Johnny Depp on Taking a Stand
He's a mega-movie star, who, for the most part, keeps a low profile. But actor Johnny Depp is making headlines this week, not just for his new film, "Alice and Wonderland," but for speaking out about what he and many others call an injustice.
In an interview airing Saturday at 10 p.m. on "48 Hour Mystery," Depp talks about why he publicly supports and believes in the innocence of three convicted men in Arkansas, known as the West Memphis Three.
"I'm here because I firmly, truly, 1000 percent believe that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley are totally innocent - completely innocent of these horrific crimes. And I think that … the real killer or killers are not far away," says Depp.
Photos: More Star Supporters
Depp's Pleas for Justice
Depp: "Release These Innocent Young Men"
Echols on Cult Rumors
Erin Moriarty's Reporter's Notebook
Echols is on death row and Baldwin and Misskelley are serving life sentences for the brutal murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark., in 1993. The boys were found drowned in a ditch - naked and hogtied with their own shoelaces.
As correspondent Erin Moriarty reports, there are serious questions about the guilt of the men, who were convicted, without any physical proof. Now, more than 16 years after the murders, new DNA evidence points away from the trio.
Depp says he's not worried about those who may criticize him for speaking out or say he's just out for the publicity.
"I've never been a big publicity fiend myself, but, yeah, I'll take some hits for it. But that's OK, I've taken hits before," he says. "If they try to make me squirm that's nothing compared to what these guys have had to deal with for the last 16 years, and certainly nothing compared to what the families of those little boys have had to deal with."
Hear more from the actor, death row inmate Damien Echols and the person the DNA evidence points to on "48 Hours Mystery" Saturday, Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.