Dixie Chicks Singer Sued For Defamation

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines is the target of a defamation lawsuit by the stepfather of one of three 8-year-old boys slain in 1993.

Maines spoke out for three people convicted of the slayings and alleged the stepfather was instead involved in the killings.

Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Steve Branch, who was killed in 1993 with Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, filed suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Nov. 25. The suit names all three members of the Dixie Chicks, but focuses on Maines.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Hobbs claims he suffered loss of income, injury to his reputation and emotional distress.

Maines attended a Dec. 19 rally in Little Rock, where she claimed Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley _ known to sympathizers as the "West Memphis Three" _ were innocent and that supposed new evidence pointed to Hobbs. Her comments echoed a Nov. 26, 2007, letter that was still on the Dixie Chicks' Web site on Thursday, in which she claimed that new DNA testing of hair from the crime scene linked Hobbs to the killings and that his behavior after the slayings indicated his guilt.

The lawsuit says the claim is false.

Hobbs told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a Feb. 1 interview that his reputation was in tatters and he wanted to clear his name.

"I want people to know I haven't done nothing wrong," Hobbs said. "I want them to hear it from me."

No lawyer for Maines was listed in court filings and a publicist didn't immediately return a call for comment. Hobbs' attorney, J. Cody Hiland, didn't immediately return a call for comment Thursday.

The lawsuit says Maines' statements were "so extreme in degree as to be beyond the pale of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society."

Assertions similar to those made by Maines were also made by lawyers seeking new trials for the three convicts.

The boys' bodies were found by police a day after they vanished from their quiet, tree-lined neighborhood May 5, 1993. Police arrested the three after a confession by Misskelley in which he described how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape. A jury gave Misskelley a life-plus-40-year sentence for the killings. A later jury gave Baldwin a life sentence without parole. Echols, then 19, the oldest of the three, received the death penalty.

The Arkansas Supreme Court later upheld the convictions, but a later documentary sparked interest across the Internet, as well as among celebrities, including Maines, who felt the teens were railroaded by police for their interest in heavy metal music and the occult. Supporters say they raised more than $1 million for a legal defense fund for the three, enough to pay for lawyers, new DNA testing and a second federal appeal on behalf of Echols.

A judge has since denied defense motions for a new trial.

Comments

[revue]

This Hobbs guy is a sick person.

[onalimb]

More power to her.
They told it like it was when many - even our leaders - said nothing.

[shelsay]

Amen! They definitely earned my respect once they started speaking out and were willing to be reprimanded by their fan base for speaking/singing the truth. I'm not so much a country music fan...but I am definitely ready to hear what they have to say/sing, because they don't bite their tongues.

[ChimpNchief]

The Dixie Chicks are way above country music in quality.

[soundfury]

If more people had listened to her, W wouldn't have gotten FOUR MORE YEARS and the opportunity to completely destroy this country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KarateKid]

Defamation lawsuits are rarely winnable. It's more PR than anything else. I only hope the Dixie Chicks don't lose their sense of involvement and free speech.

[LAB11]

Bush didn't bother to sue the Dixie Chicks for defamation. Probably because they were right about him, too. Dixie Chicks Rock! You go girls! Never make nice!

[somniferum]

The documentary (Paradise Lost) and its follow-up make a compelling case. Clearly a case of small town right wing Christian persecution of the "other". Borders on medieval. Well worth checking out. The nut job sociopath camera loving step father filing the suit had all of his teeth removed when he found out there were bite marks on the bodies. Not the behavior of man who is innocent.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117293/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0239894/

[killmenow]

Thank you for the links. It seems too upsetting to watch those movies.

[boomerman]

That sure is what they want you to think. Why are you and most of the posters here so easily manipulated. Think for yourselves people.

[Swedishgal]

Why are you so easily manipulated? We have learned not to take things at face value and question everything. What is it exactly that you don't agree with? If it were your kids would you want them accused and sent to prison or given the death penalty for something they didn't do? It's really funny. It means nothing to you until it affects you directly. How pathetic.

[Curmudgette]

Wrong stepfather. You're thinking of John Mark Byers, whose love affair with the camera in second movie made him look very suspicious... well, that and the fact that he had all his teeth pulled. Byers has now reversed himself and is now convinced that the WM3 are innocent. Anyone who looked at the evidence Natalie Maines was looking at when she made that statement would.

The stepfather who's suing is the far less descript Terry Hobbs. That's whose hair strand was recovered from a ligature at the crime scene. The DNA evidence on it is pretty compelling. It's no wonder he wants Natalie Maines to shut up about it. The evidence that was recovered by actual professional forensics experts, not her, raises some serious questions about his connection to this crime.

[mamacat]

My 2cents worth:

I have a lot of respect for the Dixie Chicks.

Justice in this country too often depends on a person's ability to afford a decent defence attorney.

I know nothing about this case and have no intention of getting involved, but I hope that justice will prevail, whatever that might mean, even so many years after the murders.

