West Memphis 3 Freed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One oddity about the MSN story is that the writer identified Byer's father as his "adoptive father" instead of just his father. Why is this relavent? Did the crime affect him any less because of how he became a father? As the parent of adopted children, I am bothered by the subtle implication that the fact that his boy was adopted makes any differene when describing this father's grief.

I think they have been doing this because I believe his biological father is still alive. Or was a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One oddity about the MSN story is that the writer identified Byer's father as his "adoptive father" instead of just his father. Why is this relavent? Did the crime affect him any less because of how he became a father? As the parent of adopted children, I am bothered by the subtle implication that the fact that his boy was adopted makes any differene when describing this father's grief.

I think they suspected one of the non-biological fathers of committing the crime so maybe this is the reason?

[Anonymous]

The facts of the case are that had it been properly investigated, John Mark Byers would have been the prime suspect at the time. He had an extensive criminal history with some episodes of violence. He was also a police informant at a time when there was widespread corruption in that department. It is fair speculation that this might be the reason he was not pursued. However, due to the nature of the crime and media coverage, a perpetrator needed to be found. Thus, the hanging of the crime on three youth's heads due mainly to their proclivity to dress in black and listen to a lot of Metallica music. In more recent investigations, DNA of Steve Branch's adoptive father may have been found at the crime scene. I don't think that the article in question is attempting to suggest that grief is lessened by the relationships between the parents and the victims, as much as it is to simply clarify those relationships.

[Anonymous]

I wish I could care about these squirrelly looking rednecks, but I don't.

[Anonymous]

John Mark Byers' wife (the mother of one of the victims) also died later at home (he was there) under mysterious circumstances that were not fully investigated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could care about these squirrelly looking rednecks, but I don't.

I wish there weren't bigots in this world, but here you are.

These were somebody's teenaged sons.