Natalie Maines and Eddie Vedder on Hand to Witness Release of "West Memphis Three"

The innocence of three men convicted of killing three boys in 1993 was supported by Dixie Chicks's Natalie Maines and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder

By Brandi Fowler and Sharareh Drury Aug 19, 2011 8:30 PMTags
Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, Natalie Maines, Eddie VedderAP Photo/Danny Johnston;Alexandra Wyman/WireImage; Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The "West Memphis Three," who were convicted of killing three 8-year-old Cub Scouts back in a 1993 murder case, were released from jail Friday.

The notorious trio's case had been high-profile since the killings occurred, particularly in the Hollywood community among the likes of celebs like Johnny Depp, Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who supported the WM3's pleas of innocence after new DNA evidence surfaced in the case.

That DNA evidence, revealed in 2007, showed that the DNA of the three men convicted, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, did not match that found at the scene of the crime. What was found, however, was DNA from one victim's stepfather, Terry Hobbs, and his friend.

After that evidence came to light, Maines took to the Dixie Chicks' website and stated in rallies that Hobbs was guilty of the crimes. Hobbs sued her for defamation but lost and was ordered to pay the singer's legal fees.

Maines and Vedder both showed up in court to Friday to show their support for the release of the three men who claimed they served 18 years in prison for a crime they didn't commit.

Misskelley and Baldwin were sentenced to life in prison after they were found guilty of killing the three boys in a satanic ritual, while Echols was sentenced to death.

But Depp, Maines and Pearl Jam aren't the only celebs who've shown their support to the trio over the years.

Former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins has been particularly outspoken regarding the case, even having an album of Black Flag covers benefit the WM3's legal defense.

"If there's anything that makes you mad it's reading about the case, and I figured, what better protest music than Black Flag?" Rollins said in a 2002 interview with MTV about the album, Rise Above.

Winona Ryder, director Peter Jackson and members from the band Metallica have also supported the trio's innocence while they've been behind bars and have called for their release over the years as well.

Doubts about the evidence could have potentially led to a new trial in 2012, but rather than proceed, prosecutors agreed to accept a plea bargain from the WM3 that permitted them to plead guilty to murder in exchange for time served. Called the Alford Plea, it is a guilty plea in which the defendants still claim their innocence but acknowledge that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them.