I'll try to catalog here the differences between the original transcribed text and the updated transcription that I made from the tape (available in the documents section). Those who follow my posts, know that often I try to be thorough. I figure that a complete catalog has both immediate meaning and is useful as a resource. In this case, the revised confession is the resource, and I will limit this to a variety of the more significant changes. As I mentioned previously that a lot of the changes involved the difference between mm-mm and yes. It is interesting to note when Jessie is being clear and emphatic and when he just mumbles something vague.
The first difference of possible import comes when Jessie is being asked who was first hit by Damien. Jessie is asked to point at the picture in a newspaper "line-up"of which kid. The original transcript reads:
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: This boy right here,
MISSKELLEY: Yeah,
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Alright, that's uh the Byers boy, that's who you are pointing at?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
DETECTIVE RIDGE: If you read the caption, the grizzly slain from left, 8 year old Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. Okay, so you saw Damian strike Chris Byers in the head.
While the revised one reads:
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: This boy right here,
*A32 MISSKELLEY: Yeah,
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Alright, that's uh the Byers boy,
*A33 MISSKELLEY: Christopher
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: That's who you are pointing at?
*A34 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: If you read the captions, the grisly slain from left, 8 year old Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. (Jessie seems to be echoing these names as Ridge speaks). Okay, so you saw Damien strike Chris Byers in the head?
Jessie clearly gives Chris Byers first name. Since he had only given Michael Moore's name previously by prompting, this is of interest. Jessie echoes the names in the background as Ridge reads them off. Finally, it is interesting to note how Jessie movies from a clear "yeah," to an indistinct mm-hmm. In this case it is easy to see the reason, he has been caught misidentifying the child. What seemed positive a moment ago is less positive now.
The next place with a significant change is (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: In the woods. Okay, you've been down there in those woods before, can you describe to me what in those woods, what's the location where you were?
MISSKELLEY: Uh,
(Revised:)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: In the woods. Okay, you've been down there in those woods before.
*A41 MISSKELLEY: Yes, I have.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Can you describe to me what in those woods, what's the location where you were?
*A42 MISSKELLEY: Uh,
Here we find Jessie making a clear affirmative statement when given a question as to whether he was there. This is in direct contrast to him having to give a statement to support it. This pattern is repeated over and over. Jessie gives a clear statement of his presence, but then becomes vague or even nonsensical when trying to support it. Interestingly, the clear affirmation was lost in the original transcription.
Next (original:)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Alright, where does that path go too?
MISSKELLEY: It leads out there close to the field, close to the interstate.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay
MISSKELLEY: Close to the interstate
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Alright, where does that path go to?
*A44 MISSKELLEY: It leads out there close to the uh field, close to the interstate.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay
*A45 MISSKELLEY: That's where I was at.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Alright.
*A46 MISSKELLEY: I was close by the interstate.
In this case the original transcriptionist leaves out some relevant information. Jessie says and then affirms that he was by the interstate. Of course, the place where the bodies is closer to the southern end of the Blue Beacon Woods. As in a number of cases, the transcriptionist left out an entire exchange.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way does he go, I mean, does he go back towards where the houses are, he's going to Blue Beacon, is he going out towards the fields, where's he running too?
MISSKELLEY: Towards the houses.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Towards the houses?
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Where the pipe is that goes across the yards?
Changes to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way does he go, I mean, does he go on back towards where the houses are
*A49 MISSKELLEY: He goes on back. . .
DETECTIVE RIDGE: He's going to Blue Beacon, is he going out towards the fields,
*A49 MISSKELLEY: He's going. . .
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Where's he running to?
*A50 MISSKELLEY: Towards the houses.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Towards the houses?
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Where the pipe is that goes across the water?
These changes show something a bit humorous. Jessie is trying to answer the question, but Ridge keeps pressing forward with more options. The final statement by Gitchell is in contrast with Destini's comments that the police mentioned the pipe across the yards. Gitchell clearly says water.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Now, did you say that the boys skipped school that day, these little boys did?
