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Commonwealth of Maryland v. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andre Stewart
Date: 12-31-1985
Case Number:
Judge: Not Available
Court: Circuit Court, City of Baltimore, Maryland
Plaintiff's Attorney: John Shoup
Defendant's Attorney: Not available
Description:
On November 18, 1983, Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart, and RansomWatkins, "The Boys," were escorted off of the grounds of the school they had attended. The security officer then locked the school's entrances and exits.
Around 1:18 p.m. that same day, Harlem Park student DeWitt Duckett was headed to lunch with three friends, minors who will be referred to as E.C., R.B., and J.C. One of the three friends, J.C., turned back to grab something that he left behind. Duckett was approached from behind by an individual carrying a .22-caliber revolver who demanded Duckett give him the Georgetown University starter jacket he was wearing that day. Before Duckett could remove the jacket, the individual shot him once in the neck, took the jacket, and fled the school. J.C., who was on his way back to his friends, saw the shooter but was standing too far away to make out his face. Duckett was pronounced dead at the hospital two hours later. He was 14 years old. His friends, E.C., R.B., and J.C. were 14, 15, and 16, respectively.
Shorty after the murder, Baltimore Police Department Officer Christopher Rayburn arrived at the school, where he learned that Duckett's three friends had potentially witnessed the murder. Officer Rayburn spoke with the friends, who reported that a single individual had approached Duckett, demanded his jacket, and shot him. Officer Rayburn included such information in a report he wrote that day, November 18.
The BPD Homicide Unit then took over the investigation of Duckett's murder. Donald Kincaid was the lead investigator of the murder. Officers Joyce and Barrick were members of the investigative team. At the time, Barrick was also the immediate supervisor of the unit as a sergeant. The Plaintiffs allege that as the supervisor, Barrick was responsible for providing leadership and reviewing all witness statements taken by the detectives. The Officer Defendants worked collaboratively throughout the investigation, sharing information with each other as it was gathered and summarizing their progress in notes and reports that were provided to the commanding officer.
The day after the murder, knowing that The Boys had been present at the school that day, the Officer Defendants questioned Chestnut and Watkins. According to the Plaintiffs, when Kincaid questioned Watkins he stated, "You have two things against you—you're black and I have a badge." The Officers also later interrogated Stewart. In those initial interrogations, each of the Plaintiffs asserted that they had nothing to do with the murder. (Id. ¶ 55.)
In the four days after the murder, the Officer Defendants also questioned two of Duckett's friends who had been walking with him to lunch: R.B., who remained with Duckett the entire time, and J.C., who had turned back to grab something he left behind. The Boy later learned that the Officers questioned each of the students at least three time and showed them multiple photo arrays, including arrays with pictures of the The Boys, but neither of the children identified the Plaintiffs as being involved in their friend's murder. The Boy later asserted that these interviewers were not memorialized, and any statements made by R.B. and J.C. at that time were not disclosed to the State's Attorney's Office or the defense.
Around the same time of these initial interviews with The Boys and R.B. and J.C. the Officers received information regarding a man, referred to here as John Doe,4 who was seen running away from Harlem park and throwing down a gun on the day of Duckett's murder. The Boys later learned that the Officers learned that that same man was wearing a Georgetown jacket on the night of the murder.
On November 23, 1983, the Officers interviewed another minor student at Harlem Park, Y.T. The thirteen-year-old girl allegedly told the Officers that she had not seen the shooting of Duckett and did not know who was involved. Officers Kincaid and Barrick coerced and intimidated this girl into adopting "their false version of events." They pressured Y.T. into making up details during the interrogation such as that she saw two guns and heard two shots. The Officers knew these details to be false because Y.T. could not have seen the murder from where she was standing at the time of the shot. Kincaid and Barrick allegedly wrote out a false statement that implicated the The Boys and coerced Y.T. into signing the document. Kincaid and Barrick also allegedly coerced her into identifying photos of The Boys. No notes or reports related to this interview were ever found.
That same day, the Officers interviewed another student, F.H., who was with Y.T. at the time of the murder. The Officers concealed evidence of this interview, including information regarding where F.H. and Y.T. were standing at the time of the murder and that F.H. did not identify The Boys in a photo array. Again, no notes or report for this interview were ever found.
