The filmmakers return to update the case of the West Memphis Three. In 1993, three boys Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers were murdered in the woods. In 1994, three older boys Damien Wayne Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were convicted for those crimes. The first half of this movie basically recaps the first two documentaries. John Mark Byers, stepfather of Christopher Byers, makes peace with Echols and is now convinced of their innocence. In turn, Echols apologizes for accusing John. For me, the most damning is the accusation against the jury foreman Kent Arnold. There is new DNA evidence against Terry Hobbs, Steve Branch's stepfather, but it's not that convincing for me. The Three is able to win a legal victory and after their judge moved on as a State Senator, the guys finally accepted an Alford plea essentially guilty but maintaining their innocence. Is this justice? It's hard to say. The most obvious problem for the justice system and this movie as a drama is that nobody is in prison for the boys' murders. For a documentary, that's always the limitation. The real world doesn't always have a neat happy ending. They are able to point the finger at Terry Hobbs but the second movie pointed the finger at Byers. There is nothing done against the various people who did harm against justice in this case. It is able to wrap up the odyssey of the West Memphis Three but justice for the murders may never be done.

This is a gripping series of documentaries but I felt like I was only being given one side of the story.After viewing I, like most felt appalled that these young men had been sent to jail/death on such fragile evidence.I suggest reading up on the opinions of the organizations who feel that they are guilty.To be honest, on finding out certain facts I went from on side to the other.I just don't buy the parrot like speeches by Echols and the fact he only answers a certain set of questions (and always give the same answers word for word).There is a lot of evidence pointing at their guilt (look it up) and although I certainly can't say 100% that they are guilty...I feel the cause celebre surrounding the whole case is distasteful and the famous people involved would do well to take up another cause.The kids seem like they are guilty to me.

This film is recommended.The third installment of this documentary continues to explore the ever-changing case and testimony of three convicts who were convicted as teenagers in the brutal killing of three young boys in Arkansas. Due to the dedication and research of filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ( and recent DNA evidence ), the case was overturned and the three man were set free after nearly twenty years of incarceration.Some background exposition: Known as the Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly, and Jason Baldwin were three wild teenagers back in 1994. The town and jury all but convicted them by their Goth appearance and love of heavy metal music. Questionable witnesses and a shaky confession obtained by police from one of accused sent them to prison.Berlinger and Sinosky persevered, as did others who feel that the verdict was unjust. Thus, their first documentary, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations kept the story and the hopes of the Memphis Three alive. This final chapter, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, brings this sad tale to a close.While the film uses newsreel footage of the crime and court testimony, plus endless interviews with the accused killers and family members and townsfolk, the documentary tries to remain objective, but never really does achieve that status. The film presents allegations of jury misconduct and uncovered DNA samples that can link a family member to the crime, but it never investigates those findings with much clarity. ( The film also could have been more effective if it included more of the aftermath once Echols, Misskelly, and Baldwin were released, observing their individual choices once freed. )Still, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory does show the power of the documentary genre and the diligent efforts of the filmmakers to make a difference in the outcome of injustice. The tragic events that grew out of this heinous crime still linger with the families. ( One of the parents of the murdered boys asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to remove the documentary from consideration as they say the film glorifies their son's killers. The film remained in competition and is nominated for Best Documentary. ) Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory will linger with you too. GRADE: BNOTE: Visit my movie blog for more reviews: www.dearmoviegoer.com

Back in 1996, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky set out to make a documentary for HBO on the West Memphis 3 – three teenage kids that were accessed of murdering three 8-year-old boys and sentenced to life imprisonment with one of the teenagers been given the death penalty.The documentary focused on the questionable evidence and lack of thorough police investigative work that lead to their incarceration and hit such chords with the American public that soon celebrities such as Johnny Depp were championing the cause in an attempt to get the three boys a new trial.Four years later, Berlinger and Sinofsky followed-up their story with Paradise Lost: Revelations which was a more biased account of the teenager's innocence and used new information and footage to help promote their cause.Fifteen years later, Berlinger and Sinofsky finish the trilogy with Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory that takes one final look at the teenagers that have grown into 30-year-old adults in prison for a crime that lacked the forensic evidence to convict if put on trial today.Paradise Lost 3 opens in 1994 and we get the hard-to-watch actual crime scene footage of the three naked 8-year-old boys who were left hogtied with shoelaces in a small wooded area known as Robin Hood Hills.With pressure from the media and the increasing tension amongst residents of the town, authorities soon charged teenagers Jason Baldwin, Jessie Miskelly and Damien Echols with murder and sentenced two of them (Baldwin, Miskelly) to life in prison without parole and Echols with the death penalty. The case was built upon their association with each other and loose allegations that the three were part of a satanic cult thanks to their preferred dark clothing and various graffiti and doodles of skeletons that were part of the group dynamic.Although not as engrossing as 1996's Paradise Lost, Purgatory again presents its case of innocence by interviewing or taping experts in their fields discuss the case and with a 2007 re-examining of the evidence by authoritative members of their fields (DNA, forensics etc). Scattered interviews from 1994 through 2010 help assert that justice may not have been done and that stubborn individuals who had involvement in the case provided the judicial roadblocks to impede any progress.Paradise Lost 3 spends a bit more time in an assumption of another potential murderer of the three boys and they are fueled by celebrities Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and even a member of the Dixie Chicks in their attempts to have new evidence presented and justice served.Paradise Lost 3 wrapped filming in August 2011 – three days later, the Memphis 3 were released from prison on a lesser charge that does not clear their innocence. Berlinger and Sinofsky informed the sold out crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival that we will be the first and the last to see this theatrical version as a new ending has since transpired (which drew a loud applause from the agreeing audience).One of the real tragedies of the now trilogy of Paradise Lost films is watching three teenage boys age while in prison. They have missed out on an entire life's worth of experiences (one did get married while incarcerated to a female fan) and we can only hope that a follow-up film 10 years from now shows us how the three were able to assimilate back into society and become everything that they should and could have been had they not been wrongly accused.www.killerreviews.com