West Memphis 3: How They Spent Their First Night as Free Men?

The West Memphis 3 members spent their first night as free men enjoying many of the things others may take for granted: seeing the sunset, spending time with family and learning new technology.

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. spent 18 years in prison after they were convicted of murdering three 8-year-old Cub Scouts in West Memphis, Ark., in 1993.

The trio were released on Friday after they pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for time served. That guilty plea ended a long-running legal battle that raised questions about DNA and key witnesses. They were all given 10 years' probation. The men always maintained that they were innocent.

Baldwin, Echols and Misskelley Jr., on Friday and Saturday, spent time with their family, friends and supporters.

CNN reported that Echols and Baldwin saw the sunset on Friday from the rooftop of the Madison Hotel in Memphis. Then they were joined by supporters Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks for the party.

Attorney Stephen Braga, who represented Echols, told CNN that his newly freed client and Baldwin were fascinated by new foods, cellular phones and other technology on Friday.

I was up all morning and most of the night trying to figure out how to use those iPhone things, Echols told The Associated Press on Saturday in the lobby of a posh Memphis hotel, just across the river from West Memphis, Arkansas, where the Scouts' bodies were found in 1993. One minute I'm looking at something about Judge (David) Laser. The next minute, it's on, like, some hardcore porn site.

Echols, the only one who was sentenced to death, spent Friday night on the hotel rooftop with supporters that included Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, who both whipped out guitars, according to the AP, which also said liquor flowed and hugs were plentiful, especially for a man who hasn't had much physical contact for 18 years.

Misskelley spent Friday night with his family near West Memphis.

CNN affiliate WREG also reported that Echols, who met his wife while serving time, and Baldwin left Saturday for undisclosed locations to enjoy seclusion.

I have now spent half my life on death row, Echols said in a statement released on Saturday, as reported by CNN. It is a torturous environment that no human being should have to endure, and it needed to end. I am innocent, as are Jason and Jessie, but I made this decision because I did not want to spend another day of my life behind those bars.