Instead of appearing on “The Late Show with David Letterman” or “The Today Show” to promote his new movie, “Alice in Wonderland”, Johnny Depp is only making one TV appearance thsi week, and its on “48 Hours Mystery”.

That’s right, Depp is lending his star power to three men who were convicted of killing three kids more than 15 years ago. On Saturday’s episode of “48 Hours Mystery” he defends the men, saying, “Every single piece of evidence points to their innocence, not to their guilt.”

The men in question are Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were convicted of the murder of three eight-year-old boys who were found naked and drowned in a creek in West Memphis, Arkansas. According to “48 Hours”, Echols and Baldwin were already linked to the murders when then-17-year-old Misskelley, who was mentally handicapped, confessed to that he had helped the two in killing the three boys. But now, DNA evidence points away from the young men.

At the time, satanism was rumored to he a driving force behind the murders. “I think I was the closest thing he could come to conceiving of what he thought a Satanist would look like,” Damien said, “I didn’t help myself at all. I would dress in all black, was the only thing I ever wore. Ridiculous hairstyles — I was a stupid teenager. I really was a smartass.”

In the interview Depp says, “I immediately related to Damien, what he went through growing up. I come from a relatively small town in Kentucky. I can remember kind of being looked upon as a freak, if you will, different, because I didn’t dress like everybody else. Also, I can empathize with being judged for how you look rather than being who you are.”

Depp added, “There was a need for swift justice at the time to placate, understandably, an angry and frightened community,” but says it is time to defend these three young men, “People need to stand up and say, ‘Yeah, it’s time to find the real killers. Let’s find justice.’”

Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Dixie Chick Natalie Maines have also supported the men in their cause.

The episode of “48 Hours Mystery” featuring Depp airs Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.