Congratulations to MAIP Board Member Stephen Braga, who was recognized amongst only 10 cases on the National Law Journal’s Pro Bono Hotlist for his incredible work in freeing Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr., a group widely known as the West Memphis Three. Since 1993, the men have been incarcerated in Arkansas for the murders of three young boys. But in the 18 years that have followed, DNA testing, jury misconduct, and other new pieces of evidence have not only been exculpatory but shown the men to be innocent of a crime which landed Echols on death row and Baldwin and Misskelley with life imprisonment.

In 2009, when Braga joined Echol’s legal team and took the lead on the WMT efforts, the case seemed to be at a standstill. However, in order to recognize unwavering pushback by the prosecutors and still secure relief for Echols and his co-defendants, Braga found what he deemed to be a legal compromise. As he explained to the National Law Journal: ‘”What is the middle ground between insistence on guilt by the prosecutors and insistence on innocence by the defendants?” He concluded: “The thing that seemed logical, the only safe harbor, was the Alford plea.”‘

His efforts were successful. After entering their Alford pleas, each of the defendants’ sentences were deemed as time served, and finally, the West Memphis Three were released from prison on August 19, 2011.

Click here to read the National Law Journal’s article: Defender found the audacity to end a stalemate or see the full Pro Bono Hotlist.