The West Memphis 3– Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr.– were released from prison yesterday in Arkansas after serving 18 years in prison for the stabbing murders of three elementary-aged boys. Supporters Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder, Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, and actor Johnny Depp traveled to Jonesboro, AR along with filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Crude) who has shot two documentaries about the trial and is completing a third for the Toronto Film Fest, and a group of activists who had worked raising funds and awarenes for the convicted trio’s defense. Other supporters include members of the band X, Henry Rollins, Ozzy Osbourne, and writer/director John Roecker who emailed La Figa saying:

I was in tears all day yesterday-It reminded me of the the last election, was so happy that Obama got elected and sad that Prop 8 didn’t go though. A bittersweet victory. But I am just staying focused that those men are out and can live their lives the way it was meant to be. Free.

X’s Exene Cervenka who–with Chuck D, Ice-T, Iggy Pop, Lemmy from Motorhead, Ryan Adams and others–appeared on Rise Above, 24 Songs to Benefit the West Memphis 3, which featured vocalists from all genres covering Black Flag songs and backed by the Rollins Band, tweeted:

Finally some great news wm3 released!!!!So many people worked so hard to help them, thank you all.

while Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Rollins’ Band) emailed the LA Times:

I am happy for the guys but so much has been lost. Three boys were killed. In my opinion, the wrong people were incarcerated and the person or persons who did it are still out there, alive or dead, still not brought to justice.

At the time of WM3′s trial in 1993, the height of the Satanic Panic, the prosecution in the primarily fundamentalist Christian area argued that the trio–who listened to bands like Metallica and wore black–had hogtied, raped, mutilated and killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. Misskelley–who is mentally disabled–had confessed to police, but the defense contended that he was coerced into making a false confession and, as a minor, had not been properly Mirandized. Misskelly eventually recanted the confession, and other witnesses admitted they lied to police. Damien Echols, who read books on the occult and was medicated for bipolar disorder was named the ringleader by the prosecution and sentenced to death, while the two other defendants received life in prison.

Supporters believe the trio was prosecuted on weak evidence because they looked different–an aspect of the case that resonates with many in the artistic community–and that there was juror misconduct.

On Friday the trio pleaded guilty under the little-used Alford plea, which allows them to also claim they are innocent. An Aford plea, sometimes agreed upon when both the defense and the prosecution have reasons to avoid a jury trial. Since the Arkansas Supreme Court recently determined that DNA evidence found at the scene conclusively excluded the prisoners, the three attorneys for WM3 had asked for a new hearing to consider new evidence, a request that was granted by the court.

DNA evidence testing was not available at the time of their first trials, but since then DNA testing of the evidence revealed that a hair found in the ligature knots belonged to one of the victim’s stepfather, Terry Hobbs, while a hair found on a tree stump

was consistent with the DNA of a friend of Hobbs, according to the documents.

Hobbs has denied seeing the three victims–Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and Hobbs’ stepson Michael Moore–on the day of their disappearance. A speech by Dixie Chick Natalie Maines on the steps of the Arkansas State Supreme Courthouse in which she mentioned Hobbs resulted in a civil suit.

According to the LA Times:

Echols’ attorneys said they had found three eyewitnesses who said Hobbs was “the last adult seen with the victims” on the night they disappeared.

Hobbs declares he’s innocent.

John Mark Byers, whose stepson Christopher Byers was murdered and mutilated, told CNN that he believes the WM3 to be innocent:

They’re innocent. They did not kill my son.

But Steven Branch’s father, also named Steven Branch, spoke angrily to CNN affiliate WMC-TV before the hearing.:

I don’t know what kind of deal they worked up. Now you can get some movie stars and a little bit of money behind you, and you can walk free for killing somebody.

Johnny Depp told CBS News in a 2010 interview of the WM3:

People need to stand up and say, yeah, it’s time to find the killers. Let’s find justice.

The prosecutor said:

I have no reason to believe there was anyone else involved in the homicide of these three children but the three defendants who plead guilty today.

But he added that the state could file charges against others if new evidence emerges implicating someone else in the case.

Rise Above, directed by Modi and Kevin Kerslake; Kerslake is our guest on tomorrow’s FDL Movie Night.

Today, over thirty years after their first gig, The Go-Go’s got a star on Hollywood Blvd, right outside the Masque where their first rehearsal took place in 1978.

The Go-Go’s were the first band to come out of the LA punk scene to break Billboard’s Top 40. And, more importantly, The Go-Go’s were the first all-female band to top the charts who wrote their own music and played their own instruments. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, held the number one spot on the Billboard chart for six consecutive weeks and went triple platinum, selling over 3 million copies.

The Go-Go’s have inspired generations of female musicians to take up instruments, write songs and perform, as well as being muses to all genders with their DIY spirit and utter coolness. Additionally, the band supports numerous charities. Guitarist Jane Wiedlin, a licensed clergyperson, officiates same sex marriages and loudly supports the LGBT community, as well as supporting Bowling for Boobies, a breast cancer support charity.

Friends and fans got the beat.

