Paradise Lost is a 1996 documentary film directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky about the trials of three teenagers in West Memphis, Arkansas for the murder and sexual mutilation of three prepubertal children.
The guys in the trial for the crime are: Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, also known as the West Memphis 3.
Despite the lack of any meaningful evidence to indicate that they are related to the case at all, the three boys are charged and tried for the murders.
A common theme throughout the film is the treatment of children based on their appearance and musical tastes, possibly as a satanic ritual abuse.
During the course of filming, John Mark Byers, stepfather of one of the victims, gives filmmakers a knife that has blood in the joint.The filmmakers turn the knife to the police, its consideration; DNA is similar to himself and the child, but the evidence is less conclusive since DNA evidence was produced fragmented and can not provide specific links. Other evidence is lost. The three teenagers are convicted.
The film was followed by a sequel, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), suggesting that the evidence has been lost or deleted, and attempts to prove the innocence of Echols.