MISSKELLEY: Yes, they were going to catch, they were going somewhere and like I said, Damian and nem left before I did, I told them that I would meet them there and stuff, and it was early in the morning and so, they went ahead and met me, they went on up there and then I come up later on behind them.
Corrected:
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Now, did you say that the boys skipped school that day? These little boys did?
*A107 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm,
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Are you sure?
*A108 MISSKELLEY: They was going to catch the, going somewheres and like I said, Damien, Damien and nem left before I did, I told them I'd meet them there and stuff, I had to get ready, and I meet them there and it was early in the morning and so, they went ahead and met, met me, they went ahead went up there and then I come up, you know, later on behind them.
The corrected transcript conveys somewhat how lost Jessie is during his trying to justify how the little boys skipped school. This sort of thing happens a number of times on the tape, where Jessie is repeating words. It is easy to imagine how, in such a situation, he is sensing the detectives disbelief. Another situation where Jessie stutters his way through a declaration is when he later describes eating the dog meat as a means of initiation into the cult.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: And you mentioned that you heard some voice in the background?
MISSKELLEY: I heard some dingling
Corrected:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: And you mentioned that you heard some voice in the background?
*A120 MISSKELLEY: I heard some of Damien.
"Some of Damien" is an awkward construction. It seems to mirror the construction "some voice." (It could be "some, uh, Damien") I find this change fascinating because it subtracts one of the very few comments Jessie made about the background. When people recall actual events, they bring up the key sensations. "We couldn't hardly see." "The mosquitos were awful." "The water was stagnant." Jessie's recollections are virtually free of these, except when the detectives provide them. (Later on Gitchell declares that Jessie was muddy.) There was no "dingling" in the background. It was Damien, what Jessie had said before, and what he would repeat. There is no sensory recollection, only "factual." There are manuals that help people like insurance investigators look for clues as to when people are lying. The lack of vivid, specific, sensory recall is one of them. (Or, alternatively, great sensory recall can be a sign that a person is a very good liar.) Jessie is not a good liar.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, he had his legs up in the air, alright, what was To keep the little boys from running off, but just their hands are tied, what's to keep them from running off?
MISSKELLEY: They beat them up so bad so they can't hardly move, They had their hands tied down and he sit on them
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You said that they had their hands tied up, tied down, were they hands tied in a fashion that they couldn't have run, you tell me.
MISSKELLEY: They could run, they just had them tied, when they Knocked them down and stuff, they could move their arms and stuff, and hold them down like, wake up and raise up and the other one just put his legs up.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, so they had them under control, you were there the whole time that was taking place?
MISSKELLEY: I was there.
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, he had his legs up in the air. Alright, what was to keep these little boys from running off? If just their hands are tied, what's to keep them from running off?
*A138 MISSKELLEY: They beat them up so bad so they can't hardly move. They hadn't tied, had their hands tied down and he just sit on them.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You said that they had their hands tied up, tied down, were their hands tied in a fashion to where they couldn't have run? You tell me.
*A139 MISSKELLEY: They could, they could run, they just had them tied, when they knocked them down and stuff, they could hold their arms and stuff, and just hold them down like, where he couldn't raise up and the other one picked his legs up.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, so they had them under control. You were there the whole time that was taking place?
*A140 MISSKELLEY: I was there.
These exchanges are clarified a bit. Now it is pretty clear that Jessie is describing wrestling maneuvers. Sitting on the kids, pulling the arms back, lifting up the kids legs. Sounds like they are going for the pin. How Damien and Jason managed to constrain three kids this way doesn't make much sense. These exchanges also represent one style by which Jessie answers questions: the smorgasbord style. Here we have the kids able to run, unable to run, their hands are tied, they are sat on, their legs are picked up, they are too beaten up (earlier they were unconscious, later they were fighting all the time). We again have the police offering Jessie cheeseball leading questions, but this time Jessie does not come up with the response they are leading him to. If just their hands are tied, why can't they run? (Hint, hint, running requires feet.) To be fair, the police give up after a couple of tries, not like the continued tries when talking about the kid being held by the ears. And it ends with one of my favorite lines by Jessie: I was there. After giving repeated nonsensical statements, he makes that simple proclamation like that makes all of the nonsense right. (Oh, that's right. It did for the police and the state of Arkansas.)
