Damien Echols

Damien Echols, who along with two friends served nearly two decades in prison for the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, petitioned for new DNA testing in an attempt to identify the children's true killer.

Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn, is based upon Damien Echols, who was one of three metalheads blamed for the murders of three 8-year-old boys in Arkansas in 1993.

Damien Echols, who spent 18 years on death row before winning his release in the infamous case, said it's important to focus on the positive.

Named after Henry Alford, the term refers to a "best interests plea" in which a defendant pleads guilty despite claiming innocence.

"There was something about Damien that resonated with me," said Lorri Davis of watching the "Paradise Lost" documentary, which led her to meet future husband Damien Echols.

The three Arkansas teens interrogated in "True Detective" bear a resemblance to Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley — the trio was arrested in the early '90s in connection with a triple-murder in a small Arkansas town.