After these interviews with Y.T. and F.H., the Officers decided to re-interview Duckett's friends, this time picking up all three students, E.C, R.B., and J.C. and
bringing them to meet with the Homicide Unit. November 23, 1983, the Officers allegedly threatened and intimidated the students, accusing them of lying about what they knew about Duckett's murder and supplying them with the Officers' own version of the facts. The Officers used suggestive tactics with photo arrays and encouraged the witnesses to select photos of The Boys, while discouraging them from selecting photos of other individuals. Kincaid and Joyce suggested and/or fabricated a false statement for E.C., telling him that they knew from the statements of Y.T. that The Boys had committed the crime. Under "intense pressure," E.C. ultimately stated that The Boys killed Duckett and selected them in a photo array. Kincaid and another detective then physically threatened R.B., told him that another witness had already identified The Boys, and coerced him into falsely stating The Boys had committed the crime and identifying the three teens in a photo array. Finally, Kincaid and another detective also coerced J.C., getting him to state that The Boyss murdered Duckett and to select the individuals from a photo array. Again, no notes or records from these November 23 interrogations were ever found.
Overall, the Officers had reason to know that the statements of Y.T. and Duckett's three friends, E.C., R.B., and J.C., were false. The students' statements contradicted their prior statements in which they reported that they saw one individual approach the victim and that the Plaintiffs were not involved. Chestnut, who the Officers claimed to be the shooter, did not match description the reporting officer collected on the day of the murder: witnesses told the officer that the shooter was between 5'5" and 5'6" and Chestnut is 5'11". There was no physical evidence implicating The Boys in the shooting—no fingerprints, DNA, or other physical proof of any kind which suggested The Boys were involved in the murder. There were simply the allegedly false statements of the youth witnesses. Meanwhile, the Officers had information from other sources related to the potential involvement of John Doe.
Solely on the basis of the allegedly fabricated witness statements and identifications, the Officers obtained arrest warrants for a search of Chestnut's home, as well as for the arrests of Chestnut, Stewart, and Watkins. The applications for those warrants did not contain any information regarding John Doe, disclosures that the four student witnesses had previously failed to identify the Plaintiffs as being involved in the crime, nor that the Officers coerced the witnesses into providing their statements. Between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 am. on November 24, 1983, Kincaid and Joyce arrested The Boys, and each were transported to the Western District and held overnight.
While BPD officers were searching Chestnut's bedroom, the officers seized a Georgetown starter jacket like the one Duckett was wearing at the time of the murder. According to The Boys, Chestnut's mother showed the officers a receipt for the jacket and asserted that she had purchased it for Chestnut sometime earlier. A lab report dated November 29, 1983 noted that the BPD's Chemistry Section had examined the jacket and found that it exhibited no signs of damage and no blood, hairs, or fibers were found on the item. Despite this exonerating physical evidence, the Officers presented the Baltimore City State's Attorney with false and incomplete information to secure indictments. The State's Attorney's Office charged the three Plaintiffs as adults with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and illegal use of a weapon.
The State's attorneys relied on the "evidence" provided to them and argued that any inconsistencies in the testimony of the young witnesses were because they were afraid of the Defendants.
Around 1:18 p.m. that same day, Harlem Park student DeWitt Duckett was headed to lunch with three friends, minors who will be referred to as E.C., R.B., and J.C. One of the three friends, J.C., turned back to grab something that he left behind. Duckett was approached from behind by an individual carrying a .22-caliber revolver who demanded Duckett give him the Georgetown University starter jacket he was wearing that day. Before Duckett could remove the jacket, the individual shot him once in the neck, took the jacket, and fled the school. J.C., who was on his way back to his friends, saw the shooter but was standing too far away to make out his face. Duckett was pronounced dead at the hospital two hours later. He was 14 years old. His friends, E.C., R.B., and J.C. were 14, 15, and 16, respectively.
Shorty after the murder, Baltimore Police Department Officer Christopher Rayburn arrived at the school, where he learned that Duckett's three friends had potentially witnessed the murder. Officer Rayburn spoke with the friends, who reported that a single individual had approached Duckett, demanded his jacket, and shot him. Officer Rayburn included such information in a report he wrote that day, November 18.
The BPD Homicide Unit then took over the investigation of Duckett's murder. Donald Kincaid was the lead investigator of the murder. Officers Joyce and Barrick were members of the investigative team. At the time, Barrick was also the immediate supervisor of the unit as a sergeant. The Plaintiffs allege that as the supervisor, Barrick was responsible for providing leadership and reviewing all witness statements taken by the detectives. The Officer Defendants worked collaboratively throughout the investigation, sharing information with each other as it was gathered and summarizing their progress in notes and reports that were provided to the commanding officer.
