Witherspoon set for harrowing West Memphis Three film

Reese Witherspoon is to star in a controversial new movie about the real-life murders of three Arkansas boy scouts.

The actress will portray one of the slain boy's mothers in the adaptation of Mara Leveritt's book Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie, titled Devil's Knot, is set in 1993, when the three eight year olds were bludgeoned to death.

The murders led to the arrest and conviction of three West Memphis teens, who were released from prison earlier this year (Aug11) after maintaining they did not carry out the slayings.