October 25, 2009

Maccarone/NYC

On October 25th an exclusive silent auction of artwork will be held with work from 30+ prominent artists from the NYC contemporary art scene. The goal of this benefit is to raise much-needed legal funds for the final push to free Damien Echols.

Echols is an artist and writer who, at 18 years old, was wrongly convicted of murder in 1994 along with Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, and all became known as the West Memphis 3. Echols was merely a goth-metal kid in a conservative small town who was targeted for being different. Both the trial and investigation were characterized by egregious misconduct on the part of the authorities. Echols alone received the death sentence. The 1996 HBO documentary on this case,Paradise Lost, calls this miscarriage of justice a “new Salem witch trial.”

We—a cross section of artists, museum curators, gallery directors, musicians, and actors—believe in the innocence of Damien Echols. We have put this benefit together as a group of individuals with a common purpose. Unlike other fundraisers that raise money for blanket causes, or institutions, this benefit seeks to save the life of one person, a fellow artist. After 16 years on death row and as many denied legal motions, the Arkansas State Supreme Court will again consider Damien's lawyers' latest motion for a new trial.

Crucial new evidence of the WM3's innocence has been uncovered, including crime scene DNA that absolves Damien, Jason and Jessie and points to other persons. Some of the country’s leading pathologists have found that much of the forensic evidence presented to the juries that helped convict the West Memphis 3 was false and not consistent with the cause of death or wounds found on the bodies. And recently, sworn affidavits were presented to the ASSC detailing serious misconduct during Jason and Damien's original trial by the jury foreman.

DAMIEN ECHOLS IS INNOCENT & WE NEED YOUR HELP

Date: October 25, 2009 6-9PM
Place: Maccarone
630 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10014
www.maccarone.net



ARTISTS
Allora & Calzadilla
Kristin Baker
Walead Beshty
Carol Bove
Peter Coffin
Jen DeNike
Carlton DeWoody
Anna Gaskell
Douglas Gordon
Adam Helms
Elizabeth Huey
Terence Koh
Nate Lowman
Corey McCorkle
Adam Pendelton
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge
Lisi Raskin
Mika Rottenberg
Taryn Simon
Mike Smith
Alec Soth
Francesco Vezzoli

BENEFIT COMMITTEE
Jen DeNike
Elizabeth Lovero
Eliza Ryan
Jenny Schlenzka

HONORARY COMMITTEE
Jackie Barrett
The Company
Margaret Cho
Lorri Davis
Kyle DeWoody
Anat Ebgi
Lisa Fancher
Robby Granoff
Dmitry Komis
Erica Papernik
David Raymond
Henry Rollins
Lisa Riordan Seville
Lonnie Soury
Amy Smith-Stewart
Cara Starke
Eddie Vedder
Nick Weist
Michael Wilson

For more information about the case: wm3.vox.com & wm3.org

All proceeds directly benefit the legal fund of Damien Echols through Arkansas Take Action, a non-profit 501(c)(3).

http://thecompanyart.com/wordpress/2009/10/01/damien-echols-benefit-at-maccarone-gallery-nyc/