Three Americans, sentenced to life imprisonment in their teens, were laundered and released Monday after spending 36 years in prison following a miscarriage of justice. A court in Baltimore, north of Washington, found that Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart and Ransom Watkins were innocent of the murder of DeWitt Duckett, a 14-year-old boy who was shot in the corridors of his school in 1983 while robbing his jacket . "We are humble, we are not angry," reacted Ransom Watkins at a press conference at the exit of the court. "But that should never have happened and someone will have to pay," he added.
Black youths quickly accused
The prosecutor of this port city is committed to being compensated. "This day is not a victory, it's a tragedy that has been stolen 36 years," said Marilyn Mosby, apologizing for the mistakes made by his services. The murder of DeWitt Duckett caused a lot of emotion at a time when schools were still largely untouched by gun violence.
Under pressure, the investigators had quickly turned to three alumni of the establishment: Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart and Ransom Watkins, young blacks aged 16 and 17, because they had been seen on the spot a little more early and that one of them had a jacket identical to the one stolen from the victim. His mother had been able to produce the receipt of the clothing and at first, the witnesses of the crime had assured not to recognize them.
Another man now suspected
But the police insisted, and at the trial, four people said they were the perpetrators of the murder. Despite the denials of the trio, the jurors had sentenced them to life imprisonment in less than three hours of deliberation. However, these four witnesses have since returned and explained that they have been under pressure from the police, explained the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP), an association that fights against miscarriages of justice and participated in the reopening folder. Other witnesses identified another man who is now the suspect of the crime.
"All those involved in this issue - school officials, police, prosecutors, jurors, the media and the public - rushed to the conclusions and let their prejudices stifle problems with the evidence. MAIP Director Shawn Armbrust said in a statement.