On to (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, none [note: this is not clear - it may be 'one'] of them were cut on the face real bad, is that what you said?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, none of them was cut on the face real bad, is that what you said?
*A141 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
From the tape it sounds like Ridge said n-one, as though he began phrasing the sentence a certain way and then changed it to "one of them was." I had made a post speculating regarding one was, none were. This invalidates one part of my post. He clearly says "was."
Next stop, original:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you willing to go down there with us and us having a camcorder and show us where these things took place? Would you do that?
MISSKELLEY: Silent
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Wouldn't have any problem with that?
MISSKELLEY: Not that I know of, I wouldn't
DETECTIVE RIDGE: But you would be able to point out where these things took place?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way the boys came from and where you all were when he hollered for the boys and stuff like that, you wouldn't have a problem with that?
MISSKELLEY: After the murder and stuff, I would say about two or three days later after it happened, I went down there and thought about it and I haven't been down there since.
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you willing to go down there with us and us have a camcorder and you show us where these things took place? Would you do that? (3 seconds of silence) Wouldn't have any problem with that?
*A196 MISSKELLEY: Not that I know of, I wouldn't.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Huh?
*A197 MISSKELLEY: Not that I know of, I wouldn't have a problem with that.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: But you would be able to point out where these things took place?
*A198 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way the boys came from
*A199 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: And where you all were when he hollered for the boys and stuff like that, you wouldn't have any problem with that?
*A200 MISSKELLEY: After, after, after the murder and stuff, I would say about two or three days later after it happened, I went down there and thought about it and I haven't been there ever since.
It's hard to understand how the transcriptionist left out the extra exchanges here. They don't change the substance of this, but they do draw out the length of the exchange before arriving at the same conclusion. If you look at this as Jessie being pinned against the wall (he couldn't possibly point anything out) this added length strains the painful black humor in this charade.
Next stop (original transcript):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Where did you throw up at?
MISSKELLEY: I got a little bit ways out of there and got half a mile up the road, is when I threw up, and couldn't hardly run and I just threw up.
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Where did you throw up at?
*A213 MISSKELLEY: I got a little bit ways out there. I took Seven up and then about a half a mile up the road, is when I threw up, and I had to quit running and (unintelligible) I threw up.
This is fascinating. It was argued from his post-conviction statement that Jessie went to the overpass to throw up. The police found a bottleneck to "prove" that he was there. On the audio tape, Jessie is clearly audible in saying where he went (transcribed Seven up, above). I say clearly audible, but not perfectly intelligible. When I first heard the tape I wrote down "fenlap" and then listening a few more times, it came out "Sennap" the S seemed clear. Looking at the map, 7th street is one of three possible routes he would have taken to connect Blue Beacon to Marion. There is a bend in the road almost exaclty one half mile up.
(From the original:)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Why did you not come forward with this information?
MISSKELLEY: Cause I was scared
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Scared of Damian? or scared of the police?
MISSKELLEY: Scared of the police
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of Damian now?
MISSKELLEY: No
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of the police now?
MISSKELLEY: No
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You are not, so we've treated you well?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Why did you not come forward with this information?
*A271 MISSKELLEY: Cause I was scared
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Scared of Damien? or scared of the police?
*A272 MISSKELLEY: Scared of the police.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of Damien now?
*A273 MISSKELLEY: No.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of the police now?
*A274 MISSKELLEY: Un-uh (faint)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You are not, so we've treated you well?
*A275 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm (faint)
This is a case where Jessie is very definite at one moment, and then giving a vaguely audible response a moment later. Draw your own conclusions from the gradient of response. One thing I was shocked by the fact that the police, knowing that a recording was going on, never asked Jessie to yes or no, rather than so many mmms.
