Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines Wins "West Memphis Three" Defamation Suit

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines (AP Photo, file)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CBS/AP) A federal judged has ruled Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines didn't defame a father mourning for his murdered stepson and has ordered the man to pay the singer's legal fees.

Nearly two decades ago, Terry Hobbs' stepson Stevie Branch was murdered and three boys were convicted of the crime.

But ever since, there has been a parade of celebrities fighting for the freedom of the convicted killers known as the "West Memphis Three."

In 2007, Dixie Chicks singer Maines joined the cause, but Hobbs felt she went too far and tried to pin the murder on him.

He sued for defamation and now a federal judge says not only is Maines innocent, but Hobbs must pay her legal fees amounting to $17,590.

Branch was one of three 8-year-old boys slain in 1993. Hobbs claimed Maines accused him of the killings in a letter posted on the band's Web site and in comments she made at a Little Rock rally in 2007 in support of the three men convicted in the deaths.

Maines, who's from Lubbock, Texas, had become convinced that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, known as the "West Memphis Three," were innocent after watching documentaries on the case. Her letter seeking donations for the trio's legal defense fund mentioned a DNA test that found a hair belonging to Hobbs on a shoelace used to bind one of the murdered boys.

"I am confident that you will see the DNA evidence is irrefutable and that these three men did not get the kind of trial that is promised to us - as Americans," Maines' letter said.

The West Memphis Three: from left, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (CBS)

Echols was sentenced to death for the killings, while Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life in prison. Courts have repeatedly rejected their appeals for a new trial.

Hobbs' lawsuit claimed the letter "when taken as a whole, accused (Hobbs) of committing the murder of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore."

The lawsuit, filed in Nov. 2008, claimed Maines' comments were "malicious, libelous, slanderous and false" and sought damages.

But in December, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller dismissed the suit, saying Hobbs had voluntarily injected himself into a public controversy over whether three teenagers convicted of killing the three 8-year-old boys had been wrongfully condemned.

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"A Cry for Innocence": Johnny Depp and the full story of the "West Memphis Three"

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by probablecause1 April 26, 2011 8:17 AM EDT: Initially it was Byers (stepfather of Christopher) who was the the guilty party, now another step father? good luck collecting, that man is poor, what a shame? this case is a big mess, he may be guilty but she can't hardly know the extent of this case by watching a documentary and basing her decision upon the results of two strands of hair from Hobbs and his buddy, there's not enough evidence to convict him nor is there enough evidence to exonerate wm3 so it's a lose lose situation..justice, Arkansas style....; Reply to this comment


by heavon01 August 11, 2010 1:36 PM EDT: well what a case,the 3 boys got blindside all right,wow what justice you have,the DNA clears them of this horrible murders, and they are still lock up ,what going on here,the evidence and DNA and forensic clear them,so why are they still lock up,the DNA they have belongs to someone elsa, which i said 14 years ago who it was ,boy was i right ,do you think that arkansas will ever ammited that they made a horrible mistake,and set them free,i don,t think so,they rather keep these 3 innocent boys lock up for life,while the real killer walk free,and it makes me sick,to think they can do that,what rotten justice for them and the 3 little boys that where murder,i am from CANADA, and its time to set them free,and make this horrible mistake right for god sake set them FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE; Reply to this comment


by compton79 April 21, 2010 1:00 PM EDT: well WHOEVER did this crime to these beautiful kids is a worthless p.o.s......these poor kids .....REST IN PEACE STEVIE,MICHEAL AND CHRISTOPHER !!!!!!!; Reply to this comment


by jenniac April 21, 2010 1:30 AM EDT: That's big talk about justice coming from someone who once sang a song about murdering a man and disposing of the body.; Reply to this comment


by zeppy2815 April 21, 2010 1:08 AM EDT: Terry Hobbs murdered the boys..........................; Reply to this comment


by edgy44 April 20, 2010 6:05 PM EDT: I wish they would use a smaller picture of her, I'm kind of getting ill just looking at the front page.; Reply to this comment


by lakota2012 April 20, 2010 5:31 PM EDT: Typical conservitard ideology, trying to end FREE SPEECH for everyone except the FAUX NoNooz sycophants, whom have the biggest mouths, and cry the loudest through their arrogance!; Reply to this comment

by HRPuffinstuff April 20, 2010 3:17 PM EDT

First, I hope this guy appeals this stupid decision by another liberal court.

Second, please set up and publish an address where real Americans, who want to see criminals actually punished, can send contributions to offset his legal costs.

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by Ireflaune June 3, 2010 1:30 AM EDT: Everybody wants to see criminals punished . . . the idea behind this case is that they may not actually be criminals . . . and do people want someone to blame so badly that they can turn a blind eye to the fact that it was not these three boys who committed those murders?

by thesevenveils April 20, 2010 2:49 PM EDT

Those 3 murders were high on PCP and beer and liquor. They were so out of their mind they didn't know what they were doing and couldn't remember what they did when they sobered up.

Musicians should stick to music, actors to acting and they should hire legal counsel rather than be their own and have their opinions make them look like fools.

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by msjb1 April 21, 2010 11:07 AM EDT: yes that little honey should stick to singing and keep her mouth shut at other times.


by Ireflaune June 3, 2010 1:32 AM EDT: Actors and musicians are people with opinions too, some of them are even smart . . . a whole hell of a lot more than you I would wager. There is no evidence to suggest that they were on PCP at all, nothing even in the confessions. If you knew anything about this case you would know that. It seems funny to me that you would deem a singer who has researched this case not worthy of having an opinion on the matter, but you who have obviously done none at all are qualified to flap your gums just because you have a keyboard? Whatever.


by edgy44 April 20, 2010 2:46 PM EDT: I'd sure hate to see that face every morning. Whew!; Reply to this comment