Book Review: Devil's Knot

A gripping true life story of the West Memphis Three, Mara Leveritt wrote a honest and revealing look the murder, investigation, trial and appeals. A horrific story the starts with the brutal murder of 3 young boys, and leads to the arrest and conviction of 3 innocent teenagers as the detectives fumble the investigation, and have to create a scenario in which to frame someone for the murder.

Since it was never proven in court that the 3 accused were innocent, the last statement is my belief, not proven in court. But reading the book, it is shocking how little evidence they had in the murder trial, and how much the judge allowed the prosecutor to get away with. I would guess, given any other judge, prosecutors and detectives, these men would never have been convicted and sent to jail. It's sad that while 3 innocent men spent 18 years behind bars, the original murders are still unsolved.

Good if you like true life mysteries, and luckily this one has a good ending (via NYtimes). (note: this book was published in 2002, so if you read it, be sure to read the current news stories to learn about recent events.)