deleted / Our demise has been completed now / Nowhere left to go but down."
An angry song borne of sadness, Alkaline Trio's number affected Haut strongly, and made him want to learn more about the case. Haut began his education at the Free the West Memphis Three Web site (http://www.wm3.org). "First, I read the opening Web page, which just gives the gist of it [the case], and it's really intriguing," he says. "So I spent four consecutive days reading everything I could find on that Web site.
"But then I thought, 'Wait a second. What if I have biased information?' So I went to about 50 other Web sites. ... I had to read up on it, and I spent two weeks straight reading everything I could find. Everything I could find. Because," he adds, explaining the personal connection he feels for the accused, "I've always been one of those kids who's kind of the outcast, you know, who looks kinda weird, listens to loud music."
The idea of the West Memphis Three being imprisoned unjustly was, initially, difficult for Haut to accept. "At first I was, like: ... Logic tells me we have a fair enough judicial system, where if three people are in jail for 11 years now, something has to be ... something has to be correct. Since they're in prison, there had to be some reason for them to get there." As with many of the teens' supporters, though, the more Haut read, the less he believed in the convicted men's guilt. "I kept thinking, 'I'm sure somewhere, someone left out something. What am I missing here?'
"It took me a while to believe it," Haut says, "but now I'm convinced, 100 percent, that they're innocent. That's what made me want to do this benefit. I said, 'I gotta do something.'"
Through the Wm3.org Web site, Haut realized that what the imprisoned men needed, even more than awareness of their situation, was money to help with their escalating legal fees. "Money's what wins the case," says Haut, and a benefit performance seemed the way to go. Haut began building interest in the possibility by distributing flyers with information on the Wm3.org Web site, and via connections made through his local band, Take the Fall, he managed to get other groups involved as well.
But to raise money for the imprisoned men while keeping the event's entrance fee reasonable - Haut says, "I didn't want people to have to pay a $5 cover charge" - Haut also wanted the evening to include a raffle, with items donated from local establishments, and that proved to be the more challenging endeavor.
"Getting stuff was really, really tough," Haut admits, "because this isn't exactly work for charity. People would ask, 'Well, what's this for?' 'Well, three teenage boys were convicted of capital murder in 1994.' And they're like, 'Okay, well, thanks for your time.' I got a lot of 'We'll call you back soon,' so it was tough."
Haut, however, persevered, carrying his pamphlets with him. "I went everywhere. To movie theatres, malls, restaurants, stores. Everywhere I went, I carried a bag. ... I still carry it. I just hand 'em out everywhere I go."
Haut's grassroots campaign is paying off. Through help from friends, Internet word-of-mouth, and those flyers, which Haut admits seem to have a life of their own ("These have landed in Ames," he says. "I have no clue how any of them got there."), the Free the West Memphis Three benefit show now boasts performances by five local bands and more than $800 in raffle prizes, provided by both area businesses and those from as far away as Santa Monica, California; the Asian Man Records label donated close to $400 worth of merchandise. "People started to come out of the woodwork," Haut says. "I've gotten e-mails from people who want to help, people who want to donate stuff, bands that want to come to play." Haut still finds the outpouring of interest amazing: "We've got a pretty great thing going here."
Happy as he is about the awareness and cooperation that has greeted the Free the West Memphis Three benefit show, Haut never loses sight of the event's greater purpose: raising money to make right what Haut, and many, many others, see as a terrible wrong.
"It makes me disgusted that this could go on for this long," Haut says. "I mean, we're not asking to let them go scot-free, but at least give them a re-trial. So that's kind of what we're shooting for. At least get them a little bit of time. Let 'em speak their minds, because they have a whole lot to say."
For more information on the Free the West Memphis Three benefit performance, contact A.J. Haut at (aj_emo_haut@yahoo.com) or (563) 370-8059, or visit (http://www.takethefall.tk).
Free the West Memphis Three Benefit Performance
Lumpy's, 1509 North Harrison Street, Davenport
7 p.m. Saturday, August 27
Ages 19 and older admitted
Scheduled to appear, as of press time: Farewell Cadence, Echodrive, Head Held High with A.J. Haut, Closer Than Now, and Blitzkrieg Brat
But passion can make you do atypical things, and Haut found himself so moved by the plight of three imprisoned men that he vowed to do what he could to raise money for their cause.
The event he's orchestrated is the Free the West Memphis Three benefit performance, which begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, at Lumpy's in Davenport (the proprietors of which aren't charging Haut a fee to host the event). Five local bands are scheduled to perform (see sidebar), and there will be a $3 admission charge and raffle tickets sold, with all proceeds going to the West Memphis Three defense fund.
With this evening of awareness, Haut, who is 23 years old, hopes to raise funds for what he sees as a grievous miscarriage of justice, and he landed upon his new role as activist via a rather unusual route: hard-rock music.
In early May of 1993, deep in a wooded area of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys were found brutally murdered. The boys were stripped, tied ankle-to-wrist with their own shoelaces, severely beaten, and tortured before their deaths. By early June, police were confident that they had found their killers: three West Memphis teens named Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Misskelley.
Local officials were convinced that the accused were members of a religious cult that engaged in ritualistic human sacrifice, who killed the youths for the sheer pleasure of it; the boys' affinity for heavy-metal music and dark clothing, and, particularly, Echols' interest in the Wiccan religion, led authorities to believe they were Satanists. Though no conclusive physical evidence linked the trio to the crimes, no motive was established (outside of "Satanism"), and expert testimony was provided stating that the defendants couldn't have committed the crimes - the heinous murders required a degree of physical strength and surgical precision that the accused did not possess - juries were convinced. Misskelley is currently serving a life sentence and Baldwin life without parole, and Echols received the death sentence.
Numerous inconsistencies within the case, however, caught the attention of documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. Their films Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Revelations: Paradise Lost 2 investigated the story in excruciating detail, and helped convince millions that Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley - referred to now as the West Memphis Three - were wrongfully imprisoned. Eleven years have now passed since the young men were sentenced, and despite many legal battles waged, the convictions have not been overturned, and no re-trials appear in the offing. (For more information on the case, visit (http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/memphis/index_1.html).
Like many, A.J. Haut first became aware of the case when HBO aired Paradise Lost in the mid-'90s, but his initial interest in the film had less to do with its content than with its soundtrack. "I first noticed it [Paradise Lost] because they had Metallica music in the background," Haut says, referring to the score that Metallica composed for the film. "So I watched it and was interested in the case, but that was about it."
Years later, Haut again found himself confronted by the case, and again, music was responsible. "There's a band called Alkaline Trio that I'm very hip to," Haut says, "and they wrote a song called 'Prevent This Tragedy' that was about the West Memphis Three."
The song, delivered from the point-of-view of the accused, begins with: "Here we are again with handguns for hearts / They had a master plan, wanted to tear us apart / Nothing to hold, all hope deleted / Our demise has been completed now / Nowhere left to go but down."
An angry song borne of sadness, Alkaline Trio's number affected Haut strongly, and made him want to learn more about the case. Haut began his education at the Free the West Memphis Three Web site (http://www.wm3.org). "First, I read the opening Web page, which just gives the gist of it [the case], and it's really intriguing," he says. "So I spent four consecutive days reading everything I could find on that Web site.
"But then I thought, 'Wait a second. What if I have biased information?' So I went to about 50 other Web sites. ... I had to read up on it, and I spent two weeks straight reading everything I could find. Everything I could find. Because," he adds, explaining the personal connection he feels for the accused, "I've always been one of those kids who's kind of the outcast, you know, who looks kinda weird, listens to loud music."
The idea of the West Memphis Three being imprisoned unjustly was, initially, difficult for Haut to accept. "At first I was, like: ... Logic tells me we have a fair enough judicial system, where if three people are in jail for 11 years now, something has to be ... something has to be correct. Since they're in prison, there had to be some reason for them to get there." As with many of the teens' supporters, though, the more Haut read, the less he believed in the convicted men's guilt. "I kept thinking, 'I'm sure somewhere, someone left out something. What am I missing here?'
"It took me a while to believe it," Haut says, "but now I'm convinced, 100 percent, that they're innocent. That's what made me want to do this benefit. I said, 'I gotta do something.'"
Through the Wm3.org Web site, Haut realized that what the imprisoned men needed, even more than awareness of their situation, was money to help with their escalating legal fees. "Money's what wins the case," says Haut, and a benefit performance seemed the way to go. Haut began building interest in the possibility by distributing flyers with information on the Wm3.org Web site, and via connections made through his local band, Take the Fall, he managed to get other groups involved as well.
But to raise money for the imprisoned men while keeping the event's entrance fee reasonable - Haut says, "I didn't want people to have to pay a $5 cover charge" - Haut also wanted the evening to include a raffle, with items donated from local establishments, and that proved to be the more challenging endeavor.
"Getting stuff was really, really tough," Haut admits, "because this isn't exactly work for charity. People would ask, 'Well, what's this for?' 'Well, three teenage boys were convicted of capital murder in 1994.' And they're like, 'Okay, well, thanks for your time.' I got a lot of 'We'll call you back soon,' so it was tough."
Haut, however, persevered, carrying his pamphlets with him. "I went everywhere. To movie theatres, malls, restaurants, stores. Everywhere I went, I carried a bag. ... I still carry it. I just hand 'em out everywhere I go."
Haut's grassroots campaign is paying off. Through help from friends, Internet word-of-mouth, and those flyers, which Haut admits seem to have a life of their own ("These have landed in Ames," he says. "I have no clue how any of them got there."), the Free the West Memphis Three benefit show now boasts performances by five local bands and more than $800 in raffle prizes, provided by both area businesses and those from as far away as Santa Monica, California; the Asian Man Records label donated close to $400 worth of merchandise. "People started to come out of the woodwork," Haut says. "I've gotten e-mails from people who want to help, people who want to donate stuff, bands that want to come to play." Haut still finds the outpouring of interest amazing: "We've got a pretty great thing going here."
Happy as he is about the awareness and cooperation that has greeted the Free the West Memphis Three benefit show, Haut never loses sight of the event's greater purpose: raising money to make right what Haut, and many, many others, see as a terrible wrong.
"It makes me disgusted that this could go on for this long," Haut says. "I mean, we're not asking to let them go scot-free, but at least give them a re-trial. So that's kind of what we're shooting for. At least get them a little bit of time. Let 'em speak their minds, because they have a whole lot to say."
For more information on the Free the West Memphis Three benefit performance, contact A.J. Haut at (aj_emo_haut@yahoo.com) or (563) 370-8059, or visit (http://www.takethefall.tk).
Free the West Memphis Three Benefit Performance
Lumpy's, 1509 North Harrison Street, Davenport
7 p.m. Saturday, August 27
Ages 19 and older admitted
Scheduled to appear, as of press time: Farewell Cadence, Echodrive, Head Held High with A.J. Haut, Closer Than Now, and Blitzkrieg Brat
