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Summary Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin spent 18 years in prison.
The man Johnny Depp helped release from Arkansas death row has become like a brother to him, right down to getting matching tattoos.We have some, Depp said Saturday as he touched a tattoo on the right side of his chest.This one Damien designed. Its one of my all-time favorites, and it means quite a lot to me, Depp told The Associated Press before the premiere of the documentary, West of Memphis, about Damien Echols and his two co-defendants.Echols said whenever he and Depp get together, they often end up in a tattoo parlor. Depp said its about celebrating the moment.Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin spent 18 years in prison for the 1993 murders of three 8-year old boys in West Memphis. All three were released after agreeing to an Alford plea that allowed them to maintain their innocence while pleading guilty.The three were the subjects of the Paradise Lost documentaries, which captured Depps interest in the case.You saw those initial documentaries, you make a choice: Am I going to watch the thing and go Wow, thats really horrible, and go out and get a milkshake, Depp said.Depp, along with Pearl Jams Eddie Vedder, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, musician Henry Rollins, and filmmaker Peter Jackson, who produced West of Memphis, helped pay the legal fees to free the three men.The 37-year old Echols always wears sunglasses, a product of not seeing much daylight after spending so many years in a prison cell. Echols said Depps support wasnt limited to Echols time in prison.Hes been with us every single step of the way. Since weve gotten out, hes become like a brother to me. And thats one of the things we always do just as part of that bond is whenever you get tattoos like that, its something you carry with you through the rest of your life and its really meaningful.
