Johnny Depp takes a stand for convict

[icymist]

(Entertainment Weekly) -- You may or may not have heard about Johnny Depp's crusade. He has long been the most private of movie stars, but this Saturday night, he will break character when he appears on CBS' investigative news show "48 Hours Mystery" to defend the West Memphis Three, who as teenagers were found guilty of the hideous 1993 murder of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Depp joins a handful of other entertainers -- Eddie Vedder, Winona Ryder, the Dixie Chicks -- who claim that the convicted killers are innocent, and that they were railroaded for the crime because of their associations with heavy-metal music and Stephen King novels. One of the three, Damien Echols, is now on death row. (The other two, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, received life sentences.)

The reason that Damien became the focus of the case is that he was portrayed in court as a teenage satanist, which inflamed the community. Actually, he was a follower of Wicca -- which may, in a place like West Memphis, seem interchangeable with "satanism." Even so, that hardly makes him guilty.

More

[Ignis]

1. Right on!

It's a pity that America elevates entertainment celebrities to a ridiculously high status in our society, but at least these artists are using their powers for good! :D