West Memphis Three

The West Memphis Three have been released.

You may or may not be familiar with this story, if not, you should read up on them in our newspaper databases. If you go to Factiva for instance, and type in "West Memphis Three", you will get over 700 articles alone. I know that Memphis is a long drive from here, but this town of almost a quarter million people has been the focus of worldwide attention over the last seventeen years.

The West Memphis Three are three young men who were, wrongly in most opinion, imprisoned for the murder of three young boys in Memphis, Tennessee in 1993. There are books and movies on the WM3 (as they are known). Celebrities (including Henry Rollins, Natalie Manes, Johnny Depp, and Eddie Vedder), high powered attorneys, and regular people across the globe have offered their support, pledged donations and help, and voiced their concern for the seemingly corrupt judicial system in Tennessee.

I'm currently reading a book, not on this topic, but eerily similar, In the Woods by Tana French. It's a great book and supports my feeling that even though you think you know the whole story, you may not know the facts. You need to do the research. You need to read. You need to ask questions, and listen to the answers. In this day and age of media onslaught, we are led to believe that everything we see and hear is true. And most times, this cannot be further from the truth. I encourage you to investigate. I encourage you to question everything you hear. The library is a great place to start. We have many resources, including our fabulous databases, that can help you vet out the truth.

I know that we may go on and on about our databases. But I cannot express to you how much I love them. There is so much information out there that is available to you by just the click of a couple of buttons. And it's all FREE with your library card! How can you not use them? Call us and we'll help you.

In the meantime read up on the WM3, make up your opinion of the young men and talk to someone else about it.

Devil's knot : the true story of the West Memphis three
Leveritt, Mara.

Paradise lost: the child murders at Robin Hood Hills
Berlinger, Joe.

West Memphis Three website