Damien Echols was arrested, tried and sentenced to death for the murder of three (3) young boys, all 8-years-old at the time in Arkansas. Echols (18 at the time) was arrested with two other young men, ages 16 and 17 for these horrific crimes.
 
The case was murky from the start with the state of Arkansas looking to find someone or several people guilty for these crimes. Echols was sentenced to DEATH on March 19, 1994 for these crimes. Had Arkansas had a more aggressive death sentence procedure and less time to appeal, likely he would have been executed a long time ago.
 
As years wore on, appeals wore on, the possibility for a re-trial glimmered in the distance. Finally, when the judge who had sentenced all three men had stepped down from the bench, the chance to hear their case again came to pass.
 
Without going too deep into the law, Echols and his co-accomplices were allowed to be re-tried in 2010 based on newly discovered DNA evidence. In August, 2011, all three former convicts were released using an "Alford Plea." Under terms of this plea, all three defendants agreed to time-served (Echols served 18 years, 75 days) but had to plead guilty to these crimes - conceding that there was enough evidence to convict them at trial. In essence, the state gets their conviction, but the prisoners get to be released....a very tough choice to make...especially if you were innocent.
 
The metal chain, cheap as it may look, was the one worn by Nichols in prison. This is 100% authentic.
 
How was this ID obtained?
 
This was obtained from one of the longest collectors in the hobby. This LA state collector is well-respected for his work with a long-time Texas inmate, doing some documentary work, and actually meeting John Wayne Gacy to collect paintings directly from him decades ago.