Not content to simply tell the world that child rapist Roman Polanski “is not a predator”, Johnny Depp has decided to put his time and effort to freeing three convicted murderers known as “The West Memphis Three”. I won’t go into any depth about the crimes these three men were convicted of, because this isn’t a legal or crime blog, and the details of the case are really gruesome, but if you’d like to know more, try this or this. Basically, these three men were convicted (while still teenagers) of murdering three eight-year-old boys. The teenagers (dubbed “The West Memphis Three”) were thought to have committed the crimes because of some kind of satanic urges/rituals. Anyway, Johnny is the latest celebrity to take up the cause of the West Memphis Three, and will even appear on Sunday’s 48 Hours Mystery about the case.

Johnny Depp may have fallen through a rabbit hole. To promote his movie version of “Alice in Wonderland,” he’s advocating the release of three men convicted of murdering three boys in a suspected satanic ritual.

Depp will appear on CBS’s “48 Hours Mystery” on Sunday to call for reopening the case of the West Memphis Three — convicted as teenagers of beating three 8-year-olds to death in 1994 — because he believes they never got a fair trial.

Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison, and Damien Echols, who is on death row, have all spent 16 years behind bars. But Depp joins such supporters as Eddie Vedder, Metallica, Winona Ryder and the Dixie Chicks in arguing they were convicted because they were devotees of heavy-metal music, Stephen King novels and the occult.

Famously private Depp’s agreement to appear on the “mystery” news documentary show even shocked CBS workers, with one staffer telling us last night: “Johnny Depp on ’48 Hours’ — are you joking?”

But Depp, who’ll also be on “The CBS Early Show” Thursday to promote “Alice,” his new Disney movie produced by Tim Burton, says Echols is running out of time.

He says on “48 Hours,” “I firmly believe Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley are totally innocent. It was a need for swift justice to placate the community. Damien Echols is on death row to be killed by lethal injection.”

The “48 Hours” investigation will highlight supposedly crucial new DNA and forensic evidence which could potentially clear the trio, as well as alleged juror misconduct that contributed to the convictions.

A rep for Depp — who plays the Mad Hatter in the 3D “Alice” being released March 5 with Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover and Anne Hathaway — did not return calls or an e-mail.

[From Page Six]

I was vaguely familiar with the case, and re-reading some of the details reminded me of just how sketchy the prosecution’s case was at the time. I have no idea if these men committed the crimes when they were teenagers, but I do think they should definitely get a new trial. There’s enough new evidence, and enough evidence of wrong-doing in the prosecution’s case (including recanted statements and shoddy forensic work) that the best solution would simply be a retrial. I wonder if Depp’s involvement will make a difference?

Here’s a clip from Depp’s appearance on 48 Hours:

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