Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP and Nathans & Biddle, LLP reached a historic $48 million settlement in the case of three Baltimore men who were wrongfully convicted at age 16 of the 1983 murder of DeWitt Duckett at Harlem Park Junior High School. Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart, and Ransom Watkins—known as the Harlem Park Three—were exonerated in 2019 after spending 36 years in prison each. At 108 combined years, the Harlem Park Three served more years than any other wrongful conviction case in American history.
PHOTO Credit: Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
“We are deeply appreciative of the hard work of each and every person who has advocated for us throughout this process,” said Mr. Chestnut, Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Watkins. The men explained that, “While no settlement will ever truly make up for the years of life wrongfully stolen from us and our families by this injustice, we are grateful to the social workers, attorneys, paralegals, investigators, legal assistants, experts, and others who helped us move forward with our lives in peace.”
The wrongful convictions were based on trial testimony by four teenage witnesses who reported that they were pressured by police to identify them, rather than truthfully identify the one person who likely committed the murder. Despite being 16 years old, the prosecutor tried the Harlem Park Three as adults. The jury quickly convicted them.
In August 2020, the three men filed a federal lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) and three homicide detectives, including now-retired Detective Donald Kincaid. The lawsuit filed by BGL and Nathans & Biddle described misconduct by detectives, including concealing exculpatory evidence and fabricating evidence by threatening young witnesses. It further described how that misconduct was part of a pattern of unconstitutional practices at BPD.
The Baltimore spending board approved an unprecedented $48 million settlement in October 2023.
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FOR MORE CASE DETAILS
“Harlem Park Three (Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart, & Ransom Watkins)” Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project