Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky have made two Paradise Lost documentaries about a trio of men who may have been wrongfully convicted of child murders, and now their third film has a whopper of a new ending: Some or all of the men will be released today after eighteen years in prison. The story of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin became a cause célèbre thanks to the films, and Deadline notes that Peter Jackson helped pay the trio’s legal bills, while TMZ reports that Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines showed up at court today for the release. Berlinger and Sinofsky had been readying Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory for a debut at the Toronto Film Festival next month, and it’s safe to say that this may be the first feel-good installment of the series. UPDATE: And now all three men are freed, though in order to save face on the part of the prosecution, they were made to plead guilty on their way out. Muddled and odd, but a major victory nevertheless. [TMZ, Deadline]