Hundreds of fans, surprised and happy tourists, long time punk stalwarts, and friends of the band turned out, including Abby Travis (bassist for Beck, Elastica, Spinal Tap, KMFDM, and The Bangles, and a singer/songwriter on her own who was motivated as a teen by the Go-Go’s); Jeff McDonald (Redd Kross); Jennifer Schwartz (Desperate Teenage Love Dolls); author/actress and world renown bellydancer Pleasant Gehman aka Princess Farhana, who co-starred in the 2009 film Stuck! with Wiedlin; filmmaker/artist John Roecker; music industry faces Gary Stewart, Cary Baker and Jay Boberg; Blondie Drummer Clem Burke who delivered the band’s introduction speech; and Los Angeles councilman Tom LaBonge who read a proclamation declaring August 8, 2011 as Go-Go’s Day in Los Angeles. Hollywood isn’t La Bonge’s district–it belongs to Eric Garcetti, the deputy mayor, who kinda has his hands full. LA is a mess.

But it’s easy to forget our city’s woes on a day like today, with a blue sky, palm trees blowing in the breeze, the Go-Go’s hits wafting through the sound system, and friends celebrating the success of a band that came from our town, helped define the 1980s, and broke the mold.

After the Go-Go's got their star, they went to the Masque where they first played, and Jane and Belinda added a little something to the walls.

Photos: 1: Lisa Derrick; 2: John Roecker; ceremony video: Kim White

Amazon has lifted their ban on carrying John Roecker’s documentary “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Gay Porn Stars” after first declining it for content. Amazon carries a lot of adult material, gay and straight, as well as plenty of indie films and small documentaries.

When the mega-online retailer’s stance was made public, people emailed and called the company, and Amazon now stocks the two disc set.

Let’s see what happens with Target now that it’s come out about their donations to anti-LGBT candidates because the PAC that supports Michele Bachmann and Tom Emmer is “good for business.”

John Roecker set out to explore the world of the sex industry and wound up making frank, bold documentary Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Gay Porn Stars,*But Were Afraid to Ask! The seven episodes which aired on Here! TV featured some of the hottest names in the male sex industry, talking about the how and why of their careers. The actors discuss their past history as abused children, their drug use, their love lives off screen, their pasts and their futures. It’s gritty and gnarly, moving. Out of 16 of the actors, two are now dead, and one, Harlow Cuadra, is in prison. Roecker told me:

I want these guys to be heard, I want to give them a voice.

But the opportunity to learn about the human side to these men has just gotten smaller, even though the DVD collection of Roecker’s documentary is about to be released.

I went to Amazon to pre-order Everything as a gift for a friend who is a fan of  gay porn and the band Rancid and punk hero Tim Armstrong who donated music for the series.

Everything wasn’t listed as available now or for pre-sale. It wasn’t listed at all. But Salo with fourteen year olds having sex was. So was Behind the Green Door. And Deep Throat. And The Devil in Miss Jones. Jenna Jameson’s autobiography, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star is readily available. Oh heck, Amazon sells Paris Hilton’s sex tape, and have pre-orders available for thousands of books, CDs and DVDs. Why not Roecker’s look at the gay sex business?

Oddly Amazon doesn’t stock another film from the same distributor, Dream Boy, an R-rated feature which was released theatrically with good reviews. The film features the rape of young gay male character by another young man. The rapist claims he is straight. Amazon stocks Hound Dog with Dakota Fanning as the victim of a brutal on-screen rape.

One person who queried Amazon about Everything received this stock reply:

As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item they might be seeking. That selection includes some items which many people may find objectionable. Therefore, the items offered on our website represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of topics.

Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we’ll continue to make controversial works available in the United States and everywhere else, except where they’re prohibited by law.

The letter goes on to suggest perhaps buying a gay porn DVD and/or a documentary on a straight porn star. Yes, but what about this specific documentary about gay porn stars? It is not listed at all. Why?

Email and a call to Amazon’s PR department were not returned.

Five days outdoors: Double Down is unchanged

Remember dropping a tooth or a coin in Coca-Cola and seeing how long it took to dissolve?

Well, over the weekend filmmaker John Roecker bought a KFC Double-Down–you know, the trash food version of chicken cordon bleu, two breaded, fried chicken breasts stuffed with bacon, white “cheese and “the Colonel’s Sauce”–then took a bite and got totally grossed out.

So John decided to do a science experiment and left the meatwich outside in the backyard, exposed to the elements, the bright Southern California sun and the cool morning dew. John lives close to Griffith Park, so there’s also plenty of urban wildlife–and I don’t mean his parties either–crows, racoons, owls, opossums, feral cats, coyotes, plus the usual insects like ants and flies.

It’s been five days.  Here’s John’s report:

He didn’t rot. Just like any other ex boyfriend he seemed to get stronger and better looking. Not one ant or any animal has touched it. Including my cats who will eat anything! I even had my friend’s dog in the back yard and she sniffed it and then left it. Oh and also I have racoons that go in my trash and won’t touch it.

That is pretty horrifying. Raccoons won’t sample it. Ants won’t touch it. Not even flies will lay their eggs in a Double Down. After five days most meat products left outside would be squirming with maggots (which only take a day to hatch), if the varmints didn’t drag it off first.

Thanks, John for doing this so we can live vicariously. Actually, we could say that about a lot things you do!