Mark your calendars. In December, the Arkansas Times is sponsoring two special programs in partnership with the Clinton School for Public Service and the Little Rock Film Festival.
On Wednesday, Dec. 12, the Argenta Film Series at the Argenta Community Theater will screen "Paradise Lost," Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's 1996 documentary about the child murders in West Memphis and the three men who came to be known as the West Memphis Three. Following the film, one of the three, Jason Baldwin, will make his first public appearance in the state since he and Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley were released from Arkansas prisons last year after submitting an Alford plea, under which a defendant asserts innocence while pleading guilty. He'll be joined by filmmaker Joe Berlinger and Times contributor Mara Leveritt, the author of "Devil's Knot" and a forthcoming sequel that also explores the West Memphis Three case.
On Thursday, Dec. 13, Baldwin, Berlinger and Leveritt will participate in a panel discussion at the Clinton School entitled "The Case for Cameras in Court." Judges rarely allow trials to be videotaped. Had Berlinger and Sinofsky not been allowed to film the trials of Baldwin, Echols and Misskelley, most believe Baldwin and Misskelley would still be in jail and Echols, who was sentenced to death, would have been executed.
Keep your calendar free, and we'll let you know in this space when and where to RSVP for seats to these two free events.