There are a lot of other changes of moderate degree of meaning, but I think this covers most of the relevant ones.
jivep.
The first difference of possible import comes when Jessie is being asked who was first hit by Damien. Jessie is asked to point at the picture in a newspaper "line-up"of which kid. The original transcript reads:
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: This boy right here,
MISSKELLEY: Yeah,
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Alright, that's uh the Byers boy, that's who you are pointing at?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
DETECTIVE RIDGE: If you read the caption, the grizzly slain from left, 8 year old Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. Okay, so you saw Damian strike Chris Byers in the head.
While the revised one reads:
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: This boy right here,
*A32 MISSKELLEY: Yeah,
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Alright, that's uh the Byers boy,
*A33 MISSKELLEY: Christopher
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: That's who you are pointing at?
*A34 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: If you read the captions, the grisly slain from left, 8 year old Michael Moore, Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. (Jessie seems to be echoing these names as Ridge speaks). Okay, so you saw Damien strike Chris Byers in the head?
Jessie clearly gives Chris Byers first name. Since he had only given Michael Moore's name previously by prompting, this is of interest. Jessie echoes the names in the background as Ridge reads them off. Finally, it is interesting to note how Jessie movies from a clear "yeah," to an indistinct mm-hmm. In this case it is easy to see the reason, he has been caught misidentifying the child. What seemed positive a moment ago is less positive now.
The next place with a significant change is (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: In the woods. Okay, you've been down there in those woods before, can you describe to me what in those woods, what's the location where you were?
MISSKELLEY: Uh,
(Revised:)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: In the woods. Okay, you've been down there in those woods before.
*A41 MISSKELLEY: Yes, I have.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Can you describe to me what in those woods, what's the location where you were?
*A42 MISSKELLEY: Uh,
Here we find Jessie making a clear affirmative statement when given a question as to whether he was there. This is in direct contrast to him having to give a statement to support it. This pattern is repeated over and over. Jessie gives a clear statement of his presence, but then becomes vague or even nonsensical when trying to support it. Interestingly, the clear affirmation was lost in the original transcription.
Next (original:)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Alright, where does that path go too?
MISSKELLEY: It leads out there close to the field, close to the interstate.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay
MISSKELLEY: Close to the interstate
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Alright, where does that path go to?
*A44 MISSKELLEY: It leads out there close to the uh field, close to the interstate.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay
*A45 MISSKELLEY: That's where I was at.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Alright.
*A46 MISSKELLEY: I was close by the interstate.
In this case the original transcriptionist leaves out some relevant information. Jessie says and then affirms that he was by the interstate. Of course, the place where the bodies is closer to the southern end of the Blue Beacon Woods. As in a number of cases, the transcriptionist left out an entire exchange.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way does he go, I mean, does he go back towards where the houses are, he's going to Blue Beacon, is he going out towards the fields, where's he running too?
MISSKELLEY: Towards the houses.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Towards the houses?
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Where the pipe is that goes across the yards?
Changes to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way does he go, I mean, does he go on back towards where the houses are
*A49 MISSKELLEY: He goes on back. . .
DETECTIVE RIDGE: He's going to Blue Beacon, is he going out towards the fields,
*A49 MISSKELLEY: He's going. . .
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Where's he running to?
*A50 MISSKELLEY: Towards the houses.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Towards the houses?
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Where the pipe is that goes across the water?
These changes show something a bit humorous. Jessie is trying to answer the question, but Ridge keeps pressing forward with more options. The final statement by Gitchell is in contrast with Destini's comments that the police mentioned the pipe across the yards. Gitchell clearly says water.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Now, did you say that the boys skipped school that day, these little boys did?
MISSKELLEY: Yes, they were going to catch, they were going somewhere and like I said, Damian and nem left before I did, I told them that I would meet them there and stuff, and it was early in the morning and so, they went ahead and met me, they went on up there and then I come up later on behind them.
Corrected:
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Now, did you say that the boys skipped school that day? These little boys did?
