Damien Echols was a victim of being from a poor family in a small town. In his book "Life after Death" he talks heavily about his life from his earliest memories as a kid, to the time he and his 2 other friends were falsely accused of the murder of three young boys. He goes into detail about being from a small city, living deeply in poverty, barely being able to stay warm at night. He was falsely accused of murder, with no physical evidence or matching DNA. Living in a small town simply hurt him not being able to have the necessary resources for a lawyer and other legal necessities. If being able to have those necessary resources, Damien's chances of winning the case would have been significantly higher.
Damien Echols was born in extreme poverty and lived poor throughout his youth. The suffering and pain he went through from an economic standpoint were very significant. He says