The day after the murder, knowing that The Boys had been present at the school that day, the Officer Defendants questioned Chestnut and Watkins. According to the Plaintiffs, when Kincaid questioned Watkins he stated, "You have two things against you—you're black and I have a badge." The Officers also later interrogated Stewart. In those initial interrogations, each of the Plaintiffs asserted that they had nothing to do with the murder. (Id. ¶ 55.)
In the four days after the murder, the Officer Defendants also questioned two of Duckett's friends who had been walking with him to lunch: R.B., who remained with Duckett the entire time, and J.C., who had turned back to grab something he left behind. The Boy later learned that the Officers questioned each of the students at least three time and showed them multiple photo arrays, including arrays with pictures of the The Boys, but neither of the children identified the Plaintiffs as being involved in their friend's murder. The Boy later asserted that these interviewers were not memorialized, and any statements made by R.B. and J.C. at that time were not disclosed to the State's Attorney's Office or the defense.
Around the same time of these initial interviews with The Boys and R.B. and J.C. the Officers received information regarding a man, referred to here as John Doe,4 who was seen running away from Harlem park and throwing down a gun on the day of Duckett's murder. The Boys later learned that the Officers learned that that same man was wearing a Georgetown jacket on the night of the murder.
On November 23, 1983, the Officers interviewed another minor student at Harlem Park, Y.T. The thirteen-year-old girl allegedly told the Officers that she had not seen the shooting of Duckett and did not know who was involved. Officers Kincaid and Barrick coerced and intimidated this girl into adopting "their false version of events." They pressured Y.T. into making up details during the interrogation such as that she saw two guns and heard two shots. The Officers knew these details to be false because Y.T. could not have seen the murder from where she was standing at the time of the shot. Kincaid and Barrick allegedly wrote out a false statement that implicated the The Boys and coerced Y.T. into signing the document. Kincaid and Barrick also allegedly coerced her into identifying photos of The Boys. No notes or reports related to this interview were ever found.
That same day, the Officers interviewed another student, F.H., who was with Y.T. at the time of the murder. The Officers concealed evidence of this interview, including information regarding where F.H. and Y.T. were standing at the time of the murder and that F.H. did not identify The Boys in a photo array. Again, no notes or report for this interview were ever found.
After these interviews with Y.T. and F.H., the Officers decided to re-interview Duckett's friends, this time picking up all three students, E.C, R.B., and J.C. and
bringing them to meet with the Homicide Unit. November 23, 1983, the Officers allegedly threatened and intimidated the students, accusing them of lying about what they knew about Duckett's murder and supplying them with the Officers' own version of the facts. The Officers used suggestive tactics with photo arrays and encouraged the witnesses to select photos of The Boys, while discouraging them from selecting photos of other individuals. Kincaid and Joyce suggested and/or fabricated a false statement for E.C., telling him that they knew from the statements of Y.T. that The Boys had committed the crime. Under "intense pressure," E.C. ultimately stated that The Boys killed Duckett and selected them in a photo array. Kincaid and another detective then physically threatened R.B., told him that another witness had already identified The Boys, and coerced him into falsely stating The Boys had committed the crime and identifying the three teens in a photo array. Finally, Kincaid and another detective also coerced J.C., getting him to state that The Boyss murdered Duckett and to select the individuals from a photo array. Again, no notes or records from these November 23 interrogations were ever found.
Overall, the Officers had reason to know that the statements of Y.T. and Duckett's three friends, E.C., R.B., and J.C., were false. The students' statements contradicted their prior statements in which they reported that they saw one individual approach the victim and that the Plaintiffs were not involved. Chestnut, who the Officers claimed to be the shooter, did not match description the reporting officer collected on the day of the murder: witnesses told the officer that the shooter was between 5'5" and 5'6" and Chestnut is 5'11". There was no physical evidence implicating The Boys in the shooting—no fingerprints, DNA, or other physical proof of any kind which suggested The Boys were involved in the murder. There were simply the allegedly false statements of the youth witnesses. Meanwhile, the Officers had information from other sources related to the potential involvement of John Doe.
Solely on the basis of the allegedly fabricated witness statements and identifications, the Officers obtained arrest warrants for a search of Chestnut's home, as well as for the arrests of Chestnut, Stewart, and Watkins. The applications for those warrants did not contain any information regarding John Doe, disclosures that the four student witnesses had previously failed to identify the Plaintiffs as being involved in the crime, nor that the Officers coerced the witnesses into providing their statements. Between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 am. on November 24, 1983, Kincaid and Joyce arrested The Boys, and each were transported to the Western District and held overnight.
