Recently we made a FOIA request for all DNA results in the West Memphis 3 case. We’d hoped to find the 2011 results which have been a source of controversy. Those results are not available and apparently not in the possession of the state. We were, however, provided results from 2007 and 2008. Many of these were attached to the Rule 37 motion and it is possible, if not likely, that they are all available somewhere, albeit buried in filings most people may not have read. Here they are for your convenience.
But there was one result which was interesting. As we discussed, it has been widely reported and generally believed that the jeans with suspected semen stains has never been tested. Based on this result, that appears to be false:
Not only was no semen detected, no DNA consistent with sperm was found and the partial DNA sequence from epithelial cells did not match Misskelley, Baldwin, or Echols. This is a significant finding, given Jessie’s story about the jeans alleging that Echols masturbated and ejaculated onto them. It’s possible these are different jeans, though that seems unlikely. I’m interested in people’s thoughts on this. Significant? Already known? Irrelevant? What say you?
The Prosecutors Podcast 