*A107 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm,
DETECTIVE GITCHELL: Are you sure?
*A108 MISSKELLEY: They was going to catch the, going somewheres and like I said, Damien, Damien and nem left before I did, I told them I'd meet them there and stuff, I had to get ready, and I meet them there and it was early in the morning and so, they went ahead and met, met me, they went ahead went up there and then I come up, you know, later on behind them.
The corrected transcript conveys somewhat how lost Jessie is during his trying to justify how the little boys skipped school. This sort of thing happens a number of times on the tape, where Jessie is repeating words. It is easy to imagine how, in such a situation, he is sensing the detectives disbelief. Another situation where Jessie stutters his way through a declaration is when he later describes eating the dog meat as a means of initiation into the cult.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: And you mentioned that you heard some voice in the background?
MISSKELLEY: I heard some dingling
Corrected:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: And you mentioned that you heard some voice in the background?
*A120 MISSKELLEY: I heard some of Damien.
"Some of Damien" is an awkward construction. It seems to mirror the construction "some voice." (It could be "some, uh, Damien") I find this change fascinating because it subtracts one of the very few comments Jessie made about the background. When people recall actual events, they bring up the key sensations. "We couldn't hardly see." "The mosquitos were awful." "The water was stagnant." Jessie's recollections are virtually free of these, except when the detectives provide them. (Later on Gitchell declares that Jessie was muddy.) There was no "dingling" in the background. It was Damien, what Jessie had said before, and what he would repeat. There is no sensory recollection, only "factual." There are manuals that help people like insurance investigators look for clues as to when people are lying. The lack of vivid, specific, sensory recall is one of them. (Or, alternatively, great sensory recall can be a sign that a person is a very good liar.) Jessie is not a good liar.
Next (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, he had his legs up in the air, alright, what was To keep the little boys from running off, but just their hands are tied, what's to keep them from running off?
MISSKELLEY: They beat them up so bad so they can't hardly move, They had their hands tied down and he sit on them
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You said that they had their hands tied up, tied down, were they hands tied in a fashion that they couldn't have run, you tell me.
MISSKELLEY: They could run, they just had them tied, when they Knocked them down and stuff, they could move their arms and stuff, and hold them down like, wake up and raise up and the other one just put his legs up.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, so they had them under control, you were there the whole time that was taking place?
MISSKELLEY: I was there.
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, he had his legs up in the air. Alright, what was to keep these little boys from running off? If just their hands are tied, what's to keep them from running off?
*A138 MISSKELLEY: They beat them up so bad so they can't hardly move. They hadn't tied, had their hands tied down and he just sit on them.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You said that they had their hands tied up, tied down, were their hands tied in a fashion to where they couldn't have run? You tell me.
*A139 MISSKELLEY: They could, they could run, they just had them tied, when they knocked them down and stuff, they could hold their arms and stuff, and just hold them down like, where he couldn't raise up and the other one picked his legs up.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, so they had them under control. You were there the whole time that was taking place?
*A140 MISSKELLEY: I was there.
These exchanges are clarified a bit. Now it is pretty clear that Jessie is describing wrestling maneuvers. Sitting on the kids, pulling the arms back, lifting up the kids legs. Sounds like they are going for the pin. How Damien and Jason managed to constrain three kids this way doesn't make much sense. These exchanges also represent one style by which Jessie answers questions: the smorgasbord style. Here we have the kids able to run, unable to run, their hands are tied, they are sat on, their legs are picked up, they are too beaten up (earlier they were unconscious, later they were fighting all the time). We again have the police offering Jessie cheeseball leading questions, but this time Jessie does not come up with the response they are leading him to. If just their hands are tied, why can't they run? (Hint, hint, running requires feet.) To be fair, the police give up after a couple of tries, not like the continued tries when talking about the kid being held by the ears. And it ends with one of my favorite lines by Jessie: I was there. After giving repeated nonsensical statements, he makes that simple proclamation like that makes all of the nonsense right. (Oh, that's right. It did for the police and the state of Arkansas.)
