this case has been on my radar for years now, but i've never actually watched the documentaries on it. i think i need to remedy that.
it's exciting to hear that there is DNA evidence on the horizon - i hope that it is as 'significant' as the people say it will be. thanks for the interview, Lily - it's important to keep this in the public eye, especially at such a potentially crucial juncture. and i love the fact that Burk highlights the fact that there are probably plenty of other cases where a little more digging would turn up things that aren't quite right. we need to stop this 'powerless' feeling that the people have in these instances.
Selket said:
"LS: when will the DNA testing finally get done?
BS: That's something I don't know the answer to. The folks working on the case tell us things, but they don't tell us everything. We do know that the attorneys and investigators are very optimistic."
when i was basically working full time on this, the bite mark impression results were the biggest news we got. the dna testing was nowhere near close to being done. plus, the blood samples from the resturant were "lost". when i tried to get paradise lost played in small theaters and group events, doors were basically slammed in my face.
i had musician friends help spread the word on tours, and it spread like wildflowers. you don't know the feeling of optimism i get when i see someone walk by wearing a WM3 shirt...or when i wake up and see my old friend burk on the front page of SG...
it is depressing that they are still behind bars. the day i met damien in person, his spirits were so high and full of hope. that was a decade ago. a decade. the supporters from all over have done a wonderful job keeping this case alive. power of the internet. power of technology.
this interview inspired me to contact burk today. it's been years.
thank you, lily.
xoxo.
I am very impressed with your involvement in the case Selket, Like i told you, If people like you didn't exist back then then this new generation of supporters would not exist today. I worry that the DNA testing, just like the bite mark impression evidence will be swept under the rug. It makes me furious to think the prosecutors even get to argue what relevance the DNA evidence has! but like you I think support is growing and I hope that justice will be served and they will be released.
thank you sooo much, lily, for being so positive and continuing to stay sooo strong. i intended on responding to you sooner, but i have had a ton of personal issues that have kept away from the site for a bit.
i am worried about the same thing as you. when we heard the news about being able to get all three boys (i still call them boys even though they are now grown men...) bite impressions, we thought we could get this case overturned. results proved that these three did not match the bite marks left on one of the victims. those results came out around the same time as mr. byers had just had his teeth pulled...which became a huge suspicion as well.
this was the mid 90's, and dna testing was still pretty new, and very expensive. we thought we would never be able to afford to get the boys the best defense, with majority of people laughing at us for helping (what they would call) weird, disturbed strangers from the backwoods of arkansas. yes, that was the reaction 9 times out of 10.
when burk, kathy, and grove started WM3 support site, there were just a handful of supporters. we talked to one another thru the old school message boards, and we instantly became a little family. we were all obsessed with finding answers, and back then, we were all in touch with the boys almost on a daily basis...keeping their spirits alive by helping educate them as well. sending books was a weekly thing for me a my former roomate.
so, you inspired me to contact burk. it was so refreshing to hear from him as well. when i am back in LA next, i am going to see him and we can finally do some catching up. i've even started corresponding with my longtime friends again on a more regular basis. i owe that to you, love...
xoxo.
ps. i really credit my friend, Martin_Atkins, as being one of the first musicians to help me spread the word to the music industry. i gave him a package of reading material on the case, flyers, and shirts back in 1997. later that week, his assistant faxed the info to every (mostly independent) record label they knew for me, & members of his band Pigface wore the shirts at the next few shows. one of the shows was in memphis, tennessee, and some family members of the boys even came out to see the show. thanks martin, you really helped me make a difference...
Wenzdai
San Jose, CA
March 2007
MAR 26, 2007 06:19 PM