[SammyGone]

Shut up and sing. "Entertainers" have elevated themselves to be judge and jury. They lack talent so keep in the news by mouthing opinions.

[MajorKong]

Silly me. I forgot. Only right wing entertainers like Ted Nugent and Chuck Norris are allowed to speak.

I'll try to remember next time.

[jeplanet]

None of this is Natalie's "opinion". She, like many others, is calling for a new trial based on new DNA evidence that has been revealed. One such piece of evidence is the FACT that some of the hairs found intwined in the shoelaces used to bound the boys belonged to Terry Hobbs, a stepfather of one of them. This is a matter of public record, not her "opinion". Not to mention that the "confession" of one of the teenagers was so blatantly forced (a scared 16 year old questioned for 12 hours straight?) it should have been tossed in the first place. If you look into this case at all, it's pretty clear that these three are sitting in jail for a crime that they did not commit. That should make us all want to speak out.
But you don't like her, so you don't think she should have the same rights to free speach that you have.
Pathetic.

[killmenow]

Exactly, jeplanet...

Thank you for saving me the trouble of having to write the same comment. I can't believe that so many people have commented but haven't noticed that the lawsuit is ridiculous.

Simply asserting the fact that there is additional evidence in the case that may in the future prove the stepfather's involvement in the murder is hardly defamation. That is a fact. She didn't even claim that the stepfather is the murderer... just that further evidence may support that assertion. If that evidence is in the state's case, then that's a fact, not an opinion, and certainly not defamation.

[DeejTu]

Does that include "entertainers" who become president and instill "trickle-down economics" and the majority of the current deregulation that have contributed to the recession?

[KarateKid]

Whoops. Sammy gone and put his foot in his mouth.

[soundfury]

Drivel.

[daddymak]

This is what I love. A public website shows information that may or may not exonerate these three people that points a finger at Terry Hobbs, and it is Natalie Maines that gets sued. This is even more ridiculous than the rape accusations against Kobe Bryant, the one where the alleged victim ADMITTED to having sex with multiple partners THE SAME DAY but when it came to the millionaire superstar basketball player, she didn't want it. Even if her claims are legit, is any jury going to buy into it? Goes to credibility. Someone else goes public with accusations against Terry Hobbs but it's Natalie Maines who he's suing. Like the O'Jays once sang, FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY!!!!!

[stayinsouth1981]

Although I agree there were issues with the arrests and convictions of the three young men, I do not condone using their public image to defame another suspect. It's a delicate balance between investigation and accusations. Unfortunately, we have become a country that gives the power to those who can afford to pull out all the stops. We are responsible to see that the defense of an accused person is just as thorough as their prosecution.

Aside from that, I'll share that I bought more copies of their albums and shared them with friends. I'll be the first in line to buy their next ones.

"Sunday morning heard the preacher say, "Thou shall not kill." I don't wanna hear nothing else bout killing, that it's God's Will."

[Okieborn]

Hang In ther Natalie !!!! America is with YOU !!!

[IronMikeHouston]

She has a big mouth and doesn't know what she is talking about and someone needs to sue her!

[MajorKong]

Wouldn't that be a "frivolous lawsuit"?

[javaJimmy]

Houston.
That about says it all.

[IronMikeHouston]

When you don't have gasoline to drive your sorry arse to work, then b&tch to Houston but until that time, keep your fat mouth shut! These people work their butts off producing gasoline and have pride doing it! They are pride of their job and contribution to the American dream!

[NC1432]

right on Iron Mike........she got a little to full of herself..........o.k..........allot full of herself........

[soundfury]

Mo' drivel.

[Republicrat1776]

"he described how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape"

Persecuted for being different? That is a pretty damn detailed confession, why is everyone taking their side?

[lnw]

The fact is, the boys weren't sexually assaulted. That's what the police thought at the time of the confession, but it was later shown to be untrue. There are other problems with Jessie's confession, but that fact alone is enough to at least question it.

[Curmudgette]

Coached and coerced confessions are often quite damning. Doesn't make them true. The facts are these. Jessie Miskelley is mentally handicapped with an IQ around 70. He was questioned for 12 hours without parental consent or benefit of counsel. Only 46 taped minutes of that 12 hours were ever released by the police department. Much of his testimony was factually wrong. He was told that he could go home if he confessed. He recanted the confession the same day.

[BobsNotWorking]

And.... F. U. T. K.

[johnnyybgood]

I dont know much about this particular case, buy if you havent seen the documentary "Shut up and Sing", you are really missing out on what these great Americans went through for speaking their mind. Natilie Mains is a true American hero, and paid the price. Oh yeah...........and FUTK !!!!!!

[Witchitalineman]

You bet they did. They too me are heroes for speaking up. The majority of Americans were too dumb to listen. Thinking back to then boy have we gone through the ringer. Each day I have to pinch myself to believe that Obama is our next president. Lord there is mercy.