Eddie Vedder there as West Memphis Three released

Eddie Vedder embraces Damien Echols, one of three men released Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, at the Craighead County Court House in Jonesboro, Ark.

/ AP

(CBS/AP) As the so-called West Memphis Three were released from prison Friday, one of their longtime supporters, singer and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, was on hand.

Pictures: Celebrity supporters
Pictures: West Memphis Three set free

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., convicted of murdering three 8-year-olds in West Memphis, Ark., were set free via a legal maneuver called an "Alford Plea." Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley pleaded guilty while maintaining innocence and acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence to convict them.

Echols' wife, Lorri, sat in the front row of a crowded courtroom, next to Vedder, who became a key supporter of the men after watching a pair of HBO documentaries about the case. Vedder put his arm around her during the proceedings.

MTV reports The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, another supporter of the men, was also at the courtroom as they were released. Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Tom Waits have also been outspoken supporters of Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley.

[moonflower2010]

Guilty, and should have stayed in prison forever. makes me sick!

[kleankutken]

Hold on a minute. Is this the same Pearl Jam guy that recorded that Jeremy song which was attributed directly to the Columbine killings and just about every other "kid wanting attention" killing across the globe??

[Camwi]

Wait, so now "Jeremy" was responsible for the Columbine massacre? I thought it was video games because one kid played Doom? Or wait, wasn't violence on TV to blame?

Some people..

[JohnnyJones21]

Neither Dylan Klebold nor Eric Harris were Pearl Jam fans nor were they influenced by that music video. They were just evil morons.

[KYJurisDoctor]

ANY injustice ANYWHERE, is pretty much injustice EVERYWHERE!

[defiantlove]

awesome film series...i myself have followed the subject of my documentary film for 17 years. ("DRUNK IN PUBLIC")...and it takes a level of endurance most people are unfamiliar with--and typically it reaps fruit for many...sinofsky and berlinger should be household names...but documentary films continue to impact people and just sort of quietly linger in...purgatory.