World

3 men wrongfully convicted of murder 36 years ago gain freedom

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at 10:11 PM by Joseph Omotayo

- Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart, who served a 36-year jail term for a crime they did not commit, have been released

- They were picked for the murder of DeWitt Ducket in 1983 in a Baltimore School because they had skipped classes in their school too

- Chestnut, now 52, wrote the Conviction Integrity Unit in May before their case was revisited and the court ruled in their favour

Three men, Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart, who have spent 36 years in prison for a crime they did not commit have been exonerated and released.

Daily Mail reports that the trio were teenagers when they were wrongly accused of killing DeWitt Duckett in 1983 in a Baltimore school.

They were jailed on the sole basis that at the time of the murder, the three teens had also missed their own classes at a different school and were sighted at the crime scene.

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It should be noted that their case was revisited in May by the Conviction Integrity Unit after Chestnut, aged 52, wrote a letter asking for help.

Chestnut’s mother, Sarah, in speaking with The Washington Post, said that she waited for her son outside and never thought that a day he would gain his freedom would ever come.

"I didn’t think this would ever come...I haven’t danced in a long time. I might dance,” she said.

Duckett was only 14 when he was shot in the corridor of his school, killed just for the Georgetown jacket that he was wearing.

The police at that time were really after solving the case quickly because of the way the case generated national attention.

The three men were released as their friends, family, and love ones received them. Photo source: Daily Mail — The three men were released as their friends, family, and loved ones received them. Photo source: Daily Mail
Source: UGC

The pressure on the force forced their hands in picking the teenagers despite the fact that many students pointed at Michael Wills as the shooter.

Another very interesting thing worthy of note was that Wills at the night of the murder was seen wearing the said jacket and heard taking responsibility for the crime.

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Stewart, who is 53, said he had lost hope already, saying he turned to religion to help him through the crisis.

"If this is where God wants me to rest my head for the rest of my life, this is where I’m going to serve Jesus Christ for the rest of my life," he said.

Chestnut is the only one of the trio who kept on pushing to have them released despite the many huge stumbling blocks on his way.

'"I feel like all these years I’ve been saying the same thing. Finally, somebody heard my cry. I give thanks to God and Marilyn Mosby. She’s been doing a lot of work for guys in my situation,” he said.

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Meanwhile, in another report, a twitter user, Sir Wole, shared his harrowing experience in a Nigerian prison, leaving many social media users in shock.