Damien Echols aka Michael Hutchison

Damien Echols is the main character, writer, and narrator of this novel. While Michael Hutchison is the name on Damien's birth certificate, he allows his stepfather, Jack Echols to formally adopt him. He changes his first name to Damien, after his patron saint, when he becomes Catholic. Damien and two other teenaged boys are convicted and found guilty of murdering three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in the early 1990s. Damien is thought by the police to be the ringleader of the murders of the boys. For this reason, he is sentenced to death in a 1993 trial. He spends 18 years on Death Row before he is released from jail on time served following an Alford plea or best interest plea.

In his story, Damien shares his memories from childhood as well as the background leading up to his arrest for murder. He explains the...