Devil’s Knot
The True Story of the West Memphis Three
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Narrated by:
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Lorna Raver
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Written by:
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Mara Leveritt
About this listen
“Free the West Memphis Three!” - maybe you’ve heard the phrase, but do you know why their story is so alarming? Do you know the facts?
The guilty verdicts handed out to three Arkansas teens in a horrific capital murder case were popular in their home state - even upheld on appeal. But after two HBO documentaries called attention to the witch-hunt atmosphere at the trials, artists and other supporters raised concerns about the accompanying lack of evidence. Now, award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt provides the most comprehensive look yet into this endlessly shocking case.
For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas, seemed stymied. Then suddenly detectives charged three teenagers - alleged members of a satanic cult - with the killings. Despite stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were tried and convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison. They sentenced Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. Ten years later, all three remain in prison. Here, Leveritt unravels this seemingly medieval case and offers close-up views of its key participants - including one with an uncanny knack for evading the law.
Mara Leveritt has won several awards for investigative journalism, including Arkansas’s Booker Worthen Prize for her book The Boys on the Tracks. A contributing editor to the Arkansas Times, she lives in Little Rock.
©2002 Mara Leveritt (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.You may also enjoy...
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-
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Great book!
- By Anonymous on 2019-05-14
Written by: Damien Echols
-
The Delphi Murders
- The Quest to Find ‘The Man on the Bridge’
- Written by: Nic Edwards, Brian Whitney
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On February 13, 2017, two Indiana teenagers, Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, went for a walk in the woods near the abandoned Monon High Bridge. They never returned home.
-
-
Too much time spent on pointless topics
- By T. N. Lima on 2024-02-16
Written by: Nic Edwards, and others
-
The Stranger Beside Me
- The Shocking True Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy
- Written by: Ann Rule
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 18 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Ann Rule was working on the biggest story of her career, tracking the trail of victims left by a brutal serial killer. Little did this future best-selling author know that the savage slayer she was hunting was the young man she counted among her closest friends. Everyone's picture of a natural winner, Ted Bundy was a bright, charming, and handsome man with a promising future as an attorney. But on January 24, 1989 Bundy was executed for the murders of three young women - and had confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five more women from coast to coast.
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There is an Audio problem in Chapter 54
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Written by: Ann Rule
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Down the Hill
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- Written by: Susan Hendricks
- Narrated by: Susan Hendricks, Kelsi German Siebert
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Former CNN/HLN anchor and veteran broadcast journalist Susan Hendricks takes an investigative deep-dive into the still-unsolved double homicide of two teens in Delphi, Indiana—and its lasting impact on the community. In Down the Hill, Hendricks digs deeper in into the mystery that has captivated our nation for years, exploring the family's enduring resilience and advocacy, as well as the rippling impact the case has had on not just Delphi, but the very heart of the American heartland.
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- By JD Last on 2023-09-23
Written by: Susan Hendricks
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22 Murders
- Investigating the Massacres, Cover-up and Obstacles to Justice in Nova Scotia
- Written by: Paul Palango
- Narrated by: Matthew Hawkins
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As news broke of a killer rampaging across the tiny community of Portapique, Nova Scotia, late on April 18, 2020, details were oddly hard to come by. Who was the killer? Why was he not apprehended? What were police doing? How many were dead? And why was the gunman still on the loose the next morning and killing again? The RCMP was largely silent then, and continued to obscure the actions of denturist Gabriel Wortman after an officer shot and killed him at a gas station during a chance encounter.
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-
Way too long
- By Jacqueline on 2022-06-12
Written by: Paul Palango
-
Sandy Hook
- An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth
- Written by: Elizabeth Williamson
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Elizabeth Williamson
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, Sandy Hook is Elizabeth Williamson’s landmark investigation of the aftermath of a school shooting, the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves, and the truth of their children’s fate against the frenzied distortions of online deniers and conspiracy theorists.
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Required reading for anyone using the internet
- By Shannon Ouellette on 2023-12-05
Written by: Elizabeth Williamson
What the critics say
What listeners say about Devil’s Knot
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tanya B
- 2021-07-22
The book covers a lot of material.
The narrator can be slightly irratating after a while. The book is a little repetative, at time.
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- Langer MD
- 2021-06-17
A Justifiable cause-célèbre
Hollywood actors, professional athletes, and musicians were correct to bring attention to the unjust conviction of Jesse Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols. Widely-seen HBO documentaries about the "West Memphis Three" prompted the movement and very nicely laid out the outrageous circumstances in the investigation and trials - and I recommend you watch them. The misconduct by Police and Prosecutors presented in those films - and expanded in this book - varies from jaw-dropping (ludicrous assumptions based on clothing and musical tastes) to infuriating (recanted testimony and outright railroading). 'Devil's Knot' - compiled by Little Rock reporter Mara Leveritt - is exhaustive.. it painstakingly documents the contentions presented in the films in a less-limiting format. It's well-written, well-paced, and logically presented.
[The approach is admittedly quite 'scattergun' - throwing every possible point of contention and seeing what sticks (honestly who cares if someone might have changed the Case Number to include the numbers "6-6-6"? That's supposed to be significant!?!).. but Leveritt largely stays on-point].
My biggest problem with the audiobook is the narration. Lorna Raver reads disinterestedly, attempts laughable Arkansas accents at times, and delivers a plodding pace (I had to speed playback to 1.25X to render her narration tolerable). Occasionally she noticeably wheezes through sentences - to the point that I actually suspect that Raver is a heavy smoker.
This is a captivating story, and despite the "overwhelm 'em with absolutely everything" kitchen-sink approach, this is an 8.5 star book.. It's worth a Credit.. but because of the brutal narration, I give this audiobook version 6.5 stars out of 10. You're not crazy to give it a listen, but maybe try the Paper Copy if you're thirsty for a pinpoint accurate account and every conceivable controversial detail. Otherwise, seek out the 'Paradise Lost' documentaries.
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