Author: vicky
America Dialed 911 by Michael R. Hobbs
This song was written from the heart by Michael R. Hobbs in Mountain Home, AR
©MichaelRHobbs2012
To my friends and family–Thank You!
Overall, life’s been treating me pretty good. I’ve been working hard on my music and have been getting some really good feedback. I’m looking forward to good things in that area of my life.Amanda is out of jail. That makes me happy but I wish she would realize she has a long life ahead of her and she needs to take responsibility for her actions and straighten up. One thing I’ve learned in life, if you keep doing the same things over and over again, you won’t ever get past what’s holding you back. I would like to thank the Heart Song church family for their prayers and support during this time and for the love and support offered to both me and Amanda.
Pam called and texted a few days ago telling me she was in the hospital. She thinks stress is is causing her problems. She’s back home now and doing fine. Her health is important and I wish she would quit worrying about things and quit letting her family and friends stress her out. I’m glad she called and let me know she was doing better and heading home.
Lots of people have come in and invaded our (Amanda’s, Pam’s, mine and other family members) privacy in order to make a buck—all the while three little boys are being forgotten in the quest for the exoneration of three child murderers. To the Hollywood sideshow, get a life and leave the victims alone. By continually harassing, poking and probing, you keep picking wounds open—never allowing the family’s to heal. You sugar coat your goals with the words “justice for 6” but you are only pouring salt on the wounds of the parents who lost their children forever.
To all my family and friends in the Ozark Mountains, thank you for your prayers and support.
Amanda deserves to be free also!
Amanda has been enjoying complimentary rooms from Shelby County. Her court date is August 2nd. Her bond is set at $50,000. She would like to get out, see her children and move forward with her life. She admits she has made mistakes but is a good person and wants to do the right thing. Amanda has had a difficult time through the years, not only did she lose her brother; but she also lost a piece of herself.
Please help us petition the Shelby County Court for her release. The contact information for Shelby County DA is 901-222-1300. The DA’s name is Amy Weirich. The general email address is info@scdag.com
Many of you fought to release those accused of murder, please do the same to free Amanda.
Congratulations Amanda!
My daughter, Amanda, celebrated one year of sobriety today. She asked me to let everybody know she’s on the road to making good choices. I am happy for her and her decision to change her path in life. Congratulations, Amanda!
I love you.
Devil’s Knot
The Devil’s Knot is going from book to movie. To be clear, I do not now nor have I ever supported this movie and do not condone or endorse the movie’s portrayal of myself or my family. This is another ploy designed to point guilt toward somebody other than the 3 child murderers who have already been tried and convicted.
Friday’s News Release
It looks like a couple of news sources are trying to get a jump on what’s happening tomorrow in Marion. Apparently, they don’t have the entire scoop yet and are only reporting a lawsuit is in the works for the WM3 case. Not to worry, from the way things are going, there will be a big production for the announcement.
Todd Moore sets the record straight
Todd Moore wrote the below article in response to an editorial published in the Jonesboro Sun by Chris Wessel.
Father of WM3 murder victim certain who killed 3 boys
By Todd Moore
Guest Columnist
I am the father of West Memphis triple murder victim Michael Moore. I am writing this in response to your editorial in the June 6 edition of The Sun titled “Justice Unserved.” It has always been my opinion that justice was served when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were convicted in 1994 for the brutal murder of my son and his friends.
The three men who slaughtered my son were convicted by two juries that found them guilty in 1994. Despite this, the Arkansas Supreme Court generously granted the murderers the opportunity for a new evidentiary hearing to be held Dec, 5, 2011, to show evidence they claimed proved their innocence. They could have been granted a new trial to prove these claims of innocence. Instead of presenting their “new evidence” in open court last December, they opted to plead guilty to the murders in August 2011 in exchange for time served.
Second District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington agreed to accept the defense’s plea offer for vague reasons we still don’t understand. Family members learned of the deal only at the last minute. The district attorney was new to the case. But whatever the rational, this continued to make the convicts guilty as a matter of law.
The defense team avoided sharing the results of the tests of everything with us by preemptively entering a guilty plea for their clients. Thanks to the plea deal, we may never know exactly what the defense found when the evidence was retested. Absence of DNA evidence does not prove the West Memphis Three (WM3) are innocent. The killers washed most of the evidence away in the water- filled ditch where they drowned my son. There was plenty of other evidence to convict them in 1994 without positive DNA. Most murderers are convicted without DNA evidence.
The defense attorneys for the WM3 had nearly 20 years to find “the real killer” and failed to do so. After nearly two decades and untold millions in donated funds spent, the best they could do was find a hair that may or may not have belonged to Terry Hobbs, step- father of victim Stevie Branch. It was allegedly found on a shoelace used to tie my son. It has never been proven to actually belong to Terry Hobbs.
Even if it was Terry Hobbs’ hair, that fact would prove nothing. Our sons were best friends, and my child spent considerable time in Terry Hobbs’s home and could have picked up the hair on his shoe. This would be “secondary transfer” and makes the hair of no probative value. The defense has even admitted as much. Terry Hobbs did not murder my son. No credible law enforcement official believes so. Neither did Mark Byers, Mr. Bojangles nor any of the other defense red herrings.
