Movies / Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
Runtime: 150 min
Genres: Crime Documentary Drama Mystery
Languages: English
Countries: USA
This nonjudgmental documentary examines a bizarre triple murder and the subsequent arrest, trial and dubious convictions of three teenage boys for the crime. In a peaceful Arkansas suburb, three eight-year-old boys are found maimed and brutally slain -- one of them was castrated. The community understandably goes into an uproar until one, mentally slow teen, Jason, comes forward and claims that he and two others killed the boys as part of a Satanic ritual. All are arrested, but the other teens, Damien and Jason, swear that they are innocent. The filmmakers then present widely disparate opinions from community members concerning the youths' guilt or innocence. The stepfather of one of the slain boys, vents his feelings by speaking to a pumpkin and then blowing it away with a gun. The whole trial is suspect and is based upon the testimony of Jesse who has an IQ of 74 and cannot keep his story straight. There is little evidence to conclusively prove or disprove their guilt. The filmmakers also intimate that others may have been involved, but those possibilities remain largely unexplored. The three boys all ended up convicted, but the niggling doubts remain.
| Keywords (41) |
|---|
| wrongful conviction false confession miscarriage of justice multiple homicide triple child murder sociopath mutilation justice 1990s courtroom More Keywords » |
| Directors (2) | Credit |
|---|---|
| Bruce Sinofsky | ... |
| Joe Berlinger | ... |
| Editors (2) | Credit |
|---|---|
| Bruce Sinofsky | ... |
| Joe Berlinger | ... |
| Cinematographers (1) | Credit |
|---|---|
| Robert Richman | ... |
| Actors (58) | Credit |
|---|---|
| Brent Davis | Self - Prosecutor |
| Bruce Sinofsky | Self (voice) |
| Bryn Ridge | Self (as Det. Bryn Ridge) |
| Christopher Byers | Self (archive footage) |
| Christy Van Vickle | Self (archive sound) |
| Dale W. Griffis | Self (as Dr. Dale W. Griffis) |
| Damien Wayne Echols | Self |
| Dana Moore | Self |
| Dan Stidham | Self - Attorney |
| Darwin Stow | Self - Sheriff |
| David Burnett | Self - Judge |
| Diana Davis | Self - KAIT-TV (archive footage) |
| Dick Clay | Self - KAIT-TV (archive footage) |
| Domini Teer | Self |
| Frank J. Peretti | Self (as Dr. Frank J. Peretti) |
| Gail Grinnell | Self |
| Gary Gitchell | Self |
| Gregory L. Crow | Self - Attorney |
| Jackie Hicks | Self - Branch's Grandfather |
| James Rasicot | Self (as Dr. James Rasicot) |
| Jason Baldwin | Self |
| Jenna Newton | Self - KAIT-TV (archive footage) |
| Jessie Misskelley | Self (as Jessie Miskelly) |
| Jessie Misskelley Sr. | Self |
| Jodee Medford | Self (archive sound) |
| Joe Berlinger | Self (voice) |
| Joe Hutchinson | Self |
| John Mark Byers | Self |
| John N. Fogleman | Self - Prosecutor |
| Lee Rush | Self |
| Marie Hicks | Self - Branch's Grandmother |
| Marty King | Self |
| Melissa Byers | Self |
| Michael Carson | Self - Witness (as Michael Roy Carson) |
| Michael Deguglielmo | Self - DNA Expert |
| Michael Moore | Self (archive footage) |
| Michelle Echols | Self |
| Mike Allen | Self (as Det. Mike Allen) |
| Pam Echols | Self |
| Pam Hobbs | Self |
| Paul N. Ford | Self - Attorney |
| Regina Meek | Self |
| Richard J. Ofshe | Self (as Dr. Richard J. Ofshe) |
| Robin Wadley | Self - Attorney |
| Ron Lax | Self - Private Investigator |
| Scott R. Davidson | Self - Attorney |
| Shelby Misskelley | Self |
| Steven Branch | Self (archive footage) |
| Susie Brewer | Self |
| Terry Hobbs | Self |
| Terry Wood | Self - KAIT-TV (archive footage) |
| Todd Moore | Self |
| Tommy Stacy | Self (as Rev. Tommy Stacy) |
| Tony Brooks | Self - KAIT-TV (archive footage) |
| Val P. Price | Self - Attorney |
| Warren D. Holmes | Self - Defense Expert |
| Wayne Hoffman | Self - Reporter |
| William E. Wilkins | Self (as Dr. William E. Wilkins) |