'It was hell': in Baltimore, three men served 36 years for a murder they did not commit

The three Baltimore residents who spent 36 years in prison were released on November 25 after authorities said the men were falsely convicted of the murder in 1983.

Фото: Depositphotos

Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart were found innocent 36 years after they were convicted of killing a high school student DeWitt Duckett, writes CNN.

“It was hell,” Chestnut said of his experience in prison. - It was terrible".

Chestnut and Watkins were 16 years old at the time of their arrest, Stuart was 17 years old. Men are now at 50, and for the first time they are preparing to enter adulthood. Two of them had never driven a car in their life.

After Chestnut filed a request last spring, new evidence surfaced that was hidden from his lawyers during the trial. He turned to the Baltimore Integrity Division, which checked the old data.

Chestnut has insisted on his innocence since his arrest. According to the state attorney, the parole board refused his parole, at least in part, because he refused to accept responsibility for the murder.

He seeks justice not only for himself.

“Whatever I did for myself, I did it for them too,” Chestnut said of Watkins and Stewart.

Alfred Chestnut. Photo: video frame YouTube / CBS News

Crime

According to police, 14-year-old Duckett was shot dead due to a Georgetown University basketball jacket in November 1983.

Three teenagers skipped high school to visit former teachers at Harlem Park Junior High. Their teachers said they were "stupid" but did not threaten them. School security escorted them near campus about a half-hour before the killing occurred, according to a joint petition filed by the men and Baltimore City District Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

On the subject: Two Americans stayed in 43 prison of the year for murder that was not committed

They were convicted based on witness testimony and what prosecutors at the time considered crucial evidence - a Georgetown jacket found in Chestnut's bedroom.

However, there was no blood or traces of a shot on Chestnat's jacket. His mother was able to present the receipt, and the seller testified that she had recently acquired it, the joint petition says.

Three teenagers were arrested on Thanksgiving morning, waking up from police visits with guns, Watkins lawyer told CNN.

By Ransom Watkins. Photo: video frame YouTube / CBS News

Evidence Hidden

The lawyers involved in the case stated that they were “terrified” when they saw the amount of exculpatory evidence that was hidden from the defense team and the jury. Both the suspects and the court witnesses, all minors, were interrogated by the police without their parents. According to Chestnat’s lawyers, potential witnesses were interviewed in the group and were asked to “collect their story.”

“This is a deliberate suppression and distortion of exculpatory evidence, evidence that would have shown that it was someone other than these defendants,” Mosby said.

According to Mosby, anonymous calls identifying another shooter were hidden from protection. After the murder of this teenager, Duckett was seen in his jacket and he confessed to the murder.

The suspect has since died, and all witnesses have denied the testimony.

Andrew Stewart Photo: video frame YouTube / CBS News

Official apology

Mosby met with the men on Friday and apologized to them, saying that they would be released.

“I don’t think today is a victory, it’s a tragedy. And we have to accept our responsibility for this,” Mosby said. “There is no way we can undo the damage done to these people when 36 years of their lives were stolen from them.”

“You were all arrested on Thanksgiving Day 1983. Now you can spend the holidays with your loved ones for the first time in 36 years,” Mosby said at a press conference.

She added that there is currently no official compensation system for those falsely convicted of a crime in Maryland.

On the subject: In Philadelphia, a man who served 25 for a crime that he did not commit will receive $ 10 million

Now she plans to advocate the adoption of laws that would establish a compensation system for falsely convicted persons and formally require that minors be in the presence of parents in the room during interrogation by the police.

Lawyers for Chestnut and Stewart said their clients are planning to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Watkins mother died before his arrest, and most of his immediate family died while he was in custody. His lawyer said the man will spend Thanksgiving with loved ones.

Chestnut plans to calmly adapt to life with his family.

“A lot of people are in the same situation as me,” Chestnut said. - They need a voice. I had the opportunity, by the grace of God, to find someone who heard me.”

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