Paradise Lost: an Essay Upon viewing the documentary, “Paradise Lost”, one of my first impressions was a feeling of shock at the hysteria surrounding the case, and how heavily it impacted the trial. Another area of concern was the tenuous (or nonexistent) evidence tying these youths to these horrible murders. The entire essence of the prosecution’s case was a confession of questionable authenticity by Jessie Misskelley, Jr, coupled with a community-based fear of a satanic ritual having occurred. Such trials and convictions, sadly, are not new in the American experience. Many such mockeries of justice have taken place in our history, the most infamous being, of course, the Salem witch