Dear Governor Mike Beebe,

As concerned citizens and supporters of the families of the victims, we respectfully ask that you do not grant pardons to Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley - collectively known as The West Memphis Three (WM3).

The State of Arkansas tried and convicted these three men. They were given their due process, and found guilty in two separate trials by juries of their peers. Their appeals were upheld all the way to the Supreme Court. The system works.

In lieu of presenting their allegedly exculpatory evidence at evidentiary hearings set to begin in December, 2011, these convicted killers chose to enter into Alford Pleas in which they admitted there was sufficient evidence to convict them if they were re-tried.

To now ask you to pardon them and undo what was done justly and fairly, by their own acts, is cowardly and skirts due process and any semblance of justice.

Three 8 year old boys were tortured, sexually assaulted, mutilated and murdered. Their killers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley now roam free. 

We do not believe The Alford deal was any indication that the prosecution felt these murderers were innocent, but rather was being realistic in the complexities in re-trying a 20 year old case and all the obstacles and hurdles that would accompany such action.

When the WM3 movement started, the motto was "Free the WM3". They are free. Now they want exoneration via pardon. Damien Echols was rightfully sentenced to death. His life was spared. His victims Steven, Michael and Christopher were not.

Their request for a pardon is a chilling indication that they cannot produce the exculpatory evidence they said they could, nor can they find 'the real killers'; because they are the real killers.

Governor Beebe, we implore you to do the right thing and allow the convictions to stand. The WM3 had the chance to prove their actual innocence at the evidentiary hearings, but chose to enter guilty pleas and gain release from prison. They are now asking you to undo the deal they agreed to in 2011.

They are free to live their lives, which is more than can be said for their victims. The children are dead, and that can't be undone, and the same should be true for the WM3 and the Alford Pleas they entered into willingly, with the benefit and advice of counsel.

As a matter of fact, it is widely understood that The Alford Plea was presented to the prosecution by defense counsel. To ask for a pardon is duplicitous, disingenuous and dishonest. The guilty pleas were entered in court, under oath and should not be disturbed. There was no duress. The WM3 were free to decline this legal maneuver that granted their freedom but instead chose to utilize it.

Justice will never be served for Steven, Michael and Christopher and their families. They will never get their lives back, their loved ones will never see them again, the horrible acts inflicted upon them by the WM3 can never be changed or undone. 

The men who took the lives of three 8 year old boys in such a brutal and unimaginable manner should be left to live with the mark put upon them, the mark they put upon themselves as convicted child killers.

Please do not pardon convicted child killers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley.