LITTLE ROCK — Four weeks after hearing arguments in an appeal for a new trial from a man convicted of the grisly murders of three West Memphis children, the Arkansas Supreme Court has still not issued a decision.
A ruling on the appeal of Damien Echols was not among those offered Thursday morning. The court generally releases its decisions at 9 a.m. each Thursday.
An attorney for Damien Echols argued before the court last month that DNA evidence tested since his conviction justified a new trial since none of it linked him to the crimes. His defense team also challenged statements purportedly made by a jury foreman that may have biased the other jurors.
Echols, along with Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, was convicted of the 1993 slayings of three 8-year-old boys who were found dead and hog-tied in a ditch off Interstate 40 in West Memphis. Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison and are also seeking new trials.
There is no set timetable for a decision after the justices hear oral arguments, but court officials say it often takes two to three weeks.