On to (original):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, none [note: this is not clear - it may be 'one'] of them were cut on the face real bad, is that what you said?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Okay, none of them was cut on the face real bad, is that what you said?
*A141 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
From the tape it sounds like Ridge said n-one, as though he began phrasing the sentence a certain way and then changed it to "one of them was." I had made a post speculating regarding one was, none were. This invalidates one part of my post. He clearly says "was."
Next stop, original:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you willing to go down there with us and us having a camcorder and show us where these things took place? Would you do that?
MISSKELLEY: Silent
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Wouldn't have any problem with that?
MISSKELLEY: Not that I know of, I wouldn't
DETECTIVE RIDGE: But you would be able to point out where these things took place?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way the boys came from and where you all were when he hollered for the boys and stuff like that, you wouldn't have a problem with that?
MISSKELLEY: After the murder and stuff, I would say about two or three days later after it happened, I went down there and thought about it and I haven't been down there since.
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you willing to go down there with us and us have a camcorder and you show us where these things took place? Would you do that? (3 seconds of silence) Wouldn't have any problem with that?
*A196 MISSKELLEY: Not that I know of, I wouldn't.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Huh?
*A197 MISSKELLEY: Not that I know of, I wouldn't have a problem with that.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: But you would be able to point out where these things took place?
*A198 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Which way the boys came from
*A199 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: And where you all were when he hollered for the boys and stuff like that, you wouldn't have any problem with that?
*A200 MISSKELLEY: After, after, after the murder and stuff, I would say about two or three days later after it happened, I went down there and thought about it and I haven't been there ever since.
It's hard to understand how the transcriptionist left out the extra exchanges here. They don't change the substance of this, but they do draw out the length of the exchange before arriving at the same conclusion. If you look at this as Jessie being pinned against the wall (he couldn't possibly point anything out) this added length strains the painful black humor in this charade.
Next stop (original transcript):
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Where did you throw up at?
MISSKELLEY: I got a little bit ways out of there and got half a mile up the road, is when I threw up, and couldn't hardly run and I just threw up.
Changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Where did you throw up at?
*A213 MISSKELLEY: I got a little bit ways out there. I took Seven up and then about a half a mile up the road, is when I threw up, and I had to quit running and (unintelligible) I threw up.
This is fascinating. It was argued from his post-conviction statement that Jessie went to the overpass to throw up. The police found a bottleneck to "prove" that he was there. On the audio tape, Jessie is clearly audible in saying where he went (transcribed Seven up, above). I say clearly audible, but not perfectly intelligible. When I first heard the tape I wrote down "fenlap" and then listening a few more times, it came out "Sennap" the S seemed clear. Looking at the map, 7th street is one of three possible routes he would have taken to connect Blue Beacon to Marion. There is a bend in the road almost exaclty one half mile up.
(From the original:)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Why did you not come forward with this information?
MISSKELLEY: Cause I was scared
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Scared of Damian? or scared of the police?
MISSKELLEY: Scared of the police
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of Damian now?
MISSKELLEY: No
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of the police now?
MISSKELLEY: No
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You are not, so we've treated you well?
MISSKELLEY: Yes
changed to:
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Why did you not come forward with this information?
*A271 MISSKELLEY: Cause I was scared
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Scared of Damien? or scared of the police?
*A272 MISSKELLEY: Scared of the police.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of Damien now?
*A273 MISSKELLEY: No.
DETECTIVE RIDGE: Are you scared of the police now?
*A274 MISSKELLEY: Un-uh (faint)
DETECTIVE RIDGE: You are not, so we've treated you well?
*A275 MISSKELLEY: Mm-hmm (faint)
This is a case where Jessie is very definite at one moment, and then giving a vaguely audible response a moment later. Draw your own conclusions from the gradient of response. One thing I was shocked by the fact that the police, knowing that a recording was going on, never asked Jessie to yes or no, rather than so many mmms.
There are a lot of other changes of moderate degree of meaning, but I think this covers most of the relevant ones.
jivep.
