jesse misskelley sr. is jesse's father. >> i met him ate his home on a cold winter day to learn more about his son. >> everybody loved him. the little kids called him uncle jesse. >> jesse's father says he had a good heart. but his son struggled in school, and he didn't make it past the ninth grade. >> at the time, he was 17 years old. he came from a family that was a big family. he was a rough kid. he was low functioning in school. he had been in special ed from the time he started school. >> low functioning. >> iq i think at 72 is what he's been measured at. >> and what does that mean? how does he compare to a normal student? >> well, if the normal student is 100, then a 72 in our state i believe that a 70 is the cutoff for mental retardation legally. and so he was just above that. and he had been in special ed until he'd finally dropped out in high school when he was 16, a year earlier than this. >> jesse knew damien echols and jason baldwin, but not have well. they lived in a neighborhood close by. >>

. >> reporter: damien echols, jesse misskelley and jason baldwin were all accused of killing the 8-year-old boys left in a ditch to die. it was the case that shocked the nation. >> they had to find somebody innocent. >> reporter: the big break for police came when misskelley confessed to the killings during questioning and implicated echols and baldwin as accomplices. but soon after he recanted and refused to testify claiming his confession was coerced by police. prosecutors proceeded with no physical evidence, no weapon and no motive. >> we're innocent. and we had to prove it the rest of our lives. >> reporter: the notorious case inspired a 1996 hbo documentary "paradise lost, the child murders at robin hood hill." and then a sequel. the tv special caught the attention of several celebrities including johnny depp, eddie vedder and natalie maines of the dixie chicks. all would lobby for their release. >> i am also here to show my support for the west memphis 3. >> reporter: in 2007, new evidence cast even more doubt on their guilt. modern dna testing revealed that none of the dna at the cri

damien echols, jesse misskelley and jason baldwin have spent the past 18 years behind bars for the murders of three arkansas cub scouts. the case has drawn national attention with supporters including numerous celebrities claiming the men were wrongly convicted. the men have always maintained their innocence. >>> a father and son from pennsylvania behind bars this morning accused of conducting a month-long campaign to threaten sarah palin and her family. craig and shawn christy have been indicted by an alaska grand jury. they allegedly ignored a restraining order and called palin's number 400 times leaving threats about deadly and sexual attacks on the former governor and her children. >>> if you're the president, there's probably never a good time to get away, just as president obama arrived on martha's vineyard for a ten-day family vacation the stock market took a dive. it's giving republicans a new opening to blast the president's handling of the economy and the timing of his r and r. deputy political director paul steinhauser live in washington. i can remember a lot of grubling about t

jason baldwin, damien echols and jesse misskelley jr. say they're innocent of the murders of three second graders. they were freed after reaching a deal, they had to plead guilty but still maintain their innocence. >> in the beginning we told nothing but the truth that we were innocent. they sent us to prison for the rest of our lives. we had to come here and the only thing the state would do for us, would say we'll let you go only if you admit guilt. and that's not justice, no matter how you look at it. >> i'm just tired. this has been going on for over 18 years, and it's been an absolute living hell. >> even when you're in prison it goes on every day, you to worry about your own safety. it doesn't matter what the crime it is. you still got to worry about your safety regardless. >> 911 operators in daytona beach, florida, flooded with calls after drivers saw this. a woman riding in the back of a pick-up truck holding on to a stroller. and there's a baby inside of the stroller. key yoen na davis is the woman, says she was hanging on to t

who had been serving a life term. >> well, jesse's got a lot of catching up to do. remember, 1 years ago, there weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a8 years ago, t weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a lot different. he has a huge amount of catching up in society to do. as came out in many of the hearings, he's got some limited intellectual resources, but i think he'll do all right. he's going to need some guidance and readjusting back to society because he really hasn't been anywhere but the prison system since he was 17 years old. >> and it's been a source of controversy because he does have an iq of only 72. and he delivered a confession back in the day, confessed to this, but what he confessed to, his presentation was diversion from the facts of the case. the investigation is gathered wouldby police. do you believe he was trick fld into that? >> he was tricked, bamboozled, whatever verb you want to use, but he was as i say basically mentally retarded or borderline at best. and didn't understand what he was