While BPD officers were searching Chestnut's bedroom, the officers seized a Georgetown starter jacket like the one Duckett was wearing at the time of the murder. According to The Boys, Chestnut's mother showed the officers a receipt for the jacket and asserted that she had purchased it for Chestnut sometime earlier. A lab report dated November 29, 1983 noted that the BPD's Chemistry Section had examined the jacket and found that it exhibited no signs of damage and no blood, hairs, or fibers were found on the item. Despite this exonerating physical evidence, the Officers presented the Baltimore City State's Attorney with false and incomplete information to secure indictments. The State's Attorney's Office charged the three Plaintiffs as adults with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and illegal use of a weapon.
The State's attorneys relied on the "evidence" provided to them and argued that any inconsistencies in the testimony of the young witnesses were because they were afraid of the Defendants.
Outcome:
On May 28, 1984, Chestnut, Steward and Watkins were all convicted and were sentenced to life in prison.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed in October 1985.
The Boys were repeatedly denied parole because they would not admit that they were the killers.
Starting in 2016 the "evidence" introduced at trail was reviewed by a friend of Chestnut and a lawyer.
In 2018, Chestnut submitted a public records request and discovered evidence that revealed that the evidence that witnesses to the murder did not identify he and his friends. The information produced cast further doubt on the validity of the convictions.
In 2019, a request was made that the Balitmore City District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit re-investigate the convictions. All four of the witnesses who had testified against The Boys at trail recanted. Two additional alibi witnesses were identified and interviewed. They said they were with The Boys at the school and were with them playing video games at the time of the murder.
On November25, 2019, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granted The Boys' Motion for a Write of Actual Innocense.
Chestnut, Steward and Watkins were in prison for 35 years.
The Boys were paid $2.2 million by the State of Maryland and $48 million by the City of Baltimore.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed in October 1985.
The Boys were repeatedly denied parole because they would not admit that they were the killers.
Starting in 2016 the "evidence" introduced at trail was reviewed by a friend of Chestnut and a lawyer.
In 2018, Chestnut submitted a public records request and discovered evidence that revealed that the evidence that witnesses to the murder did not identify he and his friends. The information produced cast further doubt on the validity of the convictions.
In 2019, a request was made that the Balitmore City District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit re-investigate the convictions. All four of the witnesses who had testified against The Boys at trail recanted. Two additional alibi witnesses were identified and interviewed. They said they were with The Boys at the school and were with them playing video games at the time of the murder.
On November25, 2019, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granted The Boys' Motion for a Write of Actual Innocense.
Chestnut, Steward and Watkins were in prison for 35 years.
The Boys were paid $2.2 million by the State of Maryland and $48 million by the City of Baltimore.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments:
About This Case
What was the outcome of Commonwealth of Maryland v. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watki...?
The outcome was: On May 28, 1984, Chestnut, Steward and Watkins were all convicted and were sentenced to life in prison. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed in October 1985. The Boys were repeatedly denied parole because they would not admit that they were the killers. Starting in 2016 the "evidence" introduced at trail was reviewed by a friend of Chestnut and a lawyer. In 2018, Chestnut submitted a public records request and discovered evidence that revealed that the evidence that witnesses to the murder did not identify he and his friends. The information produced cast further doubt on the validity of the convictions. In 2019, a request was made that the Balitmore City District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit re-investigate the convictions. All four of the witnesses who had testified against The Boys at trail recanted. Two additional alibi witnesses were identified and interviewed. They said they were with The Boys at the school and were with them playing video games at the time of the murder. On November25, 2019, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granted The Boys' Motion for a Write of Actual Innocense. Chestnut, Steward and Watkins were in prison for 35 years. The Boys were paid $2.2 million by the State of Maryland and $48 million by the City of Baltimore.
Which court heard Commonwealth of Maryland v. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watki...?
This case was heard in Circuit Court, City of Baltimore, Maryland, MD. The presiding judge was Not Available.
Who were the attorneys in Commonwealth of Maryland v. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watki...?
Plaintiff's attorney: John Shoup. Defendant's attorney: Not available.
When was Commonwealth of Maryland v. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watki... decided?
This case was decided on December 31, 1985.