in the meantime, jessie misskelley's father is hopeful about his son's future. >> jessie's truck thatstill under here? >> yep. >> does he know that you're keeping it for him? >> yeah. i'll probably be gone by the time he gets out. >> and like jessie's dad, damien is hopeful but somewhat fearful at the same time. >> because this time the world is watching. this time you've got people all over the world paying attention to this case now. so steven king novels and bad teenage poetry aren't going to be enough for them to do this again. but at the same time, i guess it's -- i don't know. i guess if you've been hurt by something there'll always be some part of you that's wary of it, scared of it, that never completely trusts it. >> but one fact remains. three 8-year-old boys are dead, viciously murdered, their families devastated to this day. for them, their sons, there are no second chances. >> that has to be horrifying to live through something like this, to lose your child and then to come to this blow that the police got the wrong guys. >> 18 years later, and i still don't know the trut

damien echols, jessie misskelley and jason baldwin. teenagers then. in their mid 30s today. convicted in what many labeled a literal witch hunt. no physical evidence against them. imprisoned for nearly two decades. >> i'm just tired. you know, this has been going on for over 18 years. >> in the beginning, we told nothing but the truth, that we were innocent, and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives. >> reporter: but today, a bizarre final chapter. with a stunning reversal. four years after abc news first broke word of dna evidence that could exonerate them, the west memphis three walked free. >> the legal tangle that has become known as the west memphis three case is now finished. >> does anyone believe that if the state had even the slightest continuing conviction that they were guilty that they would let these men free today? >> reporter: it was 1993, the three second graders are found drowned in a ditch in west memphis. it was before arkansas could handle dna testing. no physical evidence to link the teens to the crime. >> they were the unusual kids in town, d

these are the shots of jason baldwin and damien echols and jessie misskelley.intain their innocence. our david mattingly looks at both sides of the case. >> reporter: after more than 18 years behind bars, the men known as the west memphis three find that freedom has a bitter taste. >> this was not justice. we told nothing but the truth. we were innocent. they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives. we had to come here and knowing that the state would do is a we will let you go only if you admit guilt. that is not justice no matter how you look at it. >> reporter: in a complicated deal, jessie misskelley and damien echols and jason baldwin admit their guilt. the west memphis three go free, but not free of the word murderer. >> it is not perfect. it is not perfect by any means. at least it brings closure to some areas and some aspects. we can still bring up new evidence. we can continue the investigations we have been doing. we can try to clear our names. the difference is doing it from the outside instead of sitting in prison. >> reporter: after their entir

damien echols, jessie misskelley, jr. and baldwin. >>> still in shock. overwhelmed. i spent almost the past decade in solitary confinement. so i'm not used to being around anyone, much less this many people. it's kind of overwhelming. it's not perfect. it's not perfect by any means. but at least it brings closure to some areas and some aspects. you know, we can still bring up new evidence. we can still continue an investigations we've been doing. we can still try to clear our names. the only difference is we can do it from the outside instead of sitting in prison and do it. >> even when you're in prison, you have to worry about your own safety. it doesn't matter what crime it is, you got to worry about your safety regardless. >> jason, how about you? >> i didn't worry about someone else would do. i worried about people who loved me and care about me and trust. we can't live our lives in fear. this was not justice. in the beginning, we told nothing but the truth that we were innocent and they sent us to prison for the rest

as part of an unusual plea agreement, echoles and two other convicted men-- jason baldwin and jessie misskelley-- were released from prison. >> this has been going on for over 18 years and it's been an absolute living hell. >> reporter: 17 years ago, damien echols was sentenced to death. the other two were given life. jason baldwin. >> and we didn't tell nothing but the truth, that we were innocent, and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. >> reporter: known as the west memphis three, the men were teenagers in 1994 when they were convicted 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 th

time ago, i spoke with the attorney for another of the memphis three defendants, he represents jessie misskelleyho had been serving a life term. >> well, jesse's got a lot of catching up to do. remember, 1 years ago, there weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a8 years ago, t weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a lot different. he has a huge amount of catching up in society to do. as came out in many of the hearings, he's got some limited intellectual resources, but i think he'll do all right. he's going to need some guidance and readjusting back to society because he really hasn't been anywhere but the prison system since he was 17 years old. >> and it's been a source of controversy because he does have an iq of only 72. and he delivered a confession back in the day, confessed to this, but what he confessed to, his presentation was diversion from the facts of the case. the investigation is gathered wouldby police. do you believe he was trick fld into that? >> he was tricked, bamboozled, whatever verb you want to use, but he was as i say basi

men, teenagers at the time from left to right on the screen, jason baldwin, damien echols and jessie misskelleye convicted and sent to prison. baldwin and misskelly were -- there have always been questions about the convictions. the three men have argued that no direct evidence linked them ever to the murders. now to the rare legal deal that set them free. it's known as the alford plea which claims though they say they're not innocent but they acknowledge the state has enough evidence to convict them. here's what jason baldwin said after he was released. >> this was not justice. in the beginning we told them nothing but the truth that we were innocent. and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. then we had to come here. the only thing that state would do for us was 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. >> investigations to the case leading up to today's plea deal, spoke to damien echols during his incarceration. here's her report. >> west memphis, arkansas, 1994. an awkward-looking teenager with coal black h

. >>> jason baldwin and damien echols and jessie misskelley were known as the memphis three and they when they went to prison killing three little boys nearly 20 years ago. they always insisted they were innocent, and now they are out. due to a unusual plea deal where they had to admit guilt. it was an unusual ordeal. here is cnn's david mattingly. >> reporter: after more than 18 years behind bar, the men known as the memphis three find that freedom has a bitter taste. >> this was not justice. >> at the beginning we told nothing but the truth that we were innocent, and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives, and now we have to say that we will let you go only if you admit guilt, and that is not justice no matter how you look at it. >> reporter: in a complicated deal, the three get out of prison to proclaim their innocence, but only after admitting that the prosecution has evidence that could convict them. the west memphis three go free, but not free of the word murderer. >> it is not perfect. it is not perfect by any means, but at least it brings closure to some areas, and

men, teenagers at the time from left to right on the screen, jason baldwin, damien echols and jessie misskelleyaldwin and misskelly were -- there have always been questions about the convictions. the three men have argued that no direct evidence linked them ever to the murders. now to the rare legal deal that set them free. it's known as the alford plea which claims though they say they're not innocent but they acknowledge the state has enough evidence to convict them. here's what jason baldwin said after he was released. >> this was not justice. in the beginning we told them nothing but the truth that we were innocent. and they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives for it. then we had to come here. the only thing that state would do for us was 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. >> investigations to the case leading up to today's plea deal, spoke to damien echols during his incarceration. here's her report. >> west memphis, arkansas, 1994. an awkward-looking teenager with coal black hair and a far-away gaze stands tr

prosecutors argued that jason baldwin, damien echols and jessie misskelley, jr. who you see here.os were driven by satanic ritual, that they hogtied these three boys with shoelaces and mutilated their bodies before tossing them in a ditch. but this case has gotten national attention. even like eddie vetter and the dixie chicks and johnny depp were rallying for their release. why? because of what investigators could not do. which is provide direct evidence that tied the three men to the boys' murders. dna evidence later failed to link the men to the crime. i want to go straight to jonesboro, arkansas, now where david mattingly is standing by outside the courthouse. david, this case has gotten so much attention, not the least of which because -- the conviction, rather, was not overturned and yet, they were set free. so explain to us exactly how this happened. >> reporter: that's right. this attention that's been focused on this case for so long is not going to go away because there's still plenty to argue about here. it was a very complicated deal that went down in that courtroom to