Paperback: A prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate. This responsibility carries with it specific obligations to see that the defendant is accorded procedural justice, that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence and that special precautions are taken to prevent and to rectify the conviction of innocent persons. - American Bar Association
Falsely accused, Jason Baldwin summoned courage facing death, hope entering prison and peace kicking Hacky Sack.
Devil's Knot (2014), the first book in the Justice Knot Trilogy, explored how prosecutors won convictions of the West Memphis Three for murder, virtually without evidence.
In Dark Spell (2014), part two of Mara Leveritt's Justice Knot Trilogy, Jason relates how he was abducted at sixteen from his family, disappeared into the nightmare of his prison and held there by the intransigence of the criminal legal system. His insightful, upbeat persona brightens the harshness of what he endured.
Jason's story illuminates the many ways America's justice system can go wrong and fight - often with a vengeance - to sustain that wrong. It celebrates the ordinary heroes who rose up, using art and new technology, to challenge trials they saw as mockeries of justice. At heart, it shows how an innocent man trapped in prison managed to forge a life of honour by sticking to personal integrity, education and play.
"This case deserves such attention because, in its complexity, it represents so many of the individual problems that plague American courts. A forthcoming book will conclude this Justice Knot Trilogy," wrote Mara Leveritt on her Author's Note's page.
About the authors: Contributing editor to the Arkansas Times and past Arkansas Journalist of the Year, has reported for almost three decades on police, courts and prisons. Mara has written three nonfiction books about crime and public corruption and she is working on a fourth - the third book in the Justice Knot trilogy about the West Memphis Three.
The Boys on the Tracks (1998) is about murder and prosecutorial corruption in Saline County. Devil’s Knot (2002/2014) is about the deeply problematic trials of the teenagers who became known as the West Memphis Three. Dark Spell (Bird Call Press) is about Jason Baldwin’s post-conviction ordeal. The first two of these were awarded Arkansas’s prestigious Booker Worthen Prize.
Mara is the 2014 recipient of the Porter Prize. Established in 1984, the Porter Fund Literary Prize is a non-profit organization supporting Arkansas writers and poets. The Porter Prize was founded in honour of Dr. Ben Kimpel. In May 2014, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock awarded Mara an honorary PhD, hooding her as a “doctor of humane letters.”
In 2012, Mara was awarded a Laman Fellowship to continue work on Justice Knot, her trilogy about the West Memphis case and the questions it raises about the adequacy of judicial processes in the US. That year, the Southeast Region of the American Board of Trial Advocates named her its Journalist of the Year, “in recognition of her years of unbiased reporting of the facts and legal arguments in many high-profile court proceedings and her persistent efforts to explain to the public the reasoning underlying sometimes controversial court decisions.”
Jason Baldwin's sentence to life in prison at the age of sixteen in 1994 for a crime he did not commit, ultimately spending eighteen years of his life in prison as a minor, has since been ruled unconstitutional. Since he was released in 2011, he has travelled the country advocating for criminal justice reform and also earned his Associate of Arts degree.
"My life has been one filled mostly with heartache, pain, injustice and the worst people have to offer. But it is also one of perseverance, hope, love and our capacity to rise above - I have seen, too, the best humanity has to offer. The truth is, without the kindness of others, I would still be in prison today," said Jason.
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