In 1994, while prosecutors were trying to win sentences of death for the accused child killers, they had secretly offered Jason Baldwin a separate deal. Not once, but twice. Instead of seeking the death penalty, they would seek a 40-year sentence-which would lead to eventual parole- if he would plead guilty and testify against Damien Echols. Jason refused the deal and said “This isn’t right”.
Halfway through the trial, they again approached Jason with a new deal of a 20-year sentence. Jason said “It was wrong. It was against everything I was brought up to believe in. We weren’t rich, but my mom instilled good values in us. They were telling me all they really want is Damien. Just testify against Damien. Say he done it. Get up there and lie. I told him I couldn’t help him with anything like that. I couldn’t do it even if you said you’d let me go right now.”
