but it was home for three 8-year-old boys named stevie branch, christopher byers, and michael moore. >> stevie and michael moore were best buddys. christopher started coming in to be friends i'm going to say about a month or so before they passed away. but it was always stevie and michael moore. >> on may 5, 1993, the three boys went to school, came home, and went out to play. stevie branch's mother pam hobbs remembers it like it was yesterday. >> we wasn't home probably five or ten minutes when michael moore probably came over and asked if stevie could go ride bikes with him. and i was telling him, not today, son. i'm getting ready for work. and i'm cooking and all that. and he and michael just kept begging and begging. please let me go. let me go. so like a lot of parents do, i gave in and i said, okay. >> do you remember the last thing stevie said to you? >> i love you, mama. and went off just as happy as he could be. >> steve branch, christopher byers and michael moore were all last seen right here on this street. and they were doing what 8-year-old boys would normally do, they we

of killing three eight-year-old boys in the town of west memphis, arkansas-- stevie branch, christopher byers and michael moore. investigators in this rural community believed that the teenagers killed the children as part of a satanic ritual. in recent years, though, d.n.a. evidence has been recovered at the scene-- none of it linking the accused to the crime. their freedom comes at a high price. under the unusual agreement known as an alford plea, the three men who still say they are innocent had to plead guilty to murder. >> the only thing the state would do for us is to say "hey, we'll let you go only if you admit guilt." and that's not justice no matter how you look at it. >> reporter: while the father of one of the victims voiced his support for the three men... >> i'm glad that they're free. >> sir, would you have a seat please? >> reporter: ...another had to be removed to from the court after objecting to the deal. >> this was not justice. >> reporter: a deal that almost didn't happen. jason baldwin, who didn't initially want to make the plea, finally agreed to get damien echols off d

one is john mark byers, haunted by his son christopher's death. >> if i met you in may of 1993, how convincedthe three teenagers? >> 100%. >> so now, do you believe that three men in prison are guilty? >> no, ma'am. they're 100% innocent. we needed someone to hate to survive because our child was dead. >> we meet damien echols at the super max prison, an hour's drive south of little rock. his hair is still coal black, but now his gaze is sharp. >> you were asked at the trialers did you kill christopher byers. your answer then was -- >> no. absolutely no. >> your answer now is? >> absolutely not. >> michael? >> absolutely not. even though it's been 20 years, you don't get used to being asked that. it's the kind of thing that screws with your head for the rest of your life. to have people to constantly have to answer that question or constantly have people asking you that, it's like being kicked in the stomach over and over and over again. >> these sort of sterile images of those little boys down by the creek, how did those images affect you? >> i didn't see those. all the way up until i was --

one is john mark byers, haunted by his son christopher's death.in may of 1993, how convinced would you have been of the guilt of the three teenagers? >> 100%. >> reporter: so now, do you believe that the three men in prison are guilty? >> no, ma'am. they're 100% innocent. we needed someone to hate to survive because our child was dead. >> reporter: we meet damien echols at the super max prison, an hour's drive south of little rock. his hair is still coal black, but now his gaze is sharp. you were asked at the trial, did you kill christopher byers. your answer then was -- >> no. absolutely no. >> reporter: your answer is? >> no. absolutely not. even though it's been 20 years, you don't get used to being asked that. that's the kind of thing that screws with your head for the rest of your life. to have people, to constantly have to answer that question or constantly have people asking you that. it's like being kicked in the stomach over and over and over again. >> reporter: those sterile images of the little boys down by the creek, how did those imag

in may, 1993, three young arkansas boys, stevie branch, christopher byers and michael moore, went missingered and mutilated in a watered filled ditch in the town of west memphis. the little boys were found in a drainage ditch, mutilated and beaten to death. police arrested damien ekohls, baldwin and misskelley and charged them with murder. >> they are charged with three counts of capital murder. >> investigators believed the three were part of a cult and the kill was a satanic ritual. in 1993, echols was sentenced to death and baldwin and misskelley were slated to spend the rest of their lives in jail. misskelley did confess to the crime early on his attorneys claimed he has a low i.q., the three maintained their innocence ever since. actor johnny depp pled their case and hosted benefits to raise moneyor their defense and in 2007 new dna evidence emerged that defense attorney argue exonerates the three. thursday they were transferred to a county jail, a craig head county judge issued a gag order prohibiting anyone from talking about the case publicly. sources including one victim's father

you were asked at the trial, did you kill christopher byers. your answer then was -- >> no.eporter: your answer is? >> no. absolutely not. even though it's been 20 years, you don't get used to being asked that. that's the kind of thing that screws with your head for the rest of your life. to have people, to constantly have to answer that question or constanley have people asking you that. it's like being kicked in the stomach over and over and over again. >> reporter: there's sterile images of the little boys down by the creek, how did those images affect you? >> i didn't see those all the way up until i was -- it was during the trial. so it was still sort of abstract to me. they were just names. that's when it really hit me and -- it does something to you when you see something like that. it cracks you inside. >> reporter: after the boys were discovered here, police searched the area. and yet they found no physical evidence linking damien echols and his two friends to the crime scene. there was no dna. no fingerprints. nothing even suggesting a satanic rictual which prosecu