The
tribute album, entitled "Free the West Memphis 3", released in
October of
2000, has the following essay in its liner notes, written by
Burk Sauls:
This CD that you are holding has the potential to change your life. Depending on where you are when you admit possession of it, this CD could transform you into a ward of the state, permanently alter your wardrobe, your address and your hairstyle. It has the power to change your home into a twelve by nine room and give you the ability to know the exact moment of your own death. This very CD could be the catalyst that sends you on a horrible descent through the criminal justice system, and eventually into a lifetime in a maximum security prison. Depending on where you are right now, you many be in danger. Owning this CD could be disastrous. The lyrics by themselves have the ability to destroy your life forever. Here's how: If you copy them onto a sheet of paper and are caught in possession of this sheet of paper you may be considered guilty of murder by certain law enforcement agencies. The simple act of copying song lyrics or poetry, or any words for that matter, may be interpreted as an indication that you are guilty of sacrificing children in a devil worshipping cult. Does this sound like an exaggeration? It's not -- it all really happened, exactly like this. Right now there are three men serving prison sentences in Arkansas for a triple homicide they didn't commit. There is no physical evidence against them. No witnesses. Nothing aside from coerced statements and the vague incomplete testimony of children. Because Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley lived in poverty, they had to settle for inexperienced court appointed attorneys, who were limited by the court to spend only $1,000 for the expert testimony they used. Everything about the trials was biased against them, but it didn't matter to the jury because Damien, Jason and Jessie looked "evil" to the locals. They were teenagers who liked the kind of music that's on this CD. They wrote poetry and read Stephen King and Shakespeare and wore black conert T-shirts. That was enough for the judge and jury. Damien is currently awaiting death by lethal injection that we taxpayers will pay for. The state of Arkansas will murder him, for us, unless someone with some idea of what honesty, ethics and justice are, puts on a black robe and picks up a gavel. And this won't occur until people understand what happened in Arkansas 7 years ago.
The track list is as follows:
- Steve Earle - The Truth
- Rocket From The Crypt - Wrong and Important
- L7 - Boys in Black
- Supersuckers - Heavy Heart
- Joe Strummer and The Long Beach Dub All Stars - The Harder They Come
- Tom Waits - Rains on Me
- Supersuckers with Eddie Vedder - Poor Girl
- Tony Scalzo - Indicted
- Kelley Deal - Fucking Hostile
- The John Doe Thing - Hwy 5
- Mark Lanegan - Untitled Lullaby
- Murder City Devils - She
- Nashville Pussy - Highway to Hell
- Killing Joke - Our Last Goodbye