Contrary to your editorial, it is not up to police or the prosecutor to continue to look for “the real killer.” The real killers were arrested and charged back in 1993, were found guilty in 1994 and then admitted their guilt in 2011 after getting a lucky break. To his credit, Prosecutor Ellington has stated many times that his door is open to any new leads and evidence presented to him by the WM3 defense teams.
So far, nothing compelling enough to reopen the case has been presented to him. District Attorney Ellington stated as much the day your editorial appeared. This means despite the defense’s grandiose claims prior to the pleas, not one iota of credible evidence has been presented to show their clients’ innocence or even to view the convicted as anything less than what they are as a matter of law and as a matter-of fact: guilty.
The WM3 defense team has been well-funded by numerous celebrities who were misinformed by the biased “Paradise Lost” documentaries. These one-sided films left out nearly all of the evidence that demonstrated the guilt of the WM3. They caused thousands of people to support the release of the convicted child killers with a very limited unndcrstanding of the actual facts of the case.
Mr. Wessel, it appears that you, like so many others, got most of your misinformation about this case from these inaccurate documentaries. If you would take the time to dig a little deeper and actually read the case file documents, you would know that there was ample evidence to convict these three men for murdering my son. These documents are readily available on websites such as www.callahan.8k.com.
Here are just a few examples of what was omitted from the documentaries:
• Jessie Misskelley confessed to the crime at least five times to police, prosecutors, even his own attorneys with his hand on a Bible. Misskelley confessed the first time after less than four hours of police questioning. That questioning was done with permission from his father. He continued to repeatedly confess in the year that followed.
• Damien Echols amassed a mental health record 500 pages long in the years immediately prior to the murders. In his own handwriting, he classified himself as a “homicidal, suicidal, schizophrenic, sociopath” just a months before he brutally murdered my son.
• Read Damien Echols’ current Twitter account to discover his deep-seated interest in skulls and the occult. There he also recently described artwork depicting a man sawing off his own arm as “breathtaking.” In addition, Echols is obscenely profiting off the death of my son by selling his narcissistic books, promoting his self-serving movie, and tattooing murder groupies with his “mark.” For two hundred dollars, you can have this sociopath tattoo an “X” on your arm. These Twitter posts and money-making schemes are a slap in the face to me, my family and my dead son.
• The movies omit the fact that these three men had no alibis. Damien Echols’ and Jessie Misskelley’s alibis completely fell apart on the stand in the 1994 trials. Jason Baldwin’s attorneys didn’t even bother to present an alibi.
• Fibers consistent with a robe in Jason Baldwin’s home and a shirt in Damien Echols’ home were found on the victims. Blue candle wax found on Chris Byers’ shirt was consistent with candle wax found in Damien Echols bedroom.
• The crime lab found that three different knots were used to hogtie the three victims with their own shoelaces. This points toward multiple killers rather than one killer. Witnesses say that Mr. Bojangles, the disoriented man near the crime scene that night, had a cast on one arm. No one person could have subdued and hogtied three energetic young boys–not Terry Hobbs and certainly not the one-armed Mr. Bojangles.
• A knife that could have been used in the murders was found in a lake behind Baldwin’s home. It was a unique knife with a place hold a compass on the end that witnesses described as similar to one owned by Echols.
• A car full of eyewitnesses placed Echols near the crime scene, covered with dirt, on the night of the murders.
• Numerous friends, acquaintances and cell-mates came forward with tales of confessions from all three defendants.
Throw out one or even several of those facts, and there would still be enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
I sat through those trials. The basic facts need to be put out there. Otherwise, it makes a mockery of my son’s short life.
Todd Moore is the father of murder victim Michael Moore.
Published in the Opinion Section of the Jonesboro Sun on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 – Posted here by permission of Todd Moore
Happy Easter!
I hope a happy Easter was enjoyed by all. Amanda attended Heartsong’s Easter service with me this morning and we were blessed to hear an uplifting message. Heartsong also sponsored the Shoes for Souls program today and we joined the rest of the congregation in donating to a worthy cause. Dinner and phone calls to my family rounded out the day. Happy Easter!
In This Storm
The years haven’t always been kind to me but they have shown me that there are a lot of really nice people in the world. One of the things my dad told me when I was a young man was, “Terry Wayne, always try to help somebody out. That’s what it’s all about.” I haven’t always followed the path my dad taught me but he did teach me to help people, love them and be compassionate. There are days that loving and showing compassion do not come easily. Dark clouds hovering over obscure the sunlight causing me to hum,“I will praise you in this storm” and know that no matter where I am, God is always right there.
A few weeks ago my church, Heartsong, showed me their love during this time of uncertainty. My pastor took a newspaper with my photo and held it up in front of the congregation. He told them that the man in the photograph attended Heartsong and asked that the people rally around and show their love and support during this time of trial. The church has always welcomed me with open arms but that day and every day since then, I have felt the love and compassion of the people as they wrap their arms around me physically and spiritually. It has been an uplifting experience to know that I am not struggling though this alone. The love and support of the church hasn’t stopped with me either, they have welcomed Amanda and shown her the same love when she attends. If the Heartsong congregation embody the love and compassion of God then there is only one alternative to describe the actions of the defense team. I thank God daily for my church and for the path he has put me on in this walk of life. I hope to encourage others who have had to struggle and let them know that they are not in this alone.
The video above contains the lyrics and music by Casting Crowns. Enjoy it as it